Seeds for 10/08/2024 - Nehemiah 7:4-73
Scripture:
4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. 5 So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:
6 These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 7 in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah):
The list of the men of Israel…
Observation:
Rebuilding the walls was the first step to revitalizing and restoring the city. Other challenges come up in the wake of this initial phase. What’s here to note?
First, Nehemiah notices a problem and God provides him with a solution.
Nehemiah notes the problem clearly: “Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.” This makes sense given the wanton destruction inflicted on the Jews by Babylon when Jerusalem was conquered and families were taken into exile. Nehemiah is a practical leader, able to see clearly what is before him.
The solution comes not in a burning bush or a vision at night. Instead Nehemiah reports, “my God put it into my heart…” God provided the next step just as faithfully as with fireworks, but not as demonstrably. One reason to read the book of Nehemiah is to see that this is a valid and biblical way that God works with us.
Second, God provided Nehemiah the strategic next step, but Nehemiah had to do the footwork to bring it about. In other words, God is not doing everything for Nehemiah, but leading Nehemiah to be his leader for this particular project of restoration.
We can be simultaneously completely dependent on God for our help and success and working our tails off—mentally and physically. Because God has a penchant for working through people.
Third, and this is more of a theological reflection, the exile was a sort of “de-creation event,” meaning that it was destructive, both of the physical city walls, homes, shops, the temple, and other places, and of the families and lives that were disbursed because of it. In finding and assembling the descendants of nobles, officials, and common people from the families who were taken into exile, God was using Nehemiah to perform a “re-creation” sort of work, meaning a work that is constructive, restorative, and life-giving. This is a theme of the whole bible and I think we see it here as well, even in the mundane but careful attention to list the families.
Application:
When has God put a kingdom-oriented solution into your heart to a problem you’ve seen in your community?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, there is much in the world that is destructive. Use me in life-giving work that helps people experience the “new creation” life that can be found in Jesus. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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