The Joy of Jerusalem

INTRO

This week, we’ll finish the last two chapters of Nehemiah and the entire book of Esther. That means we will be finishing our study of the historical books. The one word for the book of Nehemiah is Builder. Nehemiah was called to rebuild the city walls in Jerusalem, which foreshadows Jesus the Messiah rebuilding the church. Just as God used Nehemiah to build the walls, He wants to use believers to build His church (Matthew 16:18). Wiersbe notes, “God uses many people with different gifts and skills to get His work done in this world . . . [so] we give our bodies to the Lord so that He can use us as His tools to accomplish His work.”¹The first 26 verses of chapter 12 list all the people who came back with Zerubbabel to work on rebuilding the temple and the wall. All of these people gave themselves to God, and it was important to Nehemiah that their names be recorded. Wiersbe divides this chapter into two sections: giving ourselves to God and giving our praise to God.²

TEACHING

Nehemiah 12:1–2Giving ourselves to God: Zerubbabel and Jeshua led those who went back to rebuild Solomon’s temple after it had been destroyed. With them came 22 leaders (vv. 1–7) and eight Levites (vv. 8–9). The Levites stood opposite each other leading praise songs. In verses 10–11, the descendants of Jeshua were named. Beginning in verse 12, the priests were named (vv. 12–21). The high priests were named in verse 22, and Nehemiah even mentioned the reign of King Darius of Persia, possibly because the king helped pay the temple expenses. Nehemiah explained that the sons of Levi had been recorded in the Book of Chronicles (v. 23). In verse 24, the chiefs of the Levites are listed, with the gatekeepers listed in verse 25. These were in the days of Joiakim and the days of Nehemiah and Ezra (v. 26).

Nehemiah 12:27–47Giving our praise to God: As they prepared to dedicate the completed wall around Jerusalem, the Levites were called from all over Israel to Jerusalem to lead the dedication with gladness, thanksgivings, and singing (v. 27). Also, the sons of the singers gathered (vv. 28–29). Tom Constable explains, “Nehemiah enlisted Levites from all over Judah to guarantee that the dedication service would be properly grand.”³Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, the people, the gates, and the wall (v. 30). Wiersbe describes this as the movement of those who worked on and watched over the wall, now becoming the worshippers at the wall.⁴

In Nehemiah 6, the work on the wall was completed, and revival broke out in chapters 8–10. In Nehemiah 7:4–5, Nehemiah documented that Jerusalem had few people living in it. In chapter 11:1–2, the people cast lots to determine who would move to Jerusalem to repopulate the city. These are the reasons why the dedication of the wall was delayed. Once everything was in place, the dedication took place. The word “dedication” in Hebrew means “Hanukkah,” which comes from the process of dedicating the temple after its desecration by the Syrians.⁵In this dedication, singing praise songs was mentioned eight times, giving thanks six times, rejoicing seven times, and the use of instruments three times. The celebration was huge! The act of thanksgiving “means ‘public acknowledgement,’ ‘to declare aloud, in public, to another.’”⁶

After purification, Nehemiah brought the princes of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great companies to give thanks going in opposite directions on the wall (v. 31). Nehemiah called up additional people to join the first company, some with the musical instruments of David who were led by Ezra (vv. 31–36). Then the second company, including the choir, went behind Nehemiah on the other side of the wall (vv. 37–39). The two companies gave thanks as they moved along the wall (vv. 40–42). Both groups came together at the temple where they offered sacrifices and rejoiced (v. 43). Wiersbe states, “The people were bearing witness to the watching world that God had done the work, and He alone should be glorified.”⁷They rejoiced so greatly it “was heard far away” (v. 43b). Charles Fensham describes the importance of the day in this way: “The dedication of the newly built wall of Jerusalem is a climax to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.”⁸ In verses 44–47, the people took steps to provide for the priests, Levites, singers, and gatekeepers after the dedication.

CLOSING

The Jews recognized they had gone through a lot, and they didn’t want to go through it all again. Constable emphasizes the importance of this event:

“This was the greatest day in the history of the restoration community. Israel was now back in the land more securely and scripturally than it had been since the first exiles had returned. Nehemiah had succeeded in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, reestablishing the Mosaic Law as Israel’s authority, and reorganizing the temple ministry in harmony with God’s will.”⁹

Here’s a question for us to consider: If God has radically changed our lives, how can we remotely stay quiet? This picture of the dedication is a picture of how God wants us to worship Him.