Devotions

Two Choirs Stood In The House of God

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The wall is finished, the gates are open. Nehemiah gathers, not just those in Jerusalem but from all of the region around. He gathers all of the Levites, and all of the singers, and all of the commanders, and all of the people and separates them into two great choirs. One choir walks the top of the wall in one direction and the other choir walks the other direction with trumpets and singing and great joy. And they met, and stood in the Temple. That day, in Nehemiah 12:43 “And the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar”. Nehemiah accomplished his main task, but also made sure that the people honored God, that the consecrated the Sabbath and cared for the house of God. 

At The Dedication of The Wall

Nehemiah 12:22–31
All of the Levites are gathered together “from all of their places” in Nehemiah 12:27 “to do the dedication with joy, thanksgivings, song and cymbals, stringed instruments and lyres”. And all the singers in Nehemiah 12:28-29. And the priests purified in vs 30. And Nehemiah “brought the commanders upon the wall” and “appointed two great choirs”. 

Two Choirs Stood In The House of God

Nehemiah 12:32–43
One choir followed commanders in Nehemiah 12:31b “to the right on the wall to the Dung gate”, the “priests with trumpets”, “instruments of the songs of David”, and “Ezra the scribe went before them”. “The second choir went the opposite way” and Nehemiah “followed after them with half of the people on the wall” to “the Gate of the Guard” in Nehemiah 12:39. Then in Nehemiah 12:40-43 “the two choirs stood in the house of God … and the priests … with the trumpets … and the singers sang … and rejoiced because God brought great joy to them”.

Guardians of the Entrances

1 Chronicles 9:22–27
This description of the gatekeepers begins in 1 Chronicles 9:17 where they are described as we would expect as gaurdians of the entrances.There were several other duties for the gatekeepers, “The section deals with three aspects of the gatekeepers’ ‘service’ or ministry (vv. 19, 28), their authority (vv. 17–23), their leadership (vv. 24–27), and their additional work (vv. 28–32).”5

In 1 Chronicles 9:26 “the four mighty gatekeepers” are mentioned, “The four principal gatekeepers (vv. 24–27) are presumably those named in verse 17. The temple doors were closed each night, though a key (v. 27) is mentioned nowhere else in the Old Testament. The morning (v. 27) was the time for praise (cf. 1 Chr. 23:30) and sacrifice”.6

A Song of Praise and Thanksgiving to God

Nehemiah 12:44–47
There were offerings and in the storehouse rooms and in Nehemiah 12:44 “the joy of Judah was upon the priests and Levites standing there”. When the people prospered and found the joy of the Lord in their lives, the priests also prospered. Now they need someone to manage the storehouse. This responsibility was not the keeping of the gates or of singing, it was the keeping of the people, the keeping of the staff, so they could do their work.

Nehemiah 12:46 (LEB) For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God.

We should have such order, and paid positions for “the head of the singers”, the singers, the gatekeepers, the Levites, and the “descendants of Aaron”. Or in our language, a worship leader, worship singers, ushers (helps and administration and today, security), and ministry staff (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor Teacher).

They Separated All of the Foreign People

Nehemiah 13:1–3
We could take a lesson from Nehemiah 13:2. God didn’t have any tolerance for the “Ammonite or Moabite” who didn’t offer “bread and water” which might not have been so bad. But they sought out and “hired Balaam … to curse them”. From then on, the law of God was, “that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God”. So, they separated from them.

The Chambers of the House of Our God

Nehemiah 13:4–9
The priest, Eliashib, offered Tobiah special consideration by giving him a place in the house of God. This chamber had a purpose, and it wasn’t for the priest to rent it out for gain or favor. It was already clear that Tobiah “had admirers and sworn supporters in the highest circles of Judah (6:17–19). Himself the bearer of a good Jewish name (see on 2:10), he had married into one of the leading families, and his son into another, as reported earlier; now it emerges that the high priest himself was a connection.1 But Nehemiah wouldn’t let this go, in Nehemiah 13:8 he “threw all of the objects from the house of Tobiah outside of the chamber”.

The House of God Forsaken

Nehemiah 13:10–14
Nehemiah finds that the distribution to “the Levites had not been given to them” in Nehemiah 13:10. Because of this, they had all gone to the fields to be able to feed themselves and their families. The thing is, the rest of Israel had been given land, but not the Levites. So, in Nehemiah 13:11-13 “I quarreled with the prefects, and I said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them and set them at their station”. He reestablished the tithe, and the store house, and the distribution, and the workers in the house of God. 

Consecrate the Day of the Sabbath

Nehemiah 13:15–22
In Nehemiah 13:15-16 “people treading the wine press on the Sabbath … (and) brought fish and every kind of merchandise and sold it on the Sabbath”. So in Nehemiah 13:17-18 “I quarreled with the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing … you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!” Then he locked the gates for the Sabbath, but they “spent the night outside of Jerusalem” in Nehemiah 13:20. They couldn’t wait a minute, planning how they could begin selling again after the Sabbath was over. They missed the whole point, it was to be a day of rest, a day to connect with God and each other. It wasn’t a day for planning your work for the next week.

A Covenant With Our God

Nehemiah 13:23–31
The whole congregation had stood with Ezra and made an oath that they would not inter-marry with the pagan nations around them but here is “Another violation of the covenant signed by the community (10:30). See v. 3 and note; compare note on Ezra 9:1–10:44”.2 Nehemiah wanted to be remembered for his work,

Nehemiah 13:30 (LEB) So I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established responsibilities for the priests and Levites, each in his own work,

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Nehemiah 12:22-47
  • Nehemiah 13:1–31

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

Return to Israel – Ezra

We often read one book of the Bible at a time and that is easier for everyone to follow. The order of our readings, beginning with Ezra, are from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible because the return from Babylonian exile includes Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah, Esther, a few Psalms, and other connections. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much better context and helps us understand the move of God as He is reestablishing His people. Review the whole series beginning with Go Up To Jerusalem.

References

  • 1. Kidner, D. (1979). Ezra and Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 12, p. 141). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
  • 2. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ne 13:23). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.