Nehemiah 12:1-47

The Lord is delighted by the worship of His people and celebrations are a great time to promote the worship of the Lord.  There are events in our lives that are worthy of great celebration and the completion of the wall was a very good reason to celebrate.  However, we must be careful that our celebrations are not simply parties that we enjoy and commemorate our accomplishments.  God calls us to reflect upon what He has done and to celebrate Him and not ourselves.  We must be careful to make sure that He is in the center of all of our celebrations and that He is the only focus of our worship.

THE LEVITES EACH HAD THEIR OWN DESIGNATOIN: Throughout the history of Israel, the Levites were separated for the purpose of praising the Lord with song and instruments and promoting the worship of the Lord in the midst of the people.  Nehemiah made sure that the Levites had the time, freedom and the instruments necessary to perform these tasks before the Lord.  Each individual member had his on designated assignment to perform and together they cooperated in leading the people in worship of the Lord.  This is a health picture of the body of Christ.  We must learn to cooperate with one another as we worship the Lord together.

THE LEADERS CELEBRATED THE WALL’S DEDICATION: The conclusion of the wall was a great accomplishment and the nation gathers for the dedication of this wall to the Lord.  The people lined the entire length of the wall and the leaders circulated from place to place and gave praise to the Lord for what He accomplished through them.  All that we ever have done or ever will do comes from the Lord and the strength He gives.  He is the source and the purpose of all things and therefore should be at the center of all of our celebrations.  All that we have, all the we are and all that we have done must be dedicated to the Lord as an act of worship to Him.


THE LORD WAS PLEASED BY THE PEOPLE’S DETERMINATION: The dedication of the wall was a clear illustration of the people’s recognition of the Lord’s provision, but it did not stop with one celebration.  The people were determined to continue this lifestyle of worship on a continual basis by gathering at the temple to pray, praise, learn God’s word and give tithes and offerings the Lord from their produce of the Land.  Worship of the Lord should not simply occur as part of events but should be a consistent part of our lives each and every day.  It should be a great source of joy to us to be able to participate in the work of the Lord through our giving. 

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