Nehemiah 7:1-73

Details are important to the Lord; so much so that He recorded many details in Scripture that will remain for all of eternity.  God wanted the establishment of the new nation of Israel to be done in and orderly fashion and He wanted a clear record of who had returned to be part of this nation as well as from where they had come.  We may not fully understand the reasons behind this record, but it likely has something to do with maintaining tribal identity within the nation.  One thing that we can rest assured of is that God is very concerned with the details of our lives and has them recorded within His knowledge for all of eternity.

NEHEMIAH DELEGATES AUTHORITY: Once the wall was finished, Nehemiah began to delegate authority to godly men who he could trust to carry out the work and help keep the people safe.  The wall was complete, but the number of people within the city were few and their homes had not yet been rebuilt.  Nehemiah instructed the rulers to make sure that the gates were secured before dark and were not opened until it was light again.  The gates were all to be guarded so that the people could be secure within the city and begin to reestablish their lives.  A good leader always has the well-being of his people in mind and recognizes that he cannot meet all of the needs that the people have by himself.  If we desire to accomplish great things for the Lord we must learn to delegate and be able to work effectively in teams that strive to serve one another in humility but with excellence.

NEHEMIAH DETERMINES PATERNITY: The Lord laid it on Nehemiah’s heart to determine the genealogy of all who had returned from exile.  It is not clear exactly why this was to be done, but it is clear that the Lord wanted this information recorded.  We do not recognize very many of these names, but it is clear that God know every single person in this list as well as to which family each belongs.  God knows more about our identity than we do and He cares about every detail in our lives.  We can rest assured that He knows us more fully and cares for us more completely than we even do ourselves.   


NEHEMIAH DESCRIBES GENEROSITY: God not only left a record of who the people were but He also recorded the details about the people’s generosity in giving to support the work of the Lord.  Scripture tells us not to brag about what we give and to strive to give without letting others know what we are giving.  However, we can rest assured that God knows exactly what we give and will be faithful to reward us accordingly.  It should be an honor and source of great joy to be able to participate in what the Lord is doing in the world through our giving.

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