THE RESTORATION OF JOY
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 7, 2024 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group: February 7, 2024 from Nehemiah 12:1-47
Theme: Joyful worship among God’s people flows from their holy distinction from this world.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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In Nehemiah 12, we come to the story of restored joy.
That joy had been a long time in coming. The book of Nehemiah began with tears. Nehemiah had been serving King Artaxerxes in the Median/Persian capital in Shushan—far away from Jerusalem. And when a relative of his came and told him the sad report of the condition of the city—that the people of Jerusalem were in a state of distress and reproach, that the city wall was in ruins, that the gates of the city had been burned—Nehemiah wrote, “I sat down and wept and mourned for many days” (Nehemiah 1:4). Jerusalem was God’s holy city. It was where God’s presence with His people had been established. It was where the temple had once stood. And now, the wall of distinction was broken down—and the people of God were oppressed by the mocking and ridicule of this fallen and sinful world.
But God had put it into Nehemiah’s heart to return and lead his people to rebuild the wall—to restore their honor and unique distinction in this world as God’s chosen people. The people faithfully did the work and rebuilt the wall; and in the process God gave them spiritual revival and led them into repentance from sin.
And now, they were ready to formally dedicate the rebuilt wall of the city. It was a time of great celebration; “with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps” (12:27). We’re told that the people “offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy” (v. 43).
It’s the story of joy restored.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; consider what would happen if your church building was ever—somehow—lost to you. All of us who attend a church are deeply in love with our church building. And may it be that, in the will of God, such a thing would never happen; but if it did, would you still gather with your church and worship just the same?
For those of us who are sincere followers of Jesus, the answer is that, of course, we would. The ‘building’ isn’t the church. It’s simply the ‘church building’ in which the church meets. What distinguishes us as God’s people is not the place we worship in—made only, as it is, out of wood and stone and glass. Instead, what distinguishes us is that we have been chosen by God to be His select people through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. The principle in us that causes us to worship and celebrate our Lord within a building is at work in God’s people long before the buildings in which they worship ever came into existence. That principle would still be at work in us even if our building was somehow lost to us. We’re united—not by a building—but, as Paul put it, in
one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Joyful worship of God doesn’t depend upon having a building. It’s based on the reality of our holy distinction as God’s people in this world through Jesus Christ. And our joyful worship flows forth in happy expression when we restore that distinction in love for Him.
That’s the great lesson we find in Chapter 12 of Nehemiah. The distinction of the Jewish people as God’s own people moved them to rebuild the wall—as a visible manifestation of that distinction. In the process of their obedience in rebuilding that distinction, they experienced the revival of their spirits. And now, we read of the restoration of joyful worship. As this chapter illustrates to us, joyful worship among God’s people flows from their holy distinction from this world.
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Now; this chapter can best be appreciated if we divide it into three sections—with each of those sections telling us something about the process that the people underwent in restoring their worship on the rebuilt wall of the city. In the first section—verses 1-26—we see the way that the people carefully checked the records and gathered up the priesthood for the service of God’s people living within the walls of the city. They put a priority on worshiping God in accordance with His holy word. In the second section—verses 27-43—we see the way that the people then, along with those leaders, celebrated the dedication of the wall itself. They rejoiced and thanked God for the renewal of their holy distinction in this world. And in the third section—verses 44-47—we see the way that the people took practical actions to preserve and protect that worship. They made sure to demonstrate their thankful joy by faithfully supporting those who served God.
So; let’s begin by considering the first of those three sections …
1. THEIR CAREFUL ACCOUNTING OF THE PRIESTHOOD (vv. 1-26).
What we find, in the first few verses of this chapter, are the list of the names of the priests and Levites who came almost 80 years before in the first return to the land after captivity—under the leadership of Zerubbabel. Verses 1-7 tell us;
Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.
These were the heads of the priests and their brethren in the days of Jeshua (vv. 1-7).
These names may not seem significant to us today; but they were very significant at that time. They would have represented the names of the families of priests who had been sent by the Persian king long ago to help restore the temple of the Jewish people. The ‘Jeshua’ that is mentioned in verse 7 is Joshua the priest who came when Governor Zerubbabel was sent back to the land. It was vital that a continuity of the priesthood was preserved during this time of spiritual renewal and celebration.
And the same was true of the Levites. Verses 8-9 tell us;
Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who led the thanksgiving psalms, he and his brethren. Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood across from them in their duties (vv. 8-9).
The Levites were appointed by God to serve in support of the priesthood; and so it was important that a careful accounting of them was also kept. They helped to lead in the thanksgiving.
Now; to help assure this accounting, a record of the genealogy of the priesthood was included in Nehemiah’s book—from the time of that first return under Zerubbabel all the way to the time of the end of the Persian empire. Verses 10-11 tell us;
Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada, Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua (vv. 10-11).
Three specific generations of these high priests are highlighted in the verses that follow. The focus of verses 1-9 is the times of the ministry of Jeshua. After Jeshua, his son Joiakim’s time of ministry is highlighted in verses 12-21. And Eliashib’s time of ministry—followed successively by Joiada, Jonathan and Jaddua—is highlighted in verses 22-24. (Because the names of the later high priests exceed the time frame of Nehemiah, many scholars believe that God had led someone to complete the record later in history—after Nehemiah’s day.) And then—out of order, but bringing us back to the times of Ezra and Nehemiah—Joiakim’s ministry is again highlighted to us in verses 25-26.
So; first, we read of the times of the high priest Joiakim during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Verses 12-21 give us a list of names of some priests and of their sons. But if you’ll look carefully, you’ll see that the names of the fathers—in many cases—are the names of the priests who were mentioned in verses 1-7 during the days of Jeshua.
Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of the fathers’ houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; of Abijah, Zichri; the son of Minjamin; of Moadiah, Piltai; of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel (vv. 12-21).
The spellings of names in the second record were—in some cases—changed from what they were in the first record. ‘Malluch’ in verse 2 became ‘Melichu’ in verse 14. ‘Shechaniah’ in verse 3 became ‘Shebaniah’ in verse 14. ‘Rehum’ in verse 3 became ‘Harim’ in verse 15. ‘Meremoth’ in verse 3 became ‘Meraioth’ also in verse 15. ‘Ginnethoi’ in verse 4 became ‘Ginnethon’ in verse 16. ‘Mijamin’ in verse 5 became ‘Minjamin’ in verse 17. ‘Maadiah’ in verse 5 became ‘Moadiah’ also in verse 17. ‘Sallu’ in verse 7 became ‘Sallai’ in verse 20. But though the spellings of the names changed, the identity of these priests were the same; and the record of their sons was preserved in Nehemiah’s time. (Note that only Hattush in verse 2 is missing from this list—perhaps because he had no offspring to follow after him.)
Then, we go on to read of the times of Eliashib and his descendents—all the way to the time of the conquest of the Persian empire.
During the reign of Darius the Persian, a record was also kept of the Levites and priests who had been heads of their fathers’ houses in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua. The sons of Levi, the heads of the fathers’ houses until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib, were written in the book of the chronicles (vv. 22-24).
The ‘Darius’ that is mentioned is not the king at the beginning of the Persian empire, but most likely the king at the end—Darius II, who reigned from 423-404 B.C. And ‘the book of the chronicles’ isn’t the same as the two books in the Bible, but most likely a record of the genealogical records preserved during the times that followed after Nehemiah. God, in His providence, saw fit to have this record added to the Book of Nehemiah sometime after Nehemiah’s lifetime; and wanted for us to see that the faithful record of the priesthood was important to Him.
And this leads us back to the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. Verses 24-26 give us the names of the families of the Levites serving in their time:
And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and give thanks, group alternating with group, according to the command of David the man of God. Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates. These lived in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe (vv. 24-26).
Mention is made of ‘the command of David’ with respect to those who offered praise and thanks. This was because an orderly division of priests, Levites, temple musicians and gatekeepers had been established many centuries earlier by King David and King Solomon—described for us in 1 Chronicles 23-26.
The people of God didn’t seek to worship and celebrate before God in a way that was according to their own initiatives and creative imaginations. Instead, they were careful to check the records and make sure that those who were leading in worship were the ones who were supposed to be doing so. This was because they had truly become a people distinguished by holy separation unto God.
Then comes …
2. THEIR WORSHIPFUL DEDICATION OF THE WALL (vv. 27-43).
Now that the records had been checked, it was time to draw in those who were properly appointed by God to prepare the people and the wall, and to lead the people in the celebration. Verses 27-30 tell us;
Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem. Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall (vv. 27-30).
We’re not told exactly what the ‘purification’ involved. It may have been a matter of setting themselves aside from the ordinary concerns of daily life. But however it happened, notice the order of things. First, the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and then they purified the people. And only then did they purify the gates and the wall in preparation of the celebration. God values the devotion of His people to Him far above the devotion of their building and structures to Him.
Then, we’re told about the dedication ceremony itself. It was done in a joyous but orderly manner. Two groups of the people marched upon the wall in celebration and worship. Nehemiah organized this time of celebration into two groups of people who marched upon the wall in joyful parade. The first group went up by the steps near the section of the city known as ‘the City of David’; and they marched up northward along the eastern side of the wall. This group was led by none other than the holy scribe Ezra. In verses 31-37, Nehemiah tells us;
So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the Refuse Gate. After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets—Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. By the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up the stairs of the City of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as the Water Gate eastward (vv. 31-37).
That was the group that Ezra led. Nehemiah led the second group in a northerly direction along the western side of the wall; but it seems that, while Ezra led from the front, he led from behind. In verses 37-39, he wrote;
The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, above the Old Gate, above the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped by the Gate of the Prison (vv. 37-39).
Imagine these two groups marching, singing, playing their instruments in worship; and then meeting in the middle—near where the temple was still being constructed. Perhaps they sang in antiphony with one another. Verses 40-42 tell us;
So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me; and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director (vv. 40-42).
And notice how joyfully and loudly they worshiped! Verse 43 says;
Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off (v. 43).
Everyone joined in. Perhaps it was so loud that the enemy nations—who had opposed this wall of division—could hear the joyful sound. And it was all done on the very symbol of their separation from this world and devotion to God. Truly, the joyful worship among God’s people flowed from their holy distinction from this world!
But it didn’t stop there. The people demonstrated their true separation unto God by seeking to preserve the necessary aspects of their ongoing worship. And so, verses 44-47 tell us about …
3. THEIR FAITHFUL SUPPORT OF GOD’S SERVANTS (vv. 44-47).
First we’re told of their support for the priests and the Levites; so that those priests and Levites could devote themselves to the sacred tasks God had given them. Verse 44 tells us;
And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered (v. 44).
They didn’t do this simply because the law required it. Their joyful worship of God was shown in the fact that they did this because they rejoiced over the priests and Levites. They delighted in the spiritual ministers that God had given them. They also sought to provide for those who supported the ministers in their work. Verses 45-47 go on to tell us;
Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, according to the command of David and Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day (vv. 45-47a).
In their renewed joy, the people made sure to faithfully keep-up what had been established for the provision of those who served in worship. And in doing all this, they also made sure that they made their offerings in such a way that the Levites were thus able to give to the support of the priests. The people gave to the Levites; and from that offering, the Levites gave to the priests. The end of verse 45 tells us;
They also consecrated holy things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron (v. 45b).
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Now; notice that the worship of God’s people wasn’t dependent upon the wall. The dedication ceremony for the wall sprung up from out of the hearts of the people because they had—first—become separated unto God. He had transformed their hearts … and the wall was only an outside expression of that inward celebration. That was why they didn’t just celebrate the wall. They joyfully celebrated God’s grace in once again restoring their distinction as His holy people.
Let’s make sure that we too have made that separation unto God. Then, the joyful worship will flow naturally from it.
AE
