VARIOUS OBSERVATIONS
Passing the Baton
When the project was done, Nehemiah, (the Governor of Judea), appointed 2 men as basically Mayor and President of the City Counsel of Jerusalem.
Leadership in the Kingdom is a constant passing of the baton and disseminating of authority. It is not a continual gathering and consolidating of power and authority. If you see that, I don’t think you’re looking at the Kingdom of God but at the kingdom of this world; even if it has a cross on the sign and a steeple on the roof.
Nehemiah knew when his role needed to change. He stepped in and led with a very strong hand during a 52-day crisis. After that, he did not seek to retain that control even though he was doing a good job and the people trusted him.
He hadn’t wrapped his whole identity up in being in control of Jerusalem. He knew he had other tasks to address. He was appointed Governor of Judea. So he passed the baton of city leadership and let others use their abilities.
To whom are you passing the baton? Are you working yourself out of a job?
Nehemiah appointed his brother Hanani and a man named Hananiah who demonstrated faithful, god-fearing character.
I’ve often told people who audition to serve on the worship team that I can help them develop their musical skills if they are willing to learn. But I’m not the Holy Spirit. I cannot develop character. That has to already be there.
I think one of the keys to passing the baton is to “not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think,” (Rom. 12:3). It’s hard to let go and step aside if you think you’re the only person who can do the job right.
Don’t Open The Gates To The Darkness
Gates are access points. Entrances. Nehemiah ordered that the gates be shut at dusk and not opened until well after dawn. Our 5 senses and our minds are gates. Guard them well. Don’t open yourself up when it’s dark. Wait til it’s light.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23 ESV
Ezra’s Record
The Lord needs people who are detail-oriented. The bean-counters, the organizers, the list and spreadsheet-makers.
When God prompted Nehemiah to assemble the people he already had an “attendance sheet” made by Ezra. (Compare Nehemiah 7:6-60 to Ezra 2). If you are a data-person and believe strongly in details, that’s a feature, not a bug. The LORD hath need of thee.
Serious About Obedience
There was a group of people who had come to Jerusalem (at some point) from the five Babylonian settlements named in verse 61. They claimed to be descendants of Jewish families but they couldn’t provide proof. Some of them claimed to be descendants of priests and were seeking to serve in the temple (and receive their share of tithes).
Remember how Ezra had dealt with the men who had married foreign women? The reason this is such a sensitive issue is Solomon.
“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites.”
1 Kings 11:1-5 NLT
Solomon was the one who started Israel down the path that ended in the nightmare that was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Captivity.
The text is referencing both Exodus 34:14-16 and Deuteronomy 7:3-4. Both of these are direct commands from Yahweh to NOT intermarry with surrounding nations lest the foreign spouses lead the families astray.
When it came to the ones claiming to be descended from priests, Nehemiah was more concerned about obeying the Word of God than “hurting their feelings.” If they couldn’t prove their ancestry, they weren’t going to be allowed to minister or receive the priestly portion.
“They searched for their names in the genealogical records, but they were not found, so they were disqualified from serving as priests. The governor told them not to eat the priests’ share of food from the sacrifices until a priest could consult the Lord about the matter by using the Urim and Thummim—the sacred lots.”
Nehemiah 7:64-65 NLT
[Incidentally, this is the last reference to the mysterious Urim & Thummim in the Bible.]
If born-again saints are a royal priesthood, then a NT application of Nehemiah’s action would be to not allow people to minister who are not verifiably part of the New Covenant priesthood (i.e. born again).
I suspect this is bigger problem than most Christians realize. Anyone can buy an ordination online these days. With a few forms, you could start your own church; with no particular doctrinal or character requirements. Mega-Churches sometimes hire unbelievers for the worship and production teams. There are literally people with the title of “pastor” in some congregations who do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God or that Jesus is the only Way of Salvation. And we don’t need urim and thummim to figure it out. The One Who determined the answers of the urim and thummim is meant to dwell within the believers. We now have the gift of discernment.
Paul cautioned Timothy not to be hasty in appointing people to leadership in the local church, (1 Tim. 5:22). He and the other Apostles frequently warned about phony teachers and “prophets” who were just looking for prestige and an easy paycheck. Those warnings still stand.
The very last line of Nehemiah 7:73 is probably better understood as the opening line of the next section of narrative, where Ezra reads the Law. There was no punctuation or chapters and verses in the original text.
It begins… “In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns…”
To The Reader 