THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF STUDYING THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH.
[THIS STUDY WE BEGIN AT CHAPTER 7]
Chapter 7 is mostly a record of accounts of who went back to Jerusalem during all three of the returns, or the census. (The 3 returns were under Zerubbabel 557 AD, Ezra 458 AD, and Nehemiah 444 AD) The first few verses we see Nehemiah's administration of hanging the gates and setting up the watch (security) for future success. The very last verse (73) of this chapter is so beautiful:
“So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities.”
The task was complete. The people were back in their land, living in their cities, without fear. Chapters 1-7 covered the building of the walls and the people getting into their positions. Below is a layout from Dr. Constable's notes over at www.soniclight.org, outlining Nehemiah's administration in the chapters leading up to this moment. What a great and simple process for us to learn from.
START BY SAYING “YES”
When Nehemiah planned and administrated his task, the task was not the only thing in mind. He saw futuristically how to keep the city safe after things were rebuilt. He had to have had the future security of the city in mind before he built. The goal was bigger than just rebuilding the walls. The goal was to ensure the success of them staying up. So he made a plan, carried it out, and then had a plan to keep the city safe after it was all said and done.
He possibly had to start the plans even though he didn't have all the pieces figured out in the first place. Nehemiah was clearly intelligent and had much figured out ahead of time but think about this: If the walls were torn down before, what means they wouldn't be torn down again? Did he use different wood? Different stones? Better mortar? I don't think so. I think that this is what happened.
I think that His "yes" to the task came first, and the future plan unfolded as the opposition came at him. I think that all the intensity he faced gave him the wisdom for setting up the system he gets in place by the end of chapter seven. Think about it. The night watchmen were not established until they were threatened. (verse 4:9)
Look at this outline of what he went through and see what happened that dictated the establishment of the day & night watch:
THINK AHEAD
The second thing that seems evident to me here is that when the Lord gives us something to do, we better have a plan to protect it after our role in it is completed. I'm telling you this from a lot of experience having "started" many things. My desire is that anything I start, especially for the Kingdom, doesn't die with me or fall apart when I leave or move on. If I start something in the name of the Lord, I would hope that I have raised up the support system to continue fostering its growth. Thats what Nehemiah is doing here. Looking to the future now that the main part of this task is completed, he is setting everyone in their places for the various positions that will be carried out throughout the generations to come.
Are you sometimes afraid to step into things because you don't have it all figured out yet? Is it o.k. to say "yes" when you don't know how it’s all gonna play out? Do you trust the Lord to work in the midst of the process? We sometimes refer to this as, "building the ship at sea", but it is more than that. It is believing that God will provide and filling in the gaps along the way.
Some of the most incredible moments in my life came about because the Lord put in my heart to go somewhere or do something, like dangles a carrot in front of me and I follow it. If I had seen the whole picture at the beginning, I may not have gone. But the Lord knows how to lead us. He knows how to get us where we need to be and adjust our posture. Our job is to say “yes” and trust the Lord will lead us in the process.