Obeying God's
Covenant
Book of Nehemiah
Chapter 12
A "covenant"
is an agreement between two parties.
A covenant is used
in many ways in the Scriptures, but we must know that God has made a
covenant with all mankind.
God has not only has
made a covenant with all mankind, He is also the true witness to all
covenants that we make with each other.
Even the marriage
between one man and one woman is a covenant witnessed by God!
What was a part of
God's covenant with Abraham?
Lev 26:42 Then will
I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac,
and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will
remember the land.
Lev 26:43 The land
also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she
lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment
of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments,
and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
Lev 26:44 And yet
for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not
cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly,
and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Lev 26:45 But I
will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I
brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen,
that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
God will never
forget the covenants He has made!!!!
Deu 4:31 (For the
LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither
destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware
unto them.
The covenant that
effects the church the most is, the Covenant of God's Son the Lord
Jesus Christ!
Heb 8:6 But now
hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is
the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better
promises.
So let's continue in
the Book of Nehemiah:
*****Neh 12:27 And
at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites
out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the
dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing,
with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
These Levites were
not in Jerusalem nor were they in Persia, they had returned to their
cities that had been assigned to them from the time of Joshua.
We must know that
God has intended all along for Jerusalem to be the most holy city in
all the world, but that will not take place until the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Even so, the wall
was built according to the plan of God, and it should be dedicated to
Jehovah God who had blessed its reconstruction!
When we see the
things that only God could have accomplished, we are foolish to not
praise Him for those things, also knowing, there are many things that
we do not recognize that God has accomplished, according to His plan,
that moves ahead every day.
The Levites had been
set apart for the priestly duties, including the work of the Temple,
including the handling of sacrifices, but also arranging for the
things of worship.
Remember the
Nethinins were responsible for the care of the Temple.
It was also the
Levites job to purify all the instruments of worship, including the
musical instruments and by singing praises to the Lord.
The Levites were a
gift of God to the Hebrew people and they still are today!
We must always
understand that the city of Jerusalem is a special place set aside
for the use of God!
The world could help
to make this happen now instead of rejecting the plan of God or God
has already said He will solve this problem Himself!
All those who claim
the Lord Jesus Christ, should know all these things!
We as Christians
must be dedicated to the Lord. This is the act of consecration,
setting apart ourselves for the Lord.
*****Neh 12:28 And
the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the
plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of
Netophathi;
Neh 12:29 Also from
the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for
the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.
Netophathi was the
home city set aside for the Levites, but these particular Levites
were singers.
Most of the singers
for the worship in the Temple lived there, but some did also live in
what is called the plain country, round and about Jerusalem.
That word plain is
where the term Palestine comes from!
Although the Temple,
the City of Jerusalem and homes were already dedicated to the Lord,
this may be the first time that the walls of Jerusalem were dedicated
to the Lord God Jehovah.
We might understand
by this act of dedication, that the walls of Jerusalem were useless
without the strength of God to protect them from His and our enemies.
The wall we build
around ourselves, is the wall of salvation, and this wall is
protected by the Divine Will of God, if we have dedicated ourselves
to the will of God!
We need this wall of
salvation, because within our house (our soul) dwells the Holy Spirit
(Ghost) of God!
How did these
Levites purify themselves?
Num 8:7 And thus
shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying
upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash
their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
*****Neh 12:30 And
the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the
people, and the gates, and the wall.
Notice that all
these things were meaningless, unless they were purified!
We must understand
to be purified, is to put away all false gods and the idols of this
world, and give ourselves to the Lord.
We must repent of
our evil ways and walk in the ways of the Lord!
We cannot do this
unless we have accepted the work of Jesus Christ to save us and the
truth of our Creator!
We cannot be used of
God to reach others, until we our saved and separated from this world
of sin, pure in mind, (the mind of Christ), and sincere in the work
the Lord has given us to do!
Why was the wall
purified, because it was in fact a "type" of the power of
God to defend Israel.
We must remember
Solomon's Temple, the city of Jerusalem, and these walls would never
have been broken down had the previous generation been obedient to
Jehovah.
It was disobedience
to the Word of God that had caused all the problems of the nation buy
God will never forsake the nation of Israel.
2Ch 36:14 Moreover
all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much
after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of
the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
2Ch 36:15 And the
LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up
betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on
his dwelling place:
2Ch 36:16 But they
mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his
prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till
there was no remedy.
2Ch 36:17 Therefore
he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young
men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no
compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for
age: he gave them all into his hand.
With all these
things now in the past, it was now time to look forward.
The Temple was
rebuilt, the City of Jerusalem was rebuilt, the Walls of Jerusalem
were rebuilt, and it was time to rededicate these things to the God
who had allowed these things to happen.
*****Neh 12:31 Then
I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two
great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the
right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:
Neh 12:32 And after
them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah,
Neh 12:33 And
Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
Neh 12:34 Judah,
and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
Nehemiah brought the
princes up on the wall because they were the descendants of the royal
family of King David, but they were not the government at this time
because Nehemiah was the governor assigned by King Artaxerses.
It was important
that all the people see that the royal family were in agreement with
these things Nehemiah had set his heart to accomplish.
The one thing the
people needed to see, was that this wall that had been built so
quickly was a sound wall and able to protect them and it was truly a
work of God.
The walls of
Jerusalem were wide enough for many people to walk upon.
We should remember,
that the Dung Gate would show all of them the place where the filth
of the city could be seen.
One half of these
groups of princes would be led by Hoshaiah which means (Jah has
saved), who we know nothing more about.
Azariah could
possibly be the leading prince of the tribe of Benjamin.
We already know that
Ezra was a descendant of the High Priestly family and a scribe of the
Word of God.
This Meshullam, was
also one of the chief men of the tribe of Benjamin.
Judah was a man who
Nehemiah had made to be over one half of the city of Jerusalem.
This Benjamin was
one who had to give up his Gentile wife, and a high-ranking man of
the tribe of Benjamin.
This Shemaiah was
one who was the head over certain of the priests.
This Jeremiah was
also over certain of the priests.
This group on the
wall had the princes from the royal line of King David, the two men
assigned by Nehemiah to be in charge, each over one half of
Jerusalem, the princes of the tribe of Judah, the princes of the
tribe of Benjamin. and the heads of all the Levites and the priests.
If these people were
convinced that the walls were safe and part of the dedication
ceremony, then they could encourage all the other Jews, who we can be
sure were watching as these men made their trip around the Walls of
Jerusalem.
Since this was a
joyous occasion, then there was a need for music.
*****Neh 12:35 And
certain of the priests' sons with trumpets; namely, 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:
Neh 12:36 And his
brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel,
and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of
God, and Ezra the scribe before them.
We know that Asaph
had been appointed by King David, to be over all the music of the
worship services and even in the time of Nehemiah, this family still
provided the music for worship and at this dedication of the walls of
Jerusalem.
We should understand
that in typology, these walls represented the Divine protection of
God.
Psa_5:12 For thou,
LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as
with a shield.
This Zechariah was
the descendant of Asaph, and all these others were part of that
family.
Those musical
instruments would include:
The harp or better
known as the lyre.
The psaltry another
type of harp.
The sackbut another
type of harp that had only 4 strings.
The lute which was a
type of guitar.
The gittith another
type of string instrument.
The timbrel a form
of tamborine.
The toph which is a
drum.
There would be
bells.
There would be
cymbals.
And of course there
would be trumpets of different types, possibly including bagpipes.
We can see that it
was an orchestra that was upon that wall this day of dedication.
Music should always
be a part of our own dedication to the Lord!
It was Ezra, the
Priest and Scribe, who led this group of musicians.
This group climb
onto the wall at the house of David.
*****Neh 12:37 And
at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by
the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above
the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
We know that
Jerusalem is built upon a hill with the Temple upon a hill of Mount
Moriah, so certainly there would be many steps in the city.
By dedicating the
walls of Jerusalem in such a manner, Nehemiah was hoping that the
people would be encouraged to complete the reconstruction of the City
of Jerusalem.
The city of
Jerusalem was under the control of Persia for more than 200 years and
then about another 150 years, a part of the Greek empire.
Then came Herod and
the Roman Empire.
It will be the Lord,
when He returns, who will build the city of Jerusalem to His
specifications, and then about 1000 years later or a bit more we that
love the Lord will see the New Jerusalem.
In this world it
seems all we see is destruction and rebuilding then rebuilding walls
for protection.
It amazes me, that
many of the well to do, will build walls around their own homes, but
deny that we need walls to secure our nation.
They will have armed
guards, but try to deny all other the right to defend their homes and
families.
They will confine
others to limited health care, while they legislate themselves a
total free healthcare system.
They will confine
many to small wages, while they insist on grand monies while they
work and a grand retirement.
We do not live free
as our forefathers planned, we are ruled by reprobates who reject the
Word of God, and seek only power and prestige.
Shame on us for
allowing this to happen in our nation!
The other half of
this company after giving thanks to the Lord God Jehovah, went in the
opposite direction.
*****Neh 12:38 And
the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them,
and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from
beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;
Neh 12:39 And from
above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish
gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the
sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.
We have Nehemiah who
represented the Government of Israel, and Ezra representing God's
people, speaking in one voice this day in Israel.
These people
realized what could happen when they all worked together and
according to the Word of God.
When we have been
thru the valley of contention and made it to the crest of truth
again, we should take a moment to look back where we came from and
how the power of God had brought us again to the hill top.
We need to remove
all negativity from our minds, and just trust the Lord to lead us.
Look back and see
how history could have been changed, had the tiny nation of Israel
remained true to the Word of God.
We could also say
the same thing for our own nation!
One day we will live
in a world where no one will be against the Word of God, and it will
be a perfect world!
There will be no
fish gate, and certainly no prison gate, no sheep gate and no old
gate.
They will all be
gates of pearl!
Rev 21:21 And the
twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl:
and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass.
In the New Jerusalem
there be 12 foundations and each name had inscribed with the names of
the 12 Apostles.
Those 12 men who
obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ, and did cause the Gospel to begin its
trip to all the world!
*****Neh 12:40 So
stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God,
and I, and the half of the rulers with me:
Neh 12:41 And the
priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah,
and Hananiah, with trumpets;
Neh 12:42 And
Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and
Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with
Jezrahiah their overseer.
What do we know? We
know that the work that God has given us to do is not druggery. It is
a very satisfying thing to lead someone to the Lord.
It is a joyous thing
to spread the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know that God
wants all things done decently and in order.
What do all
evolutionist miss along with most people of this world? They miss the
fact that every living creature, every landscape, and every plant,
every solar system and every process in God's Creation are done
decently and in order.
The truth of our
universe is that it is orderly going about what God intended it to
do.
The only thing where
problems come is mankind!
These two groups in
one voice gave thanks to God, not because they had returned to the
Promised Land, but because they knew the Word of God was true and it
will always be true!
God will fulfill
every promise He has ever made to the Church and to the nation of
Israel and its people.
We can open the Word
of God and see a loving God who will do exactly what He says He will
do.
Some will say that a
loving God would never send anyone to Hell, but they have not
understood the Word of God which teaches us how to avoid Hell, so if
we end up in Hell then the blame is entirely on ourselves!
To be a Christian is
a serious thing, because our goal is to be like Jesus Christ. He is
our example and He teaches us, we cannot be perfect while we remain
on this earth. This is still or goal and it is a happy and peaceful
thing to accomplish.
There is still time
for all the things concerning mankind to be accomplished!
Ecc_3:1 To every
thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven:
This time grows
shorter each day and God does not do things on our schedule but only
on His schedule and His schedule will never change.
We can rejoice in
the Lord and in our salvation, or we can give up on the Lord and be
failures as Christians.
We see the failures
of Christians in our nation every day. There are enough Christian in
our nation to put good and righteous people in our government, but we
sit at home and refuse to vote!
Either way, God's
plan moves along at His pace and we know the Lord will return when we
lease expect it, and He will still be right on time no matter what is
going on in this world.
Are we in a severe
climate change? The Lord promised we would have the four seasons
until He returns.
Will this world end
drastically? The Church will be in Heaven well before this thing
could ever take place!
God says to quit
worrying about these things, and get busy serving the Lord.
Then stand upon your
own personal wall, and give God the praise and worship that we should
give Him every day!
Amen
Let's Pray!
