Together to Make an Oath – Nehemiah 10 & 11

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #148 and today we’ll read Nehemiah chapters 10&11 together.   The wall at Jerusalem is complete.  And now the priests, the Levites, gatekeepers, singers and the rest of the people, come together to make an oath to their God.  

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Nehemiah Chapter 10

Those whose seals were on the document were

the governor Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,

Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.

These were the priests.

The Levites were

Jeshua son of Azaniah,

Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

and their brothers

Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

The heads of the people were

Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,

Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

The rest of the people — the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God —  join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the Lord our Lord.

Details of the Vow

We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.

When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt.

We will impose the following commands on ourselves:

To give an eighth of an ounce of silver yearly for the service of the house of our God: the bread displayed before the Lord, the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God’s house to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law.

Firstfruits

We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year. We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God’s house. We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and fresh oil. A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.

A priest from Aaron’s descendants is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and fresh oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.

Nehemiah Chapter 11

Resettling Jerusalem

Now the leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots for one out of ten to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine-tenths remained in their towns. The people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns — the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants —  while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem):

Judah’s descendants:

Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of Perez’s descendants; and Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a descendant of the Shilonite. The total number of Perez’s descendants, who settled in Jerusalem, was 468 capable men.

These were Benjamin’s descendants:

Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, and after him Gabbai and Sallai: 928. Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.

The Priests and Levites

The priests:

Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jachin, and Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief official of God’s temple, and their relatives who did the work at the temple: 822. Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah and his relatives, the heads of families: 242. Amashsai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, and their relatives, capable men: 128. Zabdiel son of Haggedolim, was their chief.

The Levites:

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni; and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the heads of the Levites, who supervised the work outside the house of God; Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, the one who began the thanksgiving in prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his relatives; and Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. All the Levites in the holy city: 284.

The gatekeepers:

Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives, who guarded the city gates: 172.

The rest of Israel, the priests, and the Levites were in all the villages of Judah, each on his own inherited property. The temple servants lived on Ophel; Ziha and Gishpa supervised the temple servants.

The Settlements

The leader of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the descendants of Asaph, who were singers for the service of God’s house. There was, in fact, a command of the king regarding them, and an ordinance regulating the singers’ daily tasks. Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah, was the king’s agent in every matter concerning the people.

As for the farming settlements with their fields:

Some of Judah’s descendants lived in Kiriath-arba

and Dibon and their surrounding villages, and Jekabzeel and its settlements;

in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet,

Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba and its surrounding villages;

in Ziklag and Meconah and its surrounding villages;

in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, and

Zanoah and Adullam with their settlements;

in Lachish with its fields and Azekah and its surrounding villages.

So they settled from Beer-sheba to Hinnom Valley.

Benjamin’s descendants:

from Geba, Michmash, Aija,

and Bethel and its surrounding villages,

Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,

Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,

Lod, and Ono, in Craftsmen’s Valley.

Some of the Judean divisions of Levites were in Benjamin.

Close

These returning Jews are not taking any chances, crossing all the t’s and dotting all the i’s.  They listen as the Law is read and they are making a serious oath to God to follow His statutes and His ways.  For generations, the Israelites had turned their backs on God, and He finally made good on His promise that if they did that, He too would turn His back on them.  The result, as we know, was seventy years of captivity…not something the exiles wanted to repeat.  They seem to be operating under a true sense of joy; grateful that they are back in their homeland.  I hope it lasts.  

We’ll finish the final two chapters of Nehemiah tomorrow.  Another one down!  Share your thoughts with me at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.