Esther 4:1-17 - Defending God’s People

Esther 4:1-17

Esther Agrees to Help the Jews

1 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 So Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king’s gate. 7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries to destroy the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. 9 So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” 12 So they told Mordecai Esther’s words.

13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.

Esther defended God’s people, laying down her life before the king unannounced as she opposed custom to address the plight of her people put at risk due to a law put in place deceitfully by the adversary.  She had found out from her cousin and guardian, Mordecai, about the plot of Haman who had the law passed and promised to give money to the kingdom treasury to have the Jews destroyed.  He was lamenting their imminent demise when she asked him why and discovered the plot.  He pleaded with Esther to approach the king to explain how the treacherous Haman had played the king to his own hateful ends, and she told him plainly that if she went without being summoned she would face the death penalty unless the king raised his royal scepter to allow the intrusion.  Would we approach our elected leaders to stand for the truth in defense of God’s people in Christ if such a law to legalize murder was plotted against us?  For Esther, she faced this problem with the reality that she herself would also be killed because she was one of the targeted ones.  The Jews might be saved from complete destruction by God using someone else to do what she might refuse to do, but she and her family would certainly die.  She had to see the bigger picture of God’s sovereign choice to put her, a hated Jew, in the place of a queen for such a time as this to make a difference for the kingdom of God and not just the earthly kingdom she was presently living in with her exiled countrymen.  She then determined in her heart to approach the king unannounced and open to the death penalty, only asking that all her people fast for three days before she did so, likely praying to the LORD as they did so, even if not explicitly spelled out here in these verses, for that was the way (2 Chronicles 20:3, Ezra 8:23) of her people to search out God’s will and intervening help.  The LORD God was not mentioned by name, but by explanation and inference He is forefront in His sovereignty by putting Esther in this place for a time like this.  Who knows when or with whom the Lord will place one of us in such a position by grace to influence the powers of the land for the good of His people, not for a political cause, but for the good of others in Christ to worship without fear of death by hate in such a time as this?  He truly works all things in history (Romans 8:28) for the good of those who know and love Him until He returns.  By faith we should therefore lay down our lives (John 10:15, 15:13, 1 John 3:16) for our own when we find ourselves faced with a time like this when put into a place to make a difference as tools of grace and mercy in His mighty hands. 

Esther 3:1-15 - Decree to Kill and Destroy God’s People

Esther 3:1-15

Haman’s Conspiracy Against the Jews

1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.

7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman to determine the day and the month, until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.”

10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.”

12 Then the king’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out, hastened by the king’s command; and the decree was proclaimed in Shushan the citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed.

We see the hate of the adversary whose aim is to kill and destroy (John 10:10) God’s people, to attempt to annihilate them, when we find he will be annihilated and destroyed in the everlasting lake of fiery torment (2 Peter 2:4, Matthew 13:40, 43, 25:41) prepared for him, the fallen angels who chose rebellion, and all others rejecting the hope of eternal life in the work and grace of Christ by faith.  The adversary moved Haman to deceive King Ahasuerus into signing a death warrant on all God’s people in this passage, and moves throughout history since God’s Son came to deceive and destroy His people until His return and sentencing of the destruction of all who rebel against the LORD.  Mordecai would not bow or pay homage to the evil Haman; instead, Haman in his pride and arrogant hatred of the LORD listened to the destroyer, just as Judas later would do for thirty pieces of silver in an attempt to stop the eternal welfare and deliverance (Revelation 12:9-10, 17) of God’s people.  Letters and laws may go against the people of the Lord for a time as we observe even now in the twenty-first century, but in the end we are delivered and the evil rebellious ones will suffer (Matthew 13:39-40, 41-42, 43, 2 Peter 2:17, Jude 1:6) according to their own devices instead.  The devil’s decree through the laws of the nations to kill and destroy God’s work and people will fail in the end and we will find peace and rest from these present pressing times of adversity (Matthew 24:9, John 16:33) set against us upon His return as promised, and we know that He who promised is eternally faithful.  We need not be perplexed as the Jews in this passage were when the adversary attempted to annihilate them.  We know it is because of the Word of God that we suffer until that Day of Final Judgment, and take heart in knowing the end of us all. 

Esther 2:1-23 - Honoring the King and Kingdom

Esther 2:1-23

Esther Becomes Queen

1 After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s servants who attended him said: “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king; 3 and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women’s quarters, under the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them. 4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”

This thing pleased the king, and he did so.

5 In Shushan the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. 6 Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

8 So it was, when the king’s command and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at Shushan the citadel, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women. 9 Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women.

10 Esther had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. 11 And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.

12 Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. 13 Thus prepared, each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name.

15 Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king.

Mordecai Discovers a Plot

19 When virgins were gathered together a second time, Mordecai sat within the king’s gate. 20 Now Esther had not revealed her family and her people, just as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as when she was brought up by him.

21 In those days, while Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 So the matter became known to Mordecai, who told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. 23 And when an inquiry was made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

When the king recovered from his anger at the betrayal and dishonor of his vanquished queen Vashti, he began to interview young woman, something like dating, to find one who pleased him and honored the position and kingdom to become queen instead of Vashti as he had promised to do.  Mordecai was an exiled Jew who had brought up Hadassah (Esther) his uncle’s daughter.  She was both a pleasant person and quite beautiful on the outside as well, and was gathered up by the king’s servants to be presented as a potential queen if pleasing to him and chosen to that place of honor by his side to rule in the role that Vashti had nearly destroyed by her ugly dishonor to her husband and her role.  Esther, the cousin and adopted daughter of Mordecai, of the tribe of Benjamin, was advised not to reveal she was Jewish because of both disdain for her people and for her status as a captive of the realm.  Mordecai was concerned for her and paced back and forth outside the women’s quarters where this beauty preparation was being performed that he might know if she would be the one.  Esther wisely took only the advice of the man in charge of the women’s preparations and it paid off handsomely.  The king loved Esther more than all the others, and she found grace and favor in his sight and in his heart, not just for her outward beauty, but of the hidden person (Proverbs 31:30-31, 1 Peter 3:3-4) of her heart in the LORD of her people.  The king threw a huge celebration while Mordecai overheard a plot to kill the king.  He told Esther who told the king in her cousin’s name and the conspirators were immediately hung when the case was proven to be true.  God used the position of Esther to relay the plot uncovered by Mordecai to bring them both honor in time because the LORD put them there in that kingdom where He had exiled His people to until their restoration in Jerusalem came to pass at last.  The Lord will sometimes do the same with us, putting us in circumstances and places (2 Corinthians 1:8, 9-10, 2 Peter 2:9) of grace to find favor in others to be enabled to bring the good news to others to reconcile and restore them as He foils the adversary’s plot to destroy God’s chosen people in Christ.  King Ahasuerus found his favored Queen who honored the LORD as we find the favored King who has honored His Farther and was honored by Him (Matthew 17:5, 2 Peter 1:17) in heaven and raised us up in His grace to reign with Him.  May we obediently honor the King and His Kingdom in God’s grace as Esther did, and not as Vashti who dishonored the king and the kingdom. 

Esther 1:1-22 - Banished Queen of Dishonoring Disobedience

Esther 1:1-22

The King Dethrones Queen Vashti

1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia), 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel, 3 that in the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and servants—the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him— 4 when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all.

5 And when these days were completed, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. 7 And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, according to the generosity of the king. 8 In accordance with the law, the drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had ordered all the officers of his household, that they should do according to each man’s pleasure.

9 Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.

13 Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times (for this was the king’s manner toward all who knew law and justice, 14 those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who had access to the king’s presence, and who ranked highest in the kingdom): 15 “What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?”

16 And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath. 19 If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small.”

21 And the reply pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. 22 Then he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its own script, and to every people in their own language, that each man should be master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own people.

King Ahasuerus was sitting on the throne of his kingdom in Shushan the citadel and threw an immense party, inviting all under his rule from India to Ethiopia, including also those of Media and Persia under his reign.  For one hundred and eighty days he displayed all the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty before all he invited to demonstrate his prosperity and theirs under him.  It escapes the imagination to visualize such a magnificent event and the importance of his image and reputation of absolute rule, so when he asked his queen to come join him in front of all these guests and she outrightly refused, choosing instead to remain at her own event with the women of the palace, he was outraged at her disobedience to honor her royal responsibilities and made him look powerless and foolish in front of all his citizens and servants.  He was stopped from showing her beauty to the people and the officials and dishonored the crown she wore.  The king consulted with the highest officials who understood the law of the kingdom and they acknowledged that she had severely wronged the king, all the princes, and all the people in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus represented there.  The royal example set by the queen’s behavior would become known to all women and they in turn would find it acceptable that they will despise their husbands as her bad example empowered them.  It would be anarchy in that type of society and cause anger and resentment among all the wives of the people from the princes to the paupers.  Therefore the advice of the wise legal minds was for the king to dethrone her and find a suitable substitute to replace her as queen of the realm before any more disruption occurred.  The edict was set in writing that could not be altered or rescinded, and the king decreed by proclamation throughout all the immense empire that all wives would honor their husbands, whether great and small in standing.  He sent the result to all the provinces in their own languages to keep their position of respect in their marriages and to go on speaking in their own tongues even though under the law of the land with its own language.  Queen Vashti was not heard from again for the near riot of disobedience and disrespect she had stirred up, but the king had stopped it from spreading and would eventually seek to replace her as we see later in this historical account.  Therefore the lesson we have seen from this is not to subjugate or control wives, but to have the roles of respect and honor upheld from both wife and husband to honor God (1 Peter 3:7) in the examples set to the world (Ephesians 5:33, Colossians 3:18-19, 1 Peter 3:1, 5-6) that is looking in at believers who seek to please the Lord and not themselves for control or to meet the expectations of society.  Mutual respect in the roles of marriage is God’s intent, not banishment or divorce for disobedience or dishonor. 

Nehemiah 13:15-31 - God, Remember Me for Good!

Nehemiah 13:15-31

15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. 16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

19 So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.

21 Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath. 22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.

Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!

23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.

25 So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. 27 Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?”

28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.

29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

30 Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, 31 and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times.

Remember me, O my God, for good!

Israel had not yet entered into the rest, true peace with God (Romans 5:1, Colossians 2:16-17), that was to be fulfilled Hebrews 3:18-19, 4:1, 3, 8-9, 10) in the Messiah known as Jesus Christ.  Therefore breaking the Sabbath by buying and selling was ignoring God’s work done for them and their ceremonial abstinence from their own work to bring that work of God for them into spiritual focus.  They guarded the gates at Ezra’s command to stop the works that distracted from the worship of the people as he prayed earnestly as their priest and leader in His great mercy for not dealing with it sooner.  He again addressed unequal yoking of pagan marriages to not draw the people into idolatry with a reminder to them all that this was what brought down the great Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-2, 4) into such sin.  Purity and soul devotion were the true lessons here, not mere keeping of rituals or denying them love in unbelieving women.  Ezra finally prayed for intercession on behalf of the priesthood and Levites who had forgotten these things and marred their covenant with the LORD as he cleansed them with God’s forgiveness.  He ended the book narrative with, “Remember me, O my God, for good!”  This is our motivation to keep ourselves pure (1 Timothy 5:22, 1 John 3:3) and exhort our brothers and sisters in Christ to find their rest in Christ (Hebrews 4:9, Revelation 14:13) alone as our Sabbath that we might also be remembered for good in the pursuit driving the direction of our lives to please God and trust His work to save us, not our own. 

Nehemiah 13:1-14 - Separation from Sin and Temptation

Nehemiah 13:1-14

Principles of Separation (Numbers 22:1—24:25)

1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God, 2 because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.

The Reforms of Nehemiah

4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah. 5 And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. 6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. 9 Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

10 I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. 11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!

Upon reading the scriptures, when they had heard the Law, they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel who were snares and temptations (Exodus 23:32-33, Joshua 23:11-12, 13) to the pure worship of God, a picture of the later command for those in Christ to avoid being unequally yoked in marriage (2 Corinthians 6:14-15, 16, 7:1) to unbelievers.  These examples both point to purity in devotion of worship in covenant promise relationships by not allowing the idolatry and immorality of the world to taint the holiness of God among His people, that we might offer unadulterated worship to Him alone as the first moral commandment (Exodus 20:3-4, 34:14-15, 16) still tells us plainly.  Those in Ezra’s time heard God’s word and obeyed, even though it was difficult; we are told to avoid this now, but not to automatically end such mixed marriages (1 Corinthians 7:13-14, 15-16) as we show grace for the children and honor the marriage covenant as far as we are able in such an unbalanced union.  Ezra the priest also saw the house of God being used as private lodging and cleared out the one staying there, restoring it as a place of honor and worship to the LORD.  He made certain that the Levitical priests were paid for their services and restored the tithes to support the house of worship.  After all this, Ezra asked God to remember him for his own faithfulness in setting things right in the house of the LORD and not forget his good deeds to restore the services there to Him.  We in Christ are to minister as priests to our Lord (1 Peter 2:5, 9, Revelation 1:6, 5:10), especially those appointed in leadership, that the house of God is maintained in purity of service and worship (1 Corinthians 6:19), untainted by worldly pursuits and associations that pull individuals and the body as a whole away from Him in all the good we do for His name and the sake (1 Peter 4:14, 16-17, 19) of the gospel we bear witness to in word and deed.  We begin by separating from sin and temptation (James 1:12-13, 14-15, 21) by hearing and sincerely following the word of God in our devotions, reading, and hearing as we follow how we are to live, not as the society around us tells us what is acceptable or expected to fit in.  We walk by faith in living and showing grace in all these things.  We walk by faith in living and showing grace in all these things that demonstrate the pattern for Separation from Sin and Temptation without the harshness in demonstrated grace for purity in the love and worship due to our Lord.

Nehemiah 12:27-47 - Great Sacrifice and Joy Travels Far

Nehemiah 12:27-47

Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall

27 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. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem. 30 Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

31 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. 32 After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 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, 36 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. 37 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.

38 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, 39 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.

40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me; 41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director.

43 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.

Temple Responsibilities

44 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. 45 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. 46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 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. They also consecrated holy things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron.

When Nehemiah dedicated the completed wall of God’s city, he invited the Levites across the land to Jerusalem that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgiving and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps to praise the LORD loudly that all might hear and join in the celebration.  Because God moved them to such joyful exuberance as they offered sacrifices with praise and accompanying orchestra expressing their hearts, that joy was heard far away by those living around them, both believing Jew and unbelieving people alike.  It was a testimony of grace and thanksgiving for all God is and had done.  It should be the same with believers today, that we joyfully worship with the sacrifices (Romans 12:1) of ourselves as we consecrate our hearts, minds, and bodies to serve Him as priests who are building not a wall around a physical temple, but the house of God (1 Peter 2:4-5, 1 Timothy 3:15) being made of individual stones of grace made by God together into the unseen church not made (Acts 17:24, 2 Corinthians 5:1) with hands.  How much more then should we rejoice in God’s work in constructing His house as we participate in the building through ministering the gospel to those inside and outside these walls, near and far, that all may hear the true joy of our hearts in His salvation as a testament of God’s good grace in His Son who sacrificed Himself as our Passover Lamb to take away our sins inherited from our forefather Adam and continued in the corrupted hearts we all carry with us day to day?  He sacrificed Himself on the tree of our curse under sin (Galatians 3:13) that we might receive Him (John 1:12) and His work for us to earn our right to be His children (Galatians 3:14) solely by His good grace of forgiveness and reconciliation by turning our lives from continuing in sin to receiving Him as we trust the work He did and who He is.  Great sacrifice and joy travels far and wide; let the joy of our salvation ring out for all to hear as we live for Him (Romans 12:2) as living sacrifices at work in building God’s house to live and worship in! 

Nehemiah 12:1-26 - Priests Praise and Give Thanks

Nehemiah 12:1-26

The Priests and Levites (cf. Ezra 2:36–40)

1 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.

These were the heads of the priests and their brethren in the days of Jeshua.

8 Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who led the thanksgiving psalms, he and his brethren. 9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood across from them in their duties.

10 Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada, 11 Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua.

12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of the fathers’ houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; the son of Minjamin; of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

22 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. 23 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.

24 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. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates. 26 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.

The priests and Levites are focused on here in the time of the Judean governor Nehemiah and Ezra the scribe who was also a priest.  The Levitical priests specially set aside by God for His service were to regularly praise and give thanks to the LORD in worship with the leaders of the priests specifically recorded here from the chronicles.  We who are now in Christ do not have only certain individuals of a certain lineage or calling to be named as priests to our God.  We find in Revelation 1:6, 5:10, 20:6 that all who are called into our Lord are priests meant to serve and give thanks with our praises (1 Peter 2:5, 9) to the Father and Son in the power of the Holy Spirit living in us now.  We serve and praise Him because the Father sent His Son to sacrifice Himself in our place for our sin and minister over that sacrifice as our High Priest to bring praise and honor to the Father.  As we then imitate Christ, we also fulfill our calling to minister the gospel to one another in His sacrifice and our own lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) in that same pattern of priests and sacrifices which no man can do for us as some attempt to make us believe.  As ministers of His grace we serve as priests to rule with Him (2 Timothy 2:12) and give joyful thanks with never-ending praises in all we sacrifice to serve our great God and Savior (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1), Jesus the Christ, who alone intercedes (Romans 8:26-27, 34, Hebrews 7:25, 1 Timothy 2:5) for us.  Our lineage and authority to be priests comes from being in Christ alone and not by the hand of any man or earthly inheritance, obtained by receiving the Lord under His authority and spiritual lineage, and therefore our identity as priests to our God is absolute according to His decree as His servants and (Romans 11:29, Galatians 3:15, Hebrews 6:17-18) is irrevocable.  Like those gone before us in the time of Ezra, we who are in Christ are priests who praise and give thanks for our salvation and minister the gospel to others to the praise and glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14, 1 Peter 1:7-8) of God. 

Nehemiah 11:1-36 - Desire to Live in the City of God

Nehemiah 11:1-36

The People Dwelling in Jerusalem

1 Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities. 2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.

3 These are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (But in the cities of Judah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities—Israelites, priests, Levites, Nethinim, and descendants of Solomon’s servants.) 4 Also in Jerusalem dwelt some of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin.

The children of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the children of Perez; 5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. 6 All the sons of Perez who dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.

7 And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah; 8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. 9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.

10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, and Jachin; 11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the leader of the house of God. 12 Their brethren who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, 13 and his brethren, heads of the fathers’ houses, were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty-eight. Their overseer was Zabdiel the son of one of the great men.

15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the heads of the Levites, had the oversight of the business outside of the house of God; 17 Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the leader who began the thanksgiving with prayer; Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.

19 Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates, were one hundred and seventy-two.

20 And the rest of Israel, of the priests and Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance. 21 But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel. And Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim.

22 Also the overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha, of the sons of Asaph, the singers in charge of the service of the house of God. 23 For it was the king’s command concerning them that a certain portion should be for the singers, a quota day by day. 24 Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was the king’s deputy in all matters concerning the people.

The People Dwelling Outside Jerusalem

25 And as for the villages with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in Kirjath Arba and its villages, Dibon and its villages, Jekabzeel and its villages; 26 in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet, 27 Hazar Shual, and Beersheba and its villages; 28 in Ziklag and Meconah and its villages; 29 in En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; in Azekah and its villages. They dwelt from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.

31 Also the children of Benjamin from Geba dwelt in Michmash, Aija, and Bethel, and their villages; 32 in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah; 33 in Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim; 34 in Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat; 35 in Lod, Ono, and the Valley of Craftsmen. 36 Some of the Judean divisions of Levites were in Benjamin.

The desire to live in the city of God drove the people to cast lots to determine who would enter in; only one out of ten were able to dwell in Jerusalem, and this was the only fair way to determine this.  The leaders were exempt from this lottery because they all had to live there to lead the people of the LORD from where they met Him in the house of God, the rebuilt temple in the manner of Solomon’s that was destroyed seventy years earlier and the nation was largely taken captive in Babylonian exile.  The various people who were chosen to live there are described here, and the priests and Levites who were given their inheritance outside the gates surrounding the city are mentioned, as well as all the others in surrounding towns of Judah spelled out in this passage.  The desire for us to live in the new Jerusalem as the celestial city of God (Revelation 3:12) when He sets up His house among us (Revelation 21:1) does not require us to cast lots to win the lottery for the prize of being in His presence there; we are chosen by Him in the willful choice He has already made (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 17:14) for we who are His chosen and called ones to spend eternity there in the walls of the kingdom come as His will is done on earth as in heaven.  May our desire be to live in the city of God as we live for that now (Romans 8:19, 23, 2 Peter 3:12-13, Hebrews 13:14, Philippians 3:20) with eager anticipation to be in His presence as chosen by Him to worship Him face to face forevermore in this city He is building even now (1 Peter 2:4-5) using our hands to honor the Lord who rescued us from the darkness of His wrath on our sin that once bound us as exiles from the kingdom.