Priests and Levites Priests Accounted for Our Hope

 Nehemiah 12:1-26

   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.

Here we find the Priests and Levites named according to their families, the ones who came out of captivity to Jerusalem from the diaspora in Babylon and the greater Persian empire.  They came with Ezra and Zerubbabel, who is mentioned in the physical lineage of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ (Matthew 1:12, 17).  This return to the holy city of David is itself in the prophetic promise to King David that he would have an eternal throne in the Messiah, the Christ, would come though these descendants.  It is no accident that Zerubbabel is mentioned by name here, as God left a trail of human breadcrumbs through history for us to follow His sovereign predetermined plan of salvation, of deliverance from sin’s consequences and eternal penalty of spiritual death in eternal suffering.  This is grace in the making.  That is why the LORD was meticulous in naming each individual and family generation throughout scripture, and the book of Nehemiah is no exception.  This passage even tells us of the process of recording these things in verse 22, where a record was kept of the Levites and priests, as well as the sons of Levi in the book of Chronicles, another record of names and lineages on the way from the bigger picture of Adam to David to the Christ, Jesus.  These were written down in the time of Nehemiah the governor of Jerusalem, and of Ezra the priest and scribe.  How good God is to capture His eternal working in His word for us that we may have certainty in our hope, and not endless and untrustworthy fables without substance to rely on (Titus 1:14, 1 Timothy 1:3-4, 2 Peter 1:16)!  We do not trust in nor follow Jewish traditions and writings of rabbis, but of the true and divine rabbi, Jesus Christ our Lord.  He is God’s Word, and is to be trusted over all others as it is written in the scriptures for our certainty and hope, just as these were named and listed that we may know and believe in true hope (1 John 5:13).  This is the genealogical breadcrumb trail through history of God’s working to bring the Christ, the Messiah, into the world.