Neh 11:22 | KingComments | STEP | Those who settle in the city are remembered by God. Psalm 87 shows what God thinks of Jerusalem. That should be enough. Most of the names are forgotten by us as soon as we have read them. But for God this list is valuable, as are the other lists of names in the post-exile books. Before the judgment seat of Christ, their names will be mentioned again. Then these volunteers of heart will notice how good their choice was to accept the loss in this world in order to be able to take better care of the city of God’s choice. Some details in this section: The work outside the house of God – Those “who were in charge of the outside work of the house of God” are engaged in things that are not done directly in the house of God, but which are necessary for the orderly progress of the activities in the house of God. The activities that take place in the house of God are directly related to approaching God to honor Him. There are also activities that do not have that direct purpose, but that contribute to that purpose. Perhaps we can apply this to “serve the tables” – that is, administering and distributing collected money from the believers – in addition to devoting “to prayer and to the ministry of the word” ( ). Believers who are supported by this will honor God in His house. One can also think of sexton service. A sexton ensures that the outer circumstances are such that the service is possible. It can also relate to the spiritual repair of defects on the outside of the house of God. We can think of the behavior of believers in the world who need correction. It is a blessing if such believers are reminded of this. In a sense this can be understood as a “work outside the house of God”. In the same way, evangelization takes place in the world, outside the church, but is connected with it. Beginning the thanksgiving at prayer – Prayer begins with praise. If we want to make our needs known to God – and He invites us sincerely to do so – it is important that we first thank Him for all the benefits He has already given us. Living in the cities – Living in the cities is not of a lesser order, but of a different order, than living in Jerusalem. Everything has its place under the rule of God. Motives come to light, but God can direct everything so that it corresponds to His purpose. All those who do not dwell in Jerusalem go to their own inheritance. Concern for the singers – The pagan authority, the king of Persia, is even mentioned in connection with the house of God. Those who are to be maintained by the people who give the tithes are now dependent on the rulers. Probably the people have failed in bringing the tithes, or the people are too few in number, so that few tithes are brought. God has made the pagan ruler’s heart favorable, in order to provide for the possible negligence of his people. This concerns the care of the singers who may have been forgotten by the people, but not by God. He cares for them through the head of the nations. If all the people forget the singers, God knows other ways to achieve that the singers can do their work. The temple service is not only a sacrificial service, but also a singing service. Because of the sacrifice it is possible to sing. Only those who know the sacrifice and live from the sacrifice can sing. Accompanying the worship service by means of hymns of praise and spiritual songs is the privilege of every member of God’s people today. If there is little praise, because the people of God do not give substance to it, there are always other reasons to sing praise to God. The king’s representative – Pethahiah, from the lineage of Judah, is a royal agent who brings the Jewish affairs before the king of Persia and informs the Jews about the king’s wishes and orders. In this he is a picture of the Lord Jesus as the Advocate for His own with the Father and the Apostle on behalf of God with His own.

‏ Nehemiah 11:22

Those Who Went to Live in Jerusalem

Those who settle in the city are remembered by God. Psalm 87 shows what God thinks of Jerusalem. That should be enough. Most of the names are forgotten by us as soon as we have read them. But for God this list is valuable, as are the other lists of names in the post-exile books. Before the judgment seat of Christ, their names will be mentioned again. Then these volunteers of heart will notice how good their choice was to accept the loss in this world in order to be able to take better care of the city of God’s choice.

Some details in this section:

The work outside the house of God – Neh 11:16

Those “who were in charge of the outside work of the house of God” are engaged in things that are not done directly in the house of God, but which are necessary for the orderly progress of the activities in the house of God. The activities that take place in the house of God are directly related to approaching God to honor Him. There are also activities that do not have that direct purpose, but that contribute to that purpose.

Perhaps we can apply this to “serve the tables” – that is, administering and distributing collected money from the believers – in addition to devoting “to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2-4). Believers who are supported by this will honor God in His house. One can also think of sexton service. A sexton ensures that the outer circumstances are such that the service is possible.

It can also relate to the spiritual repair of defects on the outside of the house of God. We can think of the behavior of believers in the world who need correction. It is a blessing if such believers are reminded of this. In a sense this can be understood as a “work outside the house of God”. In the same way, evangelization takes place in the world, outside the church, but is connected with it.

Beginning the thanksgiving at prayer – Neh 11:17

Prayer begins with praise. If we want to make our needs known to God – and He invites us sincerely to do so – it is important that we first thank Him for all the benefits He has already given us.

Living in the cities – Neh 11:20

Living in the cities is not of a lesser order, but of a different order, than living in Jerusalem. Everything has its place under the rule of God. Motives come to light, but God can direct everything so that it corresponds to His purpose. All those who do not dwell in Jerusalem go to their own inheritance.

Concern for the singers – Neh 11:23

The pagan authority, the king of Persia, is even mentioned in connection with the house of God. Those who are to be maintained by the people who give the tithes are now dependent on the rulers. Probably the people have failed in bringing the tithes, or the people are too few in number, so that few tithes are brought. God has made the pagan ruler’s heart favorable, in order to provide for the possible negligence of his people.

This concerns the care of the singers who may have been forgotten by the people, but not by God. He cares for them through the head of the nations. If all the people forget the singers, God knows other ways to achieve that the singers can do their work.

The temple service is not only a sacrificial service, but also a singing service. Because of the sacrifice it is possible to sing. Only those who know the sacrifice and live from the sacrifice can sing. Accompanying the worship service by means of hymns of praise and spiritual songs is the privilege of every member of God’s people today. If there is little praise, because the people of God do not give substance to it, there are always other reasons to sing praise to God.

The king’s representative – Neh 11:24

Pethahiah, from the lineage of Judah, is a royal agent who brings the Jewish affairs before the king of Persia and informs the Jews about the king’s wishes and orders. In this he is a picture of the Lord Jesus as the Advocate for His own with the Father and the Apostle on behalf of God with His own.