Steve Webb: No truer words were ever said.
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from
Riverside, California. Podcasting since 2004, my name
is Steve Webb. I'm your OG Godcaster. It's History Tuesday
and our reading today will complete the book of Nehemiah
with chapters 10 through 13. And by the way, this episode was
pre-recorded this past Saturday, September 9, 2023, since the
surgery I mentioned a few days ago is scheduled for tomorrow.
The next two episodes will also be pre-recorded since I'm not
sure if I'll be able to record right away after the surgery.
It'll be a laparoscopic procedure, so less invasive than
a traditional surgery with an incision, but they have
prescribed some pretty heavy painkillers for me, so I'm not
really sure what to expect. Thus, the extra pre-recorded
episodes. And tomorrow is Wednesday which is normally a
praise and prayer request day, but under the circumstances, our
next prayer request day will be this coming Sunday. And that's
enough of that. The website is lifespringmedia.com and I'll
have contact information at the end of today's show. Before we
read, let's pray. Our heavenly Father, we love you and we thank
you for our time together today. I pray that you would bless this
time and that you would teach us. We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Okay, let's begin.
Nehemiah, chapter 10. These are the men who sealed the
agreement: Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah.
Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah,
Malkijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth,
Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah,
Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These are the priests.
These are the Levites who sealed it: Jeshua son of Azaniah,
Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, and their fellow
Levites: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Mica,
Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah,
Bani, and Beninu. These are the leaders of the people who sealed
the agreement: 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, Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
Malluch, Harim, and Baanah. The rest of the people took an oath.
They were the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple
servants, all those who separated themselves from
foreigners to keep the Teachings of God, and also their wives and
their sons and daughters who could understand. They joined
their fellow Israelites and their leading men in taking an
oath, which was tied to a curse in case they broke the oath.
They promised to follow the Teachings of God, which they had
been given through Moses the servant of God, and to obey all
the commands, rules, and laws of the Lord our God. They said: We
promise not to let our daughters marry foreigners nor to let our
sons marry their daughters. Foreigners may bring goods or
grain to sell on the Sabbath, but we will not buy on the
Sabbath or any holy day. Every seventh year we will not plant,
and that year we will forget all that people owe us. We will be
responsible for the commands to pay for the service of the
Temple of our God. We will give an eighth of an ounce of silver
each year. It is for the bread that is set out on the table;
the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; the offerings
on the Sabbaths, New Moon festivals, and special feasts;
the holy offerings; the offerings to remove the sins of
the Israelites so they will belong to God; and for the work
of the Temple of our God. We, the priests, the Levites, and
the people, have thrown lots to decide at what time of year each
family must bring wood to the Temple. The wood is for burning
on the altar of the Lord our God, and we will do this as it
is written in the Teachings. We also will bring the first fruits
from our crops and the first fruits of every tree to the
Temple each year. We will bring to the Temple our firstborn sons
and cattle and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, as it is
written in the Teachings. We will bring them to the priests
who are serving in the Temple. We will bring to the priests at
the storerooms of the Temple the first of our ground meal, our
offerings, the fruit from all our trees, and our new wine and
oil. And we will bring a tenth of our crops to the Levites, who
will collect these things in all the towns where we work. A
priest of Aaron’s family must be with the Levites when they
receive the tenth of the people’s crops. The Levites must
bring a tenth of all they receive to the Temple of our God
to put in the storerooms of the treasury. The people of Israel
and the Levites are to bring to the storerooms the gifts of
grain, new wine, and oil. That is where the utensils for the
Temple are kept and where the priests who are serving, the
gatekeepers, and singers stay. We will not ignore the Temple of
our God.
Nehemiah, chapter 11. Now the leaders of the Israelites moved
into the city of Jerusalem. The rest of the people used lots to
decide who else should move there with the leaders. They
chose a tenth of the people to live in Jerusalem, the holy
city. The rest of the people stayed in their own towns. The
people who stayed asked God to bless those who were willing to
move to Jerusalem. Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites,
servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants lived in the
various towns throughout Judah. These all lived on property they
owned in these towns. But the area leaders lived in Jerusalem.
And other people from the families of Judah and Benjamin
lived in Jerusalem. These are the descendants of Judah who
moved to Jerusalem: Athaiah son of Uzziah (the son of Zechariah,
who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Shephatiah, who
was the son of Mahalalel, who was a descendant of Perez) and
Maaseiah son of Baruch (the son of Col-Hozeh, who was the son of
Hazaiah, who was the son of Adaiah, who was the son of
Joiarib, who was the son of Zechariah, who was a descendant
of Shelah). The number of Perez’s descendants living in
Jerusalem was 468. All of them were brave men. These are the
descendants of Benjamin who moved into Jerusalem: Sallu son
of Meshullam (the son of Joed, who was the son of Pedaiah, who
was the son of Kolaiah, who was the son of Maaseiah, who was the
son of Ithiel, who was the son of Jeshaiah), and those who
followed Jeshaiah were Gabbai and Sallai. All together there
were 928 men. Joel son of Zicri was in charge of them. And Judah
son of Hassenuah was in charge of the Second District of the
city of Jerusalem. These are the priests who moved into
Jerusalem: Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jakin, and Seraiah son
of Hilkiah (the son of Meshullam, who was the son of
Zadok, who was the son of Meraioth, who was the son of
Ahitub), who was the supervisor in the Temple of God, and 822
men of their brothers that did the work for the Temple, and
Adaiah son of Jeroham (the son of Pelaliah, who was the son of
Amzi, who was the son of Zechariah, who was the son of
Pashhur, who was the son of Malkijah), and 242 men who were
Adaiah’s brothers (leaders of their families), Amashsai son of
Azarel (the son of Ahzai, who was the son of Meshillemoth, who
was the son of Immer), and 128 of Amashsai’s brothers. (These
men were brave soldiers. The officer over them was Zabdiel
son of Haggedolim.) These are the Levites who moved into
Jerusalem: Shemaiah son of Hasshub (the son of Azrikam, who
was the son of Hashabiah, who was the son of Bunni),
Shabbethai and Jozabad (two of the leaders of the Levites in
charge of the outside work of God’s Temple), Mattaniah (the
son of Mica, who was the son of Zabdi, who was the son of
Asaph), the director who led the people in singing songs of
praise and prayer, Bakbukiah (the second in charge over his
brothers), and Abda son of Shammua (the son of Galal, who
was the son of Jeduthun). So there were 284 Levites who moved
into Jerusalem, the holy city. These are the gatekeepers who
moved into Jerusalem: Akkub, Talmon, and 172 of their
brothers. They watched and guarded the gates of the city.
The other Israelites, and the other priests and Levites, lived
in all the towns of Judah. Everyone lived on the land that
their ancestors had owned. The Temple servants lived on the
hill of Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the Temple
servants. The officer over the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi.
Uzzi was the son of Bani (the son of Hashabiah, who was the
son of Mattaniah, who was the son of Mica). Uzzi was a
descendant of Asaph. Asaph’s descendants were the singers who
were responsible for the service in God’s Temple. The singers
obeyed orders from the king, which told them what to do from
day to day. Pethahiah son of Meshezabel told the people what
the king wanted done. (Meshezabel was one of the
descendants of Zerah. Zerah was Judah’s son.) The people of
Judah lived in these towns: In Kiriath Arba and the small towns
around it, in Dibon and the small towns around it, in
Jekabzeel and the small towns around it, and in Jeshua, in
Moladah, in Beth Pelet, in Hazar Shual, in Beersheba and the
small towns around it, and in Ziklag, in Meconah and the small
towns around it, and in En Rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth,
and in Zanoah and Adullam and the small towns around them, in
Lachish and the fields around it, and in Azekah and the small
towns around it. So the people of Judah were living all the way
from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom. The descendants of the
family of Benjamin from Geba lived in Micmash, Aija, Bethel,
and the small towns around it, in Anathoth, Nob, and Ananiah,
in Hazor, Ramah, and Gittaim, in Hadid, Zeboim, and Neballat, in
Lod and Ono, and in the Valley of the Craftsmen. Some of the
groups from the family of Levi moved to the land of Benjamin.
Nehemiah, chapter 12. These are the priests and Levites who came
back to the land of Judah. They came back with Zerubbabel son of
Shealtiel and Jeshua. This is a list of their names: Seraiah,
Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah,
Rehum, Meremoth, Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, Mijamin,
Maadiah, Bilgah, Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok,
Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These men were the leaders of the priests
and their relatives in the days of Jeshua. The Levites were
Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and also
Mattaniah. These men, with Mattaniah’s relatives, were in
charge of the songs of praise to God. Bakbukiah and Unni were the
relatives of those Levites. These two men stood across from
them in the services. Jeshua was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim
was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of
Joiada. Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the
father of Jaddua. In the days of Joiakim, these men were the
leaders of the families of priests: The leader of Seraiah’s
family was Meraiah. The leader of Jeremiah’s family was
Hananiah. The leader of Ezra’s family was Meshullam. The leader
of Amariah’s family was Jehohanan. The leader of
Malluch’s family was Jonathan. The leader of Shecaniah’s family
was Joseph. The leader of Harim’s family was Adna. The
leader of Meremoth’s family was Helkai. The leader of Iddo’s
family was Zechariah. The leader of Ginnethon’s family was
Meshullam. The leader of Abijah’s family was Zicri. The
leader of Miniamin and Maadiah’s families was Piltai. The leader
of Bilgah’s family was Shammua. The leader of Shemaiah’s family
was Jehonathan. The leader of Joiarib’s family was Mattenai.
The leader of Jedaiah’s family was Uzzi. The leader of Sallu’s
family was Kallai. The leader of Amok’s family was Eber. The
leader of Hilkiah’s family was Hashabiah. The leader of
Jedaiah’s family was Nethanel. The names of the leaders of the
families of the Levites and the priests in the days of Eliashib,
Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua were written down during the rule of
Darius the Persian king. The family leaders among the
descendants of the Levites and up to the time of Johanan son of
Eliashib were written in the history book. And these were the
leaders of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua the
son of Kadmiel, and their brothers. Their brothers stood
across from them to sing praise and honor to God. One group
answered the other group. That is what was commanded by David
the man of God. The gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms next
to the gates were Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam,
Talmon, and Akkub. They served in the days of Joiakim. Joiakim
was the son of Jeshua, who was the son of Jozadak. And the
gatekeepers also served in the days of Nehemiah the governor
and in the days of Ezra the priest and teacher. The people
dedicated the wall of Jerusalem. They brought all the Levites to
Jerusalem. The Levites came from the towns they lived in. They
came to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication of the wall of
Jerusalem. They came to sing songs of praise and thanks to
God. They played their cymbals, harps, and lyres. And all the
singers also came to Jerusalem. They came from the towns all
around Jerusalem. They came from the town of Netophah, from Beth
Gilgal, Geba, and Azmaveth. The singers had built small towns
for themselves in the area around Jerusalem. So the priests
and Levites made themselves pure in a ceremony. Then they also
made the people, the gates, and the wall of Jerusalem pure in a
ceremony. I told the leaders of Judah to go up and stand on top
of the wall. I also chose two large singing groups to give
thanks to God. One group was to start going up on top of the
wall on the right side, toward the Ash Pile Gate. Hoshaiah and
half of the leaders of Judah followed the singers. Also
following them were Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah,
Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah. And some of the
priests with trumpets also followed them up to the wall.
Zechariah also followed them. (Zechariah was the son of
Jonathan, who was the son of Shemaiah, who was the son of
Mattaniah, who was the son of Micaiah, who was the son of
Zaccur, who was the son of Asaph.) There were also Asaph’s
brothers, who were Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai,
Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They had the musical instruments
that David, the man of God, had made. Ezra the teacher led the
group of people who were there to dedicate the wall. They went
to the Fountain Gate and walked up the stairs all the way to the
City of David. They were on top of the city wall. They walked
over the house of David and went toward the Water Gate. The
second group of singers started out in the other direction, to
the left. I followed them as they went up to the top of the
wall. Half of the people also followed them. They went past
the Tower of Ovens to the Broad Wall. Then they went over these
gates: the Gate of Ephraim, the Old Gate, and the Fish Gate. And
they went over the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the
Hundred. They went as far as the Sheep Gate and stopped at the
Guard Gate. Then the two singing groups went to their places in
God’s Temple. And I stood in my place. And half the officials
stood in their places in the Temple. Then these priests stood
in their places: Eliakim, Maaseiah, Mijamin, Micaiah,
Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah. These priests had
their trumpets with them. Then these priests stood in their
places in the Temple: Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi,
Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then two singing groups
began singing with Jezrahiah leading them. So on that special
day, the priests offered many sacrifices. Everyone was very
happy because God had made them happy. Even the women and
children were excited and happy. People far away could hear the
happy sounds coming from Jerusalem. Men were chosen to be
in charge of the storerooms on that day. People brought the
first part of the harvest and a tenth of their crops. So the men
in charge put these things in the storerooms. The Jewish
people were very happy about the priests and Levites on duty. So
they brought many things to be put in the storerooms. The
priests and Levites did their work for their God. They did the
ceremonies that made people pure, and the singers and
gatekeepers did their part. They did everything that David and
Solomon had commanded. (Long ago, in the days of David, Asaph
had been the director. And he had many songs of praise and
thanks to God.) So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah,
all the Israelites gave every day to support the singers and
gatekeepers. The people also set aside money for the other
Levites. And the Levites set aside the money for the
descendants of Aaron.
Nehemiah, chapter 13. On that day the book of Moses was read
aloud in the hearing of the people. They found written in it
that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,
for they had not met the Israelites with food and water,
but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however,
turned the curse into blessing.) When they heard the law, they
removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry. But prior to
this time, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been
appointed over the storerooms of the temple of our God. He made
for himself a large storeroom where previously they had been
keeping the grain offering, the incense, and the vessels, along
with the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil
as commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gate keepers,
and the offering for the priests. During all this time I
was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of King
Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After
some time I had requested leave of the king, and I returned to
Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for
Tobiah by supplying him with a storeroom in the courts of the
temple of God. I was very upset, and I threw all of Tobiah’s
household possessions out of the storeroom. Then I gave
instructions that the storerooms should be purified, and I
brought back the equipment of the temple of God, along with
the grain offering and the incense. I also discovered that
the grain offerings for the Levites had not been provided,
and that as a result the Levites and the singers who performed
this work had all gone off to their fields. So I registered a
complaint with the leaders, asking “Why is the temple of God
neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their
positions. Then all of Judah brought the tithe of the grain,
the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms. I gave
instructions that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a
certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of the storerooms,
and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their
assistant for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then
their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their
colleagues. Please remember me for this, O my God, and do not
wipe out the kindness that I have done for the temple of my
God and for its services! In those days I saw people in Judah
treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of
grain and loading them onto donkeys, along with wine,
grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and bringing them to
Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day that
they sold these provisions. The people from Tyre who lived there
were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling
it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah – and in Jerusalem, of
all places! So I registered a complaint with the nobles of
Judah, saying to them, “What is this evil thing that you are
doing, profaning the Sabbath day? Isn’t this the way your
ancestors acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this
city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more
wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!” When the
evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before
the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed. I further directed
that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I
positioned some of my young men at the gates so that no load
could enter on the Sabbath day. The traders and sellers of all
kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or
twice. But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the
night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove
you!” From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. Then
I directed the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard
the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. For this
please remember me, O my God, and have pity on me in keeping
with your great love. Also in those days I saw the men of
Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of
their children spoke the language of Ashdod (or the
language of one of the other peoples mentioned) and were
unable to speak the language of Judah. So I entered a complaint
with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of
the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God
saying, “You will not marry off your daughters to their sons,
and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for
your sons or for yourselves! Was it not because of things like
these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many
nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God,
and God made him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives
made even him sin! Should we then in your case hear that you
do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by
marrying foreign wives?” Now one of the sons of Joiada son of
Eliashib the high priest was a son-in-law of Sanballat the
Horonite. So I banished him from my sight. Please remember them,
O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, the
covenant of the priesthood, and the Levites. So I purified them
of everything foreign, and I assigned specific duties to the
priests and the Levites. I also provided for the wood offering
at the appointed times and also for the first fruits. Please
remember me for good, O my God.
Well, Beloved, at the end of it all, Nehemiah’s conscience is
clear, but he's disappointed that the people could not
fulfill their vows to serve faithfully. And once again, we
see that there's nothing new under the sun. And, Beloved,
let's face it, we're no better than they were at living a
sin-free life. Despite our best intentions, we fail. Truer words
were never said: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Commentator David Guzik wrote, “If we could be saved by our own
promises, by our own commitment to Jesus, then His death would
have been noble, but unnecessary. We aren’t saved by
some vow we make, or some leaf we turn over, but by trusting in
who Jesus is, and what He has done to save us.” Beloved, how
thankful we are and how blessed we are to have a Savior whose
sacrifice on the Cross paid the price for our weakness. If we
could live a sinless life, his sacrifice would not have been
necessary, but since we can't, his sacrifice was necessary. And
in making that sacrifice he made eternity with God a possibility
for all who believe. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.
As always, I invite your comments and your questions.
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report for next Sunday's prayer segment, go to
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for me, go to comment.lifespringmedia.com or
send an email to steve@lifespringmedia.com.
Thanks to the team: Sister Denise, Michael Haner, Scott
Snider, Jason Paschall, and Sister Brittaney for their
generous donation of time and talent. Jason Paschall was
today's show art artist. Thank you for inviting me to be a part
of your day today. I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Until then, may God bless you richly. I'm Steve Webb. Bye.
Announcer: The Lifespring! Media family of programs are made
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