The Remnant in Jerusalem
Nehemiah 7
There is a day to which the inspiring Spirit looked onward, when it will be Jehovah building the house—and Jehovah keeping the city in a truer, fuller, sense, then even Solomon knew. Very little in comparison was that which Nehemiah was enabled to do in his day. All had been wrong in Israel, all out of course for the remnant, the Gentile was in power, the returned remnant to Jerusalem in weakness. Still it is a great thing, and always acceptable to God, whatever the circumstances, to do His will unpretentiously, and to be guided in the doing of it by His word. In vain otherwise do the builders labor, in vain the watchmen wake. Nehemiah was given to see the wall reared and to set up the doors. Thereon the necessary officers were set to their work. Sound doctrine needs also a sound mind; and this was eminently true of him who came from the court of Persia to care for his brethren in Jerusalem.
“And it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed, that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem: for he [was] a faithful man, and feared God above many. And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand on guard, let them shut the doors, and bar ye [them]: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house. Now the city was wide and large: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded” (vers. 1-4).
It was indeed a state of ruin; but the return was of God, and despair would have been as unworthy as presumption. Nehemiah yields to neither, but acts in the lowly condition with all due vigilance, and confides in faithful men like-minded with himself who would naturally care for their state, few as they were feeble and tried. His work and Ezra's were far different from that of a Moses or a Joshua, a David or a Solomon; but the Holy Ghost was pleased to give them both an imperishable place for their faith and love. How encouraging to us in the present anomalous condition of God's assembly! May we realize its true state by faith and know how to walk and serve accordingly.
Next, as having to do with a people in the flesh, order called for a careful consideration of birth-ties. “And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles and the rulers, and the people for registration by genealogy. And I found a genealogical register of them that came up at the first; and I found written therein: these [are] the sons of the province that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away, and who came again to Jerusalem, and to Judah every one to his city; those who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nahum, Baanah” (vers. 5-7). Even here is to be noticed Nahamani in addition to the eleven named in Ezra 2, for the rest are the same persons, though some be given with variations. So it is with those enumerated in the census after the twelve leaders. Substantially the lists agree. The gross amount in both is the same; yet the details singularly differ: how this is may not be so easy to decide. We know that numerals are peculiarly liable to corruption whether through the carelessness or temerity of copyists. For instance, in Ezra 2:55The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five. (Ezra 2:5) the sons of Arab are 775, in Neh. 7:1010The children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two. (Nehemiah 7:10) are 652; the sons of Pahath-moab and of Binuni are each 6 more in Nehemiah; the sons of Zattu 100 less; the sons of Bebai exceed by 5; and those of Azgad by 1100. And so one might point out variations throughout, as also in the singers, the sons of Asaph, and the porters, as well as a slight one in the number of the singing men and women. To set such frequent and marked difference down to clerical mistake is a hard saying, though Lord A. Hervey speaks of the ingenious corrections suggested with assurance. But it is another question to account for the varying statements satisfactorily; which must be left to those who, accepting the divine authority of scripture, have made this particular case a matter of conscientious and thorough research. The difference in the contributions also needs explanation, though this seems not so difficult. It is obvious that the totals of the servants, the houses, the males, and the ages, agree. How good it is for the heart to know that the living God takes a real interest not only in His people, but in all that is theirs! This at least is clear and simple, but of interest and moment to appropriate in practice.