Nehemiah’s Record

Synopsis     Nehemiah 7:4-30     7/28/2020 

After completing his reconstruction project in Jerusalem, Nehemiah noted that not many people were actually living in the city. So, he decided to confer with the leaders in Jerusalem concerning the disposition of the property in the city.  

As he did, he discovered a census that the earliest returning exiles had taken. And so, he entered this into his own record of his time in Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah’s Record 

Nehemiah wanted to preserve the census as a part of the historical record. After having completed the Jerusalem building project, he recognized God’s hand in a more comprehensive way. And so, the record was more than simply an accounting of his time. For him, it was a testimony to the wisdom, power and glory of God.  

Additionally, remembering those Jewish exiles who had returned in the earliest years, and who had rebuilt the Temple, was a reminder. As successful as Nehemiah was, he recognized that God had set up the circumstances of his success through the efforts of faithful men and women who come many years before.  

And this was what was worth preserving.  

The Record 

One way of thinking about meaning is in relation to story. The meaning of my life comes from how I fit into God’s larger story.  

That’s one of the reasons we celebrate the lives of saints. Because faithful men and women have gone before us and shown us the way. This is God’s order and a part of His grace into my life.  

It is worth celebrating.  

 “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence^* of things not seen.^a2Because of it the ancients were well attested.” Heb 11:1-2