Door, Porters, Singers and Levites - Nehemiah 7:1

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said of Tobiah, “there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear”, and in chapter seven and verse one of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how he, “set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed”, where we read,

Now 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,

The verse reads, “Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “now it came to pass” or “at that time it happened and occurred”, “when the wall was built” which means “at the time and moment the barrier wall was erected, completed and finished”, “and I had set up the doors” or “and I, Nehemiah, stood up, erected and established the swinging gates or two-leaved doors”. Nehemiah referred to the way his established the portal gateways after the barrier wall was completed.

The verse continues, “... and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,” Nehemiah added the words, “and the porters” or “and he established the gatekeepers or janitors” “and the singers” which means “and the songstresses and ones who sing songs” “and the Levites” or “and the descendants of Levi whose name means joined to and were specially set aside by God for His service” “were appointed” which means “existed as attended to, assigned and called up”. Nehemiah shared how he also established the gatekeepers or janitors as well as the serving descendants of Levi. 

When we meditate upon Nehemiah's words in this verse, we discover what he did after the completion of the barrier wall. He affixed the swinging doors, established the gatekeepers or janitors, assigned the singers of songs and put in place the descendants of Levi to attend to the temple. God directed Nehemiah in his activities, and he provided the ability to perform them. God desires this type of relationship with all of us, and when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead three days later, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to do according to His will, purpose and plan. 

Next time Nehemiah said, “I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".