In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said of Jerusalem, “the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded”, and in chapter seven and verse five of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “God put into my heart to gather together nobles, rulers and the people”, where we read,
And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein, ...
The verse reads, “And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy.” Nehemiah began with the words, “and my God” or “and my, Nehemiah's, Supreme Deity” “put into my heart” which means “set, bestowed, granted and ascribed within my, Nehemiah's, soul, mind, will, desires and will” “to gather together the nobles” or “to collect and assemble with one another the white, pure and freeborn ones”, “and the rulers” which means “and the prefects, governors or officials”, “and the people” or “and the human beings”, “that they might be reckoned” which means “so they, the nobles, rulers and people, could be enrolled and accounted for” “by genealogy” or “through the means of a genealogical record”. Nehemiah shared shared how God put into his mind and soul to assemble the freeborn ones, the officials and the ordinary citizens so they could be registered according to their “genealogy”.
The verse continues, “... And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein, ...” Nehemiah added the words, “and I found a register” or “and I, Nehemiah, discover a book, document, writing or missive” “of the genealogy” which means “pertaining to the pedigree or family list” “of them which came up at the first” or “pertaining to the people who ascended and arose to Jerusalem first”, “and found written therein” which means “and discovered inscribed, recorded and enrolled within the record book” … the words in our next verse. Nehemiah shared how he discovered a record book that recorded the names and “genealogy” pertaining to the first people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how God gave him the idea to collect all the people within the city of Jerusalem together including the “nobles, rulers and ordinary citizens” to make a record of their lineage. He discovered a book that had an engraved record of the first people who returned to Jerusalem after being captives in Babylon, and now he would add the “genealogy” of all the other people there. God knows us and loves us. He knew our “genealogy” before we were born, and He decided to whom we would be born. (See Jeremiah 1:5) He desires to have a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected three days afterward. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us understanding about our heritage and how He desires to use us within His Kingdom.
Next time Nehemiah says, “these are the children of the province”, 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".
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