In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah went back to the city of Jerusalem and began to rebuild the wall. He used, “Eliashib and his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall, And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces”, and in chapter three and verse twelve of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “next unto him repaired Shallum”, where we read,
And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh,
the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.
The verse reads, “And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “and next unto him” or “and beside and in proximity to Hashub” “repaired Shallum” which means “strengthened, hardened and made firm Shallum whose name means retribution” “the son of Halohesh” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Halohesh whose name means whisperer”. Nehemiah shared how “Shallum” repaired the section of the wall beside “Hashub”.
The verse continues, “... the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.” Nehemiah added the words, “the ruler of the half part” or “the prince, leader, chief, chieftain and official belonging to one half of the portion” “of Jerusalem” which means “belonging to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”, “he and his daughters” or “he, Shallum, and his, Shallum's, female offspring and progeny”. Nehemiah shared how “Shallum” was the chief leader belonging to one half portion of the city of “Jerusalem”, and he worked alongside his female offspring.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how “Shallum” got involved rebuilding the wall surrounding “Jerusalem”. He worked beside “Hashub” along with his “daughters” and even though he was a leader in one half of the city, He was not beyond physical efforts. God raises up “leaders” and He puts them down according to His Divine purpose and will, (See Romans 13:1) and because He loves all of us, He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we yield to Him, He will forgive our sins and give us the promise of our resurrection which was demonstrated through His being raised from the grave three days after His death. (See John 11:25-26) When we align with God's plan, He will use us to complete His work in the world regardless of our station or level among others.
Next time Nehemiah says, “the valley gate repaired Hanun”, 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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