The Chief of the Province - Nehemiah 11:3

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said about Israel, “the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem”, and in chapter eleven and verse three of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how, “these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem” where we read,

Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants.

The verse reads, “Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem:” Nehemiah began with the words, “now these are the chief” which means “the following exist as the top, head, choice and best” “of the province” or “belonging to the district or region” “that dwelt in Jerusalem” which means “who lived, abode and inhabited 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”. Nehemiah shared how the following were the best and top men within the region of Israel who lived in the city of “Jerusalem”.

The verse goes on to say, “but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants.” Nehemiah continued with the words,“but in the cities of Judah” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover within the places of waking, towns and villages belonging to Judah whose name means praised and was the kingdom comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin which occupied the southern part of Canaan after the nation split upon the death of Solomon” “dwelt every one in his possession in their cities” which means “lived, abided and inhabited each, the whole and all of the people within their property and land by inheritance”, “to wit” or “that is”, “Israel” whose name means “God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “the priests” or “the spiritual spokesmen and leaders”, “and the Levites” which means “and the descendants of Levi whose name means joined to and were specially set aside by God for His service”, “and the Nethinims” or “and the temple servants or slaves who were assigned to the Levites and priests for service in the sanctuary”, “and the children of Solomon's servants” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to the slaves, bondmen and men of servile condition belonging to Solomon whose name means peace and was son of David by Bathsheba and third king of Israel”. Nehemiah shared how the “priests, Levites, Nethinims and bondmen who were descendants of Solomon” lived within the various towns of Judah.

When we meditate upon Nehemiah's words in this verse, we discover how the “heads” of the officials came to live in Jerusalem, however, “the priests, Levites, Nethinims and bondmen who were descendants of Solomon” inhabited their own towns and villages. Order was set in all of Israel, and because God desired to have a personal relationship with them, He orchestrated all these events through Nehemiah and His leading officials. God desires to have an intimate relationship with us as well, and for this reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when God raised Him from the dead three days later, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and stationed where He desires to use us for all eternity. 

Next time Nehemiah says, “at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah”, 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".