The Children of Pashur - Nehemiah 7:41

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city.” Nehemiah included the children of many of the people of Israel in his census, and he added several of the men such as “the men of the other Nebo, the other Elam” and “the children of Harim, Jericho, Lod, Hadid, Ono and Senaah.” He also counted, “the priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three”, and “the children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two”, and in chapter seven and verse forty-one of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about, “the children of Pashur”, where we read,

The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.

The verse reads, “The children of Pashur, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “the children” which means “the offspring and progeny” “of Pashur” or “belonging to Pashur whose name means freedom”. Nehemiah shared how “Pashur” or “freedom” had offspring who were counted among the people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem and Judah. 

The verse goes on to say, “... a thousand two hundred forty and seven.” Nehemiah added the words, “a thousand two hundred” or “twelve hundred offspring plus” “forty and seven” which means “forty seven more”. Nehemiah said there were twelve hundred and forty-seven descendants of “Pashur” who remained in the land of Jerusalem to the completion of the barrier wall. 

When we think through Nehemiah's words in this verse, we discover that he numbered “twelve hundred and forty-seven” offspring of “Pashur” within his census. These various people groups and families were all worthy to be counted by Nehemiah and God Himself, and although God is omniscient, Nehemiah and we are not. God wants us to be accounted for in His Kingdom, and access to Him is gained by believing and trusting in His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead three days later. When we believe and trust in Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and allow us to be counted in Heaven with Him for all eternity. 

Next time Nehemiah shares about, “the children of Harim”, 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".