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 made record of, “the priests, the Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and the children of Hodevah seventy and four” and he included “the singers, the porters, Nethinims” and “the children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,the children of Barkos, Sisera, Tamah, Neziah, Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth, Amon all the Nethinims, the children of Solomon's servants, And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not show their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel;” He added, “the children of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda”, and in chapter seven and verse sixty-three of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about, “the children of the priests”, where we read,
And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai,
which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.
The verse reads, “And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “and of the priests” which means “and belonging to the spiritual spokesmen and leaders”: “the children” or “the offspring and progeny”, “of Habaiah” which means “belonging to Habaiah whose name means Jehovah has hidden”, “the children” or “the offspring and progeny” “of Koz” which means “belonging to Koz whose name means thorn”, “the children” or “the offspring and progeny” “of Barzillai” which means “belonging to Barzillai whose name means my iron“. Nehemiah accounted for the offspring of the spiritual leaders which included, “Habaiah, Kos and Barzillai” among the people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem.
The verse goes on to say, “... which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “which took one of the daughters” or “who fetched, lay hold of, seized and acquired a particular female offspring” “of Barzillai” which means “belonging to Barzillai whose name means my iron”“the Gileadite to wife” or “the inhabitant of Gilead which was a rocky region as a female spouse”, “and was called”which means “and was summoned, invited and appointed” “after their name” or “according to and in keeping with their, the Gileadite's, fame, reputation and glory”. Nehemiah shared how “Barzillai” married a woman who was a descendant of Gilead and took on their family name.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn the names of the offspring of the spiritual leaders in Israel who went back to Jerusalem to the rebuilding of the barrier wall. The descendants of “Habaiah, Kos and Barzillai” were to serve in the temple in Jerusalem, and “Barzillai” had a special distinction because he took on the name of the family into which he married as his own. God wants people from al different backgrounds and heritages to be in His Kingdom, and access to Him was made through 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 entrance into his eternal Kingdom where we shall be “priests” forevermore. (See Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6)
Next time Nehemiah says, “these sought their register”, 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".
No comments:
Post a Comment