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”, and in chapter seven and verse thirty-nine of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about, “the priests: the children of Jedaiah”, where we read,
The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.
The verse reads, “The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “the priests” or “the spiritual leaders and spokesmen”: “the children” which means “the offspring and progeny” “of Jedaiah”or “belonging to Jedaiah whose name means Jehovah has known”, “of the house” or “pertaining to the habitation, abode and dwelling place” “of Jeshua” which means “belonging to Jeshua whose name means he is saved”. Nehemiah began to number the “spiritual leaders and spokesmen” among the people of Israel as he accounted for the offspring belonging to “Jedaiah” who was from the dwelling place belonging to “Jeshua”.
The verse goes on to say, “... nine hundred seventy and three.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “nine hundred” or “nine hundred offspring plus” “seventy and three” which means “seventy three more”. Nehemiah said there were “nine hundred and seventy three” offspring of the “priests” who were the offspring of “Jedaiah” from the dwelling place of “Jeshua”.
When we consider Nehemiah's words in this verse, we learn about another group of people who were counted among the people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem from being captives in Babylon to the completion of the barrier wall. The “spiritual leaders and spokesmen” had “nine hundred and seventy three” offspring who belonged to “Jedaiah”, and he was from the dwelling place belonging to “Jeshua”. The spiritual leadership was important, and God wanted them and their offspring to be counted. God loves people from all areas of life, and those who are in spiritual leadership are among all the people of the world who have sin in their lives and need to be forgiven to have a personal relationship with Him. This is why He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead three days later. When we yield to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and count us within His Kingdom which shall last forever.
Next time Nehemiah shares about, “the children of Immer”, 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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