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 counted, “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, and the children of Solomon's servants”, and in chapter seven and verse sixty-one of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer”, where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer:”Nehemiah began with the words, “and these were they” which means “and the following names are the ones” “which went up also from Telmelah” or “who even so and indeed arose and departed from Telmelah whose name means mound of salt and was a place in Babylon from which some exiles of unknown parentage came”, “Telharesha” whose name means “mound of the deaf mute and was a town of Babylon probably located in the low country near the sea”, “Cherub”or “blessing and was an apparent exilic settlement in Babylonia”, “Addon” whose name means “powerful”, “and Immer”or “he has said”. Nehemiah included the people who arose from “Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer” to his list of people who returned to Jerusalem to the completion of the barrier wall.
The verse goes on to say, “but they could not show their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “but they could not show” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover they, those listed above, were unable to tell, expound or make known” “their father's house” which means “their male ancestor or progenitor's dwelling place, habitation, abode place or family”, “nor their seed” or “no and not in any way their posterity or ancestry”, “whether they were of Israel” which means “if and in case they, the people listed above, existed from Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and nation of descendants of Jacob”. Nehemiah said “Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer” were unable to make known their male progenitor's dwelling place and ancestry to prove they were from “Israel”.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah that there were people who returned to Jerusalem who were unable to tell their heritage with “Israel”. In other words, their genealogical record was unknown. However, these people were known by Jehovah God, and He made record of them through Nehemiah. God knows and loves everyone, and even when they cannot tell the heritage, He can. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead three days later, He made the way for everyone to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and established in His Kingdom forever. All we need to do is put our faith and trust in Him, and He is faithful to make us part of His eternal family.
Next time Nehemiah shares about, “the children of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda”, 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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