When the Seventh Month Came - Nehemiah 7:73

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah counted the people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem to the completion of the barrier wall, and he added, “some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments, And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver. And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests' garments”, and in chapter seven and verse seventy-three of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared what happened, “when the seventh month came” where we read,

So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. 

The verse reads, “So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities;” Nehemiah began with the words, “so the priests” which means “therefore the spiritual leaders and spokesmen”, “and the Levites” or “and the descendants of Levi whose name means joined to and were specially set aside by God for His service”, “and the porters” which means “and the gatekeepers or janitors”, “and the singers” or “and the people who made music with their voices”, “and some of the people” which means “and a number or small amount of the human beings” “and the Nethinims” or “and the temple servants assigned to the priests and Levites within the sacred worship place or sanctuary”, “and all Israel” which means “and each, every, the whole and everyone of the people in Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “dwelt in their cities” or “lived, inhabited and remained within their, the people of Israel's, villages and towns”. Nehemiah shared how the “priests, Levites, porters, singers, some people, Nethinims and everyone within Israel” who returned to Jerusalem and Judah lived and remained within their towns and villages.

The verse goes on to say, “and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “and when the seventh month came” or “and at the time and moment the seventh new moon or lunar month, which corresponds to October, arrived”, “the children of Israel” which means “the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “were in their cities” or “existed within their, the people of Israel's, towns and villages”. Nehemiah shared how all the people of “Israel” who returned to Jerusalem and Judah lived within their own towns within the seventh month or October of the year. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how all the various people groups within “Israel”were dwelling within their own towns when the “seventh month” or October of the year arrived. The “priests, Levites, porters, singers, some people, Nethinims and everyone within Israel who returned to Jerusalem and Judah” were all back in their home towns, and this was God's desire for everyone who was willing to follow His directive. God invites all of us to come to Heaven with Him, and this is made possible when we believe and trust in His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead three days later. When we surrender to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us access to live with Him in Heaven forever and evermore. 

Next time we begin a new chapter and see Nehemiah say, “all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street”, 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".