All the Porters - Nehemiah 11:19

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four”, and in chapter eleven and verse nineteen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared the number of, “the porters” where we read,

Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates,

were an hundred seventy and two.

The verse reads, “Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “moreover the porters” which means “in addition the janitors or gatekeepers”, “Akkub” or “insidious”,“Talmon” whose name means “oppressor”, “and their brethren” or “and their, the porters', fellow kinsmen, kinship and relatives” “that kept the gates” which means “who observed, guarded and watched over the portals for the entrances into the city”. Nehemiah said the gatekeepers known as “Akkub, Talmon and their fellow kinsmen” who lived in the city of Jerusalem existed as follows.

The verse goes on to say, “... were an hundred seventy and two.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “were an hundred” which means “existed as one hundred plus” “seventy and two” or “seventy two more”. Nehemiah said there were one hundred and seventy two “porters” who remained and lived within the city of Jerusalem. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah that there was one hundred and seventy two gatekeepers who lived within the city of Jerusalem. All of these were necessary to watch over the gated areas of the city, and they also became a part of the Kingdom God was assembling for the people of Israel. God loves Israel, and He loves us. He becomes our provider and protector when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross and was raised from the dead three days later as our personal “Savior and Lord”. When we believe and trust in Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and use us in various ways with His Kingdom to share His gospel of salvation to the whole world. 

Next time Nehemiah shares more about, “the residue of Israel, the priests, and the Levites”, 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".