In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate, and after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, and Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph”, and in chapter twelve and verse thirty-six of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about Asaph's, “brethren” where we read,
And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani,
with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.
The verse reads, “And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, ...”Nehemiah began with the words, “and his brethren” which means “and his, Asaph's, fellow kindred, kinsmen and relatives”, “Shemaiah” or “heard by Jehovah”, “and Azarael” whose name means “God has helped”, “Milalai” or “eloquent”, “Gilalai” whose name means “weighty”, “Maai” or “compassionate”, “Nethaneel” whose name means “given of God”, “and Judah” or “praised”, “Hanani” whose name means “gracious”. Nehemiah shared how “Asaph's” fellow kinsmen and relatives whose names mean, “heard by Jehovah, God has helped, eloquent, weighty, compassionate, given of God, praised and gracious” were involved in the dedication of the barrier wall.
The verse continues, “... with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.” Nehemiah added the words, “with the musical instruments” or “accompanied by the articles, vessels, implements and utensils used in making music” “of David” which means “belonging to David whose name means beloved and was the youngest son of Jesse and the second king of Israel” “the man of God” or “the male human being belonging to the Supreme Deity”, “and Ezra” whose name means “help and was the priest and scribe who led the reforms of the returned exiles in Jerusalem and a co-worker with Nehemiah” “the scribe before them” or “the recorder or accountant in front and in the presence of them, the men with musical instruments”. Nehemiah shared how the men were accompanied by the “musical instruments” that belonged to “David”, and “Ezra” the priest and scribe was in front of them.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how he mentioned eight fellow kinsmen of “Asaph” who were a part of the dedication of the barrier wall to Jerusalem. The male offspring of “Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah and Hanani” were accompanied by musical instruments which belonged to “King David” to be used in the celebration. “Ezra” the priest and recorder was in front of them, and we can imagine the pageantry and festivities that were employed for this event. God loves the people of Israel, and when He restored them to their homeland and they rebuilt their temple and barrier wall. They wanted to dedicate the wall and honor God for the structure. God wants to rebuild our lives as well, and when we yield ourselves to His Son Jesus who died on the cross and rose from the dead after three days as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to rebuild and guide us into the service we are to carry out in His Kingdom.
Next time Nehemiah shares what happened, “at the fountain gate”, 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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