Merchants and Sellers Outside Jerusalem - Nehemiah 13:20

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “and it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day”, and in chapter thirteen and verse twenty of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how, “merchants and sellers” lodged outside Jerusalem where we read,

So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.

The verse reads, “So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “so the merchants” which means “then, therefore, wherefore and on this account the traffickers and traders” “and sellers” or “and people merchandizing and selling” “of all kind of ware” which means “pertaining to each, every, the whole and any type of thing sold” did the following. Nehemiah shared how the people who were merchandising and selling every type of thing that could be sold did the following. 

The verse goes on to say, “... lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “lodged without Jerusalem” or “passed the night, camped and rested outside of Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and was the chief city of Palestine and the capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split” “once or twice” which means “one or two times”. Nehemiah shared how the merchandizers camped outside the walls of “Jerusalem” one or two times. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah that the sellers of items camped outside of the walls of Jerusalem on the nights when the entrances were closed. They were no longer allowed to enter the city on the “Sabbath day” which was from sunset to sunset, so they spent the night outside the walls. We shall see what Nehemiah does about this in our next verse, but for now, let us consider the persistency of these merchandizers. God wants everyone to obey His law and ways, and everybody is invited into a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days. When we believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us follow His laws by His Holy Spirit and never be ones to compromise or come close to violating them. 

Next time Nehemiah says, “I testified against them”, 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".