The Dedication of the Wall - Nehemiah 12:27

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates. These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe”, and in chapter twelve and verse twenty-seven of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about, “the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem” where we read,

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.

The verse reads, “And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “and at the dedication” which means “and at the initiation or consecration” “of the wall of Jerusalem” or “pertaining to the wall of protection belonging to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split” “they sought the Levites” which means “they, Nehemiah and Ezra, searched and looked for the descendants belonging to Levi whose name means joined to and were specially set aside by God for His service” “out of all their places” or “from each, every, the whole and everyone of the locations”, “to bring them” which means “to carry and lead the Levites” “to Jerusalem” or “to the city whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine”. Nehemiah shared how he and Ezra looked for the “Levites” within the locations surrounding them so they could be brought to Jerusalem for the following event. 

The verse goes on to say, “... to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “to keep the dedication” or “to produce, accomplish and effect the initiation and consecration” “with gladness” whose name means “alongside and accompanied with joy, mirth, gaiety and pleasure”, “both with thanksgivings” or “accompanied by confession, praise and thanksgiving”, “and with singing” which means “and accompanied by lyrical religious music made with voices”, “with cymbals” or “alongside double tinklers ”, “psalteries” which means “skin-bags, jars, pitchers and lutes”, “and with harps” or “and alongside twanging lyres”. Nehemiah shared how the “Levites” were to produce the consecration of the barrier wall surrounding Jerusalem with “gaiety, praise and thanksgiving” accompanied by “musical songs, double tinklers, pitchers, lutes and twanging lyres. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah that the initiation and consecration of the barrier wall surrounding Jerusalem was a significant event. “Levites” were summoned, “singers” were assembled and instruments and their musicians were to be a part of this special time. God calls people from various walks of life to join Him in His Kingdom through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead three days later. When we surrender our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us a desire and passion to be used for His events and consecrations all over the world. 

Next time Nehemiah shares about, “the sons of the singers”, 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".