In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “For it was the king's commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people. And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjathearba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof. And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Bethphelet, and at Hazarshual, and at Beersheba, and in the villages thereof. And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof. And at Enrimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth”, and in chapter eleven and verse thirty of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about, “Zanoah, Adullam, Lachish, Azekah, Beersheba and Hinnom” where we read,
Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof,
at Azekah and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom.
The verse reads, “Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, ...” Nehemiah began with the word, “Zanoah” whose name means “cast off and was a city in the low country of Judah”, “Adullam” whose name means “justice of the people which was a town of the Canaanites allotted to Judah and lying in the lowlands”, “and in their villages” or “and within their, Zanoah and Adullam's, towns and settled abodes”, “at Lachish” which means “at the village of Lachish whose name means invincible and was a city lying south of Jerusalem on the boarders of Simeon which belonged to the Amorites until conquered by Joshua and allotted to Judah”, “and the fields thereof” or “and the cultivated land or plains within Lachish”. Nehemiah shared how “Zanoah, Adullam, their fields and the cultivated plains of Lachish” were also places where the people of Judah lived.
The verse continues, “... at Azekah and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom.” Nehemiah added the words, “at Azekah” which means “within the village of Azekah whose name means dug over and was a town in the lowlands of Judah” “and in the villages thereof” or “and within the towns and settled abodes belonging to Azekah”. “And they dwelt from Beersheba” which means “and they, the people of Judah, lived, abode and inhabited from the town of Beersheba whose name means well of the sevenfold oath which was a city at the south edge of Israel” “unto the valley of Hinnom” or “to the steep and narrow gorge belonging to Hinnom whose name means lamentation”. Nehemiah shared how “Azekah” and the settled abodes within it was a place where the people of Judah lived, and they inhabited the area from “Beersheba” to the steep, rocky sided and narrow gorge located in “Hinnom”.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how “Zanoah, Adullam, their villages, Lachish and the fields within it and Azekah” were all places where the people of Judah scattered to live. Their settled abodes began at “Beersheba” and extended to the narrow gorge of “Hinnom”. Each of these places were known by God, and He orchestrated and oversaw all these locations and people. God loves the people of Israel, and He provided for and protected them when they obeyed Him. He loves us as well, and His desire is to have a personal intimate relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead three days later. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us His Holy Spirit who will lead and guide us to the place we are to be and how we are to serve Him while we are there.
Next time Nehemiah shares about, “the children also of Benjamin”, 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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