Nehemiah 7
Once the walls of the city of Jerusalem have been rebuilt, the gates are fixed and even open and close without sticking .
Nehemiah appointed the officials to look after the walls, and the temple of God, he then appointed his brother Hanani and commander of the city Hananiah because they were both honest, trustworthy and feared God more than most people do.
I don't mean they were AFRAID of God, perhaps a better word would be respected and honoured God, or even Loved God more than most. For example I fear traffic on the road and I pay attention to the rules of the road and try not to step out in front of a fast moving heavy vehicle - it does not mean I am afraid to cross the road, I just treat it with enough respect that I'm probably going to make it to the other side - do you see what I mean?
Or anther example - electricity. I treat electricity with respect and don't go sticking knives or other objects that are not approved design plugs into the wall outlet. I also don't overload the circuit with too many things. traffic and electricity can really hurt if you do not respect them, if the Bible has said anything up till now it is that God can get angry and deliberately going against him is not always good for the health!
Anyway Nehemiah has achieved what he set out to do, the walls are repaired and the Jewish people have somebody looking after their interests. He now steps down from power willingly.
The rest of the chapter is the list of exiles who returned with Nehemiah and the gifts they bought with them and gave.
There were some priests who could not prove their credentials and they were not allowed to conduct priestly duties or eat from the priests share of the sacrifices until there was a priest with the Urim and Thummim ministering in Jerusalem.
There has been a lot of speculation about the Urim and Thummin - they were used to discern the will of God in the Old testament before the exile, but nobody knows for sure what they were or how they were used.
According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the Mormons or LDS within their circles) The Urim and Thummim were taken to the USA by descendants of Joseph and hidden in a field in New York State.
Centuries later they were found by Joseph Smith who used these "magic glasses" to translate the golden plates that form the book of Mormon before they were taken by the Angel Moroni back to heaven.
(If you are a member please forgive any inaccuracies here. This is my recollection of what I was told by missionaries several years ago and any inaccuracy is mine not theirs - I'd hate for them to get into trouble just because this does not ring true to me for a number of reasons that would make this post even longer and more boring than it is! If you feel really strongly the need to correct please feel free to contact me -but be prepared for the full story why I don't believe in the LDS church.)
Once the walls of the city of Jerusalem have been rebuilt, the gates are fixed and even open and close without sticking .
Nehemiah appointed the officials to look after the walls, and the temple of God, he then appointed his brother Hanani and commander of the city Hananiah because they were both honest, trustworthy and feared God more than most people do.
I don't mean they were AFRAID of God, perhaps a better word would be respected and honoured God, or even Loved God more than most. For example I fear traffic on the road and I pay attention to the rules of the road and try not to step out in front of a fast moving heavy vehicle - it does not mean I am afraid to cross the road, I just treat it with enough respect that I'm probably going to make it to the other side - do you see what I mean?
Or anther example - electricity. I treat electricity with respect and don't go sticking knives or other objects that are not approved design plugs into the wall outlet. I also don't overload the circuit with too many things. traffic and electricity can really hurt if you do not respect them, if the Bible has said anything up till now it is that God can get angry and deliberately going against him is not always good for the health!
Anyway Nehemiah has achieved what he set out to do, the walls are repaired and the Jewish people have somebody looking after their interests. He now steps down from power willingly.
The rest of the chapter is the list of exiles who returned with Nehemiah and the gifts they bought with them and gave.
There were some priests who could not prove their credentials and they were not allowed to conduct priestly duties or eat from the priests share of the sacrifices until there was a priest with the Urim and Thummim ministering in Jerusalem.
There has been a lot of speculation about the Urim and Thummin - they were used to discern the will of God in the Old testament before the exile, but nobody knows for sure what they were or how they were used.
According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the Mormons or LDS within their circles) The Urim and Thummim were taken to the USA by descendants of Joseph and hidden in a field in New York State.
Centuries later they were found by Joseph Smith who used these "magic glasses" to translate the golden plates that form the book of Mormon before they were taken by the Angel Moroni back to heaven.
(If you are a member please forgive any inaccuracies here. This is my recollection of what I was told by missionaries several years ago and any inaccuracy is mine not theirs - I'd hate for them to get into trouble just because this does not ring true to me for a number of reasons that would make this post even longer and more boring than it is! If you feel really strongly the need to correct please feel free to contact me -but be prepared for the full story why I don't believe in the LDS church.)
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