Shabbat Shalom, everyone. Please open your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah, Ne'amayah, Chapter 12. Today's ministry meeting, we are drawing nearer to the end of the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, Chapter 12 is rather a very long chapter. It has 47 verses. And I'm not going to read most of the chapter because the large part of this chapter is attributed to the Hebrew names that oftentimes we find in the book of Nehemiah. The book of Nehemiah, a list of genealogies of those men who were part of our nation historically in the time that Nehemiah returned to the land of Israel at about 444, 445 B.C. But let me begin to do some reading as we're going to move along and study this 12th chapter.

We begin, first of all, with verses 1 to 26, in which we have the genealogy of the priests and the Levites. And so let me read a few verses. It says in verse 1 of chapter 12, "Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel, the son of Sha'altiel, Yeshua, Yeshua, Yeshua, Saraya, Yirmiah, Ezra, Amariah, and then it continues on with a list of names up till verse 26. Then verse 27 to verse 47, that is the second half of this 12th chapter, we have the dedication of the wall of the city of Jerusalem. I want to read from there on, maybe we'll eliminate some of the names as well.

So we read in verse 27, "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 thanksgiving and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem and from the villages of Neto Feti, from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geva, and as Maveh, for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves and purified the peoples and the gates and the wall.

Then 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," "And we have a list again," "Hosha'iah," "Half of the prince of Judah," "And Azariah," "And Ezra," "And Meshulam," "Yudah," "Binyamin," "Shma'iah," "And Yirmiah," "Verse 35," "And certain of the priests' sons with trumpets," "Namely," "And a list of names," "Zechariah," "The son of Yonatan," "The son of Shemaiah," "The son of Mataniah," "The son of Michaiah," "The son of Zachur," "The son of Asaph," "And his brethren." And we continue to have a list of names here in verse 36.

And then you notice at the end of verse 36, "With the musical instruments of David," "The man of God," "And Ezra the scribe before them," "And at the fountain gate," "Which was over against them," "They went up by the stairs of the city of David," "At the going up of the wall about the house of David," "Even unto the water gate eastward." "And the other company of them that gave thanks," "Went over against them." "And I after them," "And half of the people upon the wall," "From beyond the tower of the furnace," "Even unto the broad wall," "And from above the gates of Ephraim," "And above the old gates," "And above the fish gate," "And

the tower of Hanani El," "And the tower of Me'ah," "Even unto the sheep gate," "And they stood still in the prison gate." "So stood the two companies," "Of them that gave thanks in the house of God," "And I," "And half of the rulers with Me," "And the priests," "Elyakim," "Masiyah," "Minyamin," "Michayah," "And we have additional lists of names in verse 41," "In verse 42." "Verse 43 said," "Also that day," "They offered great sacrifices," "And rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy." "The wives also," "And the children rejoiced," "So the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off." "And at that time," "For some appointed over the chambers," "For the treasures," "For the

offering," "For the firstfruits," "And for the tithe," "To gather into them out of the fields," "Of the cities," "The portions of the law," "For the priests and the Levites," "For Judah rejoiced," "For the priests and for the Levites," "That waited." "And both the singers and the porters," "Kept the word of their God," "And the word of their purification," "According to the commandments," "According to the commandments of David," "And of Solomon his son." "For in the days of David," "And Asaph of old," "They were chief of the singers," "And songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God." "And all Israel," "In the days of Zerubavel," "And in the days of Nehemiah," "Gave the portion of the singers

and the porters," "Every day his portion." "And they sanctified holy things unto the Levites," "And the Levites," "And the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron." "And here I'm going to stop, of course, at the end of verse 47." "This is the 12th chapter of the book of Nehemiah." "I assume that when you again read this kind of chapter," "You may ask the very same question," "That I mentioned in our previous meeting together." "Why in the world does the Lord allow these names," "these genealogies of Hebrew men," "Mentioned again and again and again in that book of Nehemiah." "And I would like you to notice," "That in Old Testament genealogies," "Most of the time,

if not all, are only men mentioned." "You hardly find any women mentioned," "In the genealogies of Old Testament," "The Tanakh history." "And the reason is simply this," "Not because the women are not important," "But because in biblical accounting," "the men, the male, are the heads of the homes," "are the heads of the tribes," "the heads of their families," "and therefore you find the male men's names mentioned," "rather than the women." "When we read in the Brit HaChadasha," "in the New Testament," "you might say the New Testament writers," "broke with the normal biblical tradition," "and they mention five women," "in the book of Matthew," "in the genealogy of Yeshua HaMashiach." "If you remember in Matthew chapter

1," "you find women," "for example, "you find the mother of Yeshua," "by the name of Miriam," "you find Ruth HaMuaviyah," "the Moabitish woman," "you find Tamar," "is mentioned there," "you find the wife of Uriah," "the Chittite," "you find Rachav," "the prostitute," "mentioned in the genealogy of Yeshua," "the Messiah." "but in Biblical Old Testament," "before the Messiah come," "the genealogy given to us in the Hebrew Scripture," "are most likely nearly entirely only male men," "to represent the headship over the rest of the nation of Israel." "It's not a matter of superiority at all," "it's just a matter of the way God designed it," "and presented this before us in the Scripture." "Well, to read such a

passage like that," "with many Hebrew names," "again remind us of these two verses," "that I would like you to turn in the New Testament," "2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16," "Paul said to Timothy," "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God," "and is profitable for doctrine," "for reproof," "for correction," "for instruction in righteousness." "Vers 17," "that the men of God may be mature," "or perfect," "thoroughly furnished unto all good works." "Paul said to Timothy," "Timothy," "it doesn't matter what part of the Bible you might read," "doesn't matter what part of the Scripture you will read," "even the list of names that are given," "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God," "and they are

profitable." "Look at another verse," "if you just turn to 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 21." "Peter wrote," "in the last verse of chapter 1," "for the prophecy came not in all time by the will of men," "but holy men of God spake as they were moved by Ruach HaKodesh," "the Holy Spirit of God." "So it is very clear, beloved brothers and sisters," "that whatever we have in the book of Nehemiah," "including the multitude of names," "all of these lists teach us many important lessons," "and they are profitable for our own learning." "I've been encouraged to give some of the meanings of these names," "before we're going to go through these lists here," "go back to

chapter 12 of Nehemiah," "verse 1," "this is where the list of the genealogy of the priests and the Levites," "it says that," "now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zubavel," "the son of Sha'altiel." "Now just pause here for a moment." "You see, now in the book of Nehemiah," "it's about 444-445 BC," "now all of a sudden we have a list mentioned," "of a group that came with Zubavel," "some years before." "If you will notice the book of Ezra," "was written many years earlier," "in fact in Ezra chapter 2," "this list is mentioned as well," "and there at about 535 BC," "about 90 years have passed by," "and now Nehemiah is

mentioned," "and recording before us," "some of the people that have come already a long time ago," "and their descendants," "who are now living in Israel," "living in the city of Jerusalem," "building the city," "building the temple," "building the wall," "and living in the land of Israel." "You notice the man's name is Zubavel." "It comes from two Hebrew words," "Zaruah be Bavel," "Zaru Bavel," "Zaruah means he has been sowed," "or you know when you sow a seed," "where?" "in Bavel." "It is this man by the name of Zaru Bavel," "was the leader of the Jewish people who came earlier," "after the 70 years being in captivity in Bavel," "they came and he was that leader that

led them," "over 50,000 Hebrews," "Jewish men and women," "he brought with him back to the land." "His name was Zaru Bavel," "Zaruah be Bavel," "sown in the land of Babylon." "And from there he came back," "as God had raised him to come back to the promised land." "By the way, notice that his father's name is Sha'altiel." "This is such a beautiful name." "Sha'alti" means "I asked." "El" means "God" in Hebrew.

"Sha'alti" means "I have asked or inquired of God." "Can you imagine Zaru Bavel," "the son of Sha'altiel?" "I have been sown in Bavel," "but I have asked God and I am inquired from God," "What shall I do?" "And God had raised Zaru Bavel," "the son of Sha'altiel," "to come back to the promised land with many of the priests from among the nation of Israel." "Look who he brought with him." "It says in verse 1b, "Yeshua and Seraiah and Yirmiyah and Ezra." "And again I have been encouraged just to give a little bit of explanation of those names." "For example, Yeshua is the very same name of Yeshua HaMashiach." "Yeshua the Messiah that we believe in." "You see this name was already given to a man some years ago before the Messiah was born into this world." "And his name was Yeshua." "And he was a priest among our nation, the returned remnant of the people of Israel." "His name was Yeshua." "But not only this, it says another man by the name of Sar-Yah." "Sar" means a prince.

"Ya" is a short form of Jehovah or Yehovah. "He was a prince of Yehovah by virtue of his name." "Another name was Yirmiyah or Jeremiah as you would say it in English." "Yaram or Yarem" means "leromem" to exalt. "And Ya" again Jehovah.

"I will exalt Jehovah." "These are beautiful names with many, many meanings." "Then you have the name of Azariah and Ammariah." "And we can just go on and take these lists of names and learn some lesson from them." "You know, when you would give a name to a Hebrew boy, it was the reason behind this in Biblical time." "Something happened to the family, or something they wanted to happen in their family." "And they gave that kind of a name to their own children in order to speak forth the purposes and the plans that God had for them in their lives." "So we're not going to touch so much on the first 26 verses." "But we have

a genealogy of priests, Kohanim, Levites, Leviim, that mentioned already from the time of Zerub Havel, some 90 years prior to the time of Nehemia." "They were already in the land and there were descendants are mentioned here." "So verses 1 to 9, we have the priests who came with Rehub Havel." "Verses 10 to 21, we have their descendants, the priests, the Kohanim." "And verse 22 to 26, we have a list of the chief of the fathers of those that were the Levites, the priests, and the porters." "Now, we're not going to talk about that so much, but I want to highlight one thing here." "Brothers and sisters, in verse 24." "Notice that." "Again, it's not coincident,

because it says in verse 24," "And the chief of the Levites, Chashaviah, Sherabiah, and Yeshua, the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them." "Notice that." "They were raised up to praise and to give thanks." "In Hebrew, lehalel, lehodot." "It says why?" "According to the commandments of David, the man of God, word over against word." "Now, notice that." "Apparently, David's name is now mentioned here." "And some years prior, to the time of Nehemiah, and even to the time of Zerub Havel," "David already gave instruction to some of the people of Israel, from the Leviim, from the Levites, from the tribe of Levi," "Notice it says their responsibility was to praise in Hebrew lehalel and

to give thanks." "There were selected groups that they were responsible to lead the rest of the nation in giving thanks and praising God." "Now, I tell you, when I think about those things, I'm wondering if in our midst, sometimes, we might not need to designate somebody to do so." "But can you imagine when you have a brother or sister who always have an attitude to praise the Lord?" "Always have an attitude to give thanks." "In all things, to give thanks to the Lord." "And it's kind of rub in, it really touch you." "And you really see, Lord, how come this particular brother or sister have so many difficult times in their life and yet they

can give thanks to the Lord?" "They can set up an example for us of giving thanks and praising the Lord." "And here you have this group of people that David raised." "I Chronicles 25, the first seven verses." "He has set them with the responsibility that publicly they were to give thanks and praise unto the Lord." "And the Bible called David the man of God." "In Hebrew, Ish ha Elohim." "Now you and I might say, well, how can you call David a man of God?" "Look at his history." "He failed so much in his life and you remember the wrong thing that he have done in his life." "And yet we learn from these dear brothers

and sisters, as far as God's concerned." "Who knows our hearts." "Who knows the weaknesses that is existing in us." "When David had confessed his sin and repented before the Lord, God forgave his sin." "And God had restored David back to himself." "And that's why he can call him the man of God." "You see, you and I can also be called the men or the women that belong to God, that serve the Lord." "But it makes it necessary for us to repent and to turn away from a time when we go astray and we fall before the Lord." "David is called David Ish Ha Elohim." "David, the man of God." "What a precious thing it is

to be reminded here by the Lord in this passage of Nehemiah 12:24." "Okay, so really brothers and sisters, the first 26 verses you might say belong to the 11th chapter, because in the 11th chapter we had the same list in our previous ministry of Hebrew name, one after another, of the priests, of the Levites, of the porters, of the servants that never will be forgotten by the Lord.

He placed them as a record before us to remind us of their faithfulness to the Lord, the God of Israel." "But now from verse 27 to verse 47, I would like to highlight certain things for our benefit today. I want you to notice that really the theme of these 12 chapters is the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem." "In verse 27, 28 and 29 we find out the bringing about all the Levites to come to dedicate the wall of the city of Jerusalem." "Notice that it says here in verse 27, 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 thanksgiving, with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps." "So here we find out immediately that even though the wall was already done, the gates were already in place, yet they haven't dedicated the wall of the city of Jerusalem to the Lord." "Now remember that walls represent protection, separation from that which is against us." "Walls represent, you might say, an enclosure where God's people are being separated unto the Lord." "Now is the time to celebrate and to acknowledge what God has done for our Jewish people, and the dedication of the wall is being done collectively." "So what do they do?

They are looking for all the Levites, the people who are from the tribe of Levi, because Levi was a tribe out of which the priests and the servants of the temple were there collected by the Lord." "So they were looking for them. Notice that they looked them out of all their places to bring them into Jerusalem and to keep the dedication of the wall in Jerusalem." "And notice what the requirement was. The requirement was to keep the dedication with gladness." "Simcha. Simcha. You know, God wants us to be joyful people sometimes when we are not enjoying the Lord. We cannot stir up joy in the heart of someone else when we do not have that gladness, that joy in our own hearts." "You remember what we already read in Nehemiah chapter 8 and verse 10 when Nehemiah said to the Jewish people, to his own brethren, he said, "For the joy of the Lord is your strength." "And when a believer has no joy in his heart, it is evident that there is a problem here." "I often think of the apostle Paul." "You remember when he was in prison with Silas in the book of Acts in chapter 16 in the city of Philippi." "They were singing to the Lord.

Now, I am not sure if I will be able to sing to the Lord when I am in prison and beaten and in chain." "And yet he had such an attitude of joy in his heart." "They were singing.

They were praising while they were there in prison." "And the Lord relieved them." "And he opened the doors." "And you remember, he led them outside of prison." "And ultimately, he had arrived to be with the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem." "It's so beautiful." "And we need these brothers and sisters." "We need to develop in our hearts a good relationship with the Lord." "And the joy of the Lord will be evident in our life as we are occupied with Yeshua." "You see, they didn't want the Levites to come to dedicate the temple in Jerusalem and the walls there without any gladness and joy in their hearts." "So they wanted them to come with gladness." "And notice

that it continued." "With thanksgiving." "And with singing." "And with cymbals." "And with psalteries." "And with harps." "In other words, they were playing music." "And they were singing and praising the Lord for what he had done for them." "Well, they sought for them in verse 27." "And notice they found them and they brought them to lead the celebration in the city of Jerusalem." "It says in verse 28 and then 29." "Notice the singers of Israel gathered themselves." "And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together." "Both out of the plain country and round about Jerusalem." "And from the villages of Nettofeti." "And from the house of Gilgal." "And from the fields of Geva." "And Azmavet." "And

the singers had built themselves villages round about the city of Jerusalem." "So they collected everyone to come to Jerusalem." "To sing and to lead the people of Israel with song and praise." "In the Chanukat Chumat Yerushalayim." "The dedication of the wall of Jerusalem." "Now if they're going to lead the people of Israel with song." "What kind of condition they had to have in their lives." "They couldn't be people that didn't care for the things of the Lord." "They can say, 'Well, I'm a Hebrew." "I'm Jewish." "I'm from the tribe of Levi." "But I'm not in a good relationship with the Lord." "They couldn't do so if they were not in a right spiritual condition." "You

notice that, brothers and sisters." "When we are not right with the Lord." "Even though we are children of God." "We belong to Yeshua HaMashiach." "We are saved." "We are going to be in glory forever." "Because of what He has done for us." "But when we are not walking with the Lord." "And our lives are not right with the Lord." "We have no liberty." "We have no joy." "We cannot help somebody else to be led closer to the Lord." "When we ourselves at times are not right with the Lord." "And therefore, they needed to purify themselves." "In other words, they had to make things right with God." "And then they could lead the worship and the

song in the land of Israel." "And so notice what it says in verse 30." "Look at the purification." "It says, and the priests and the Levites purified themselves." "Now notice how important." "They began at home." "They didn't begin to purify somebody else first." "But they first of all purify themselves." "You know, sometimes brother, there is so much to learn from here." "It seems to be that we are ready to correct somebody else." "While we haven't yet have dealt with our own issues." "Haven't purified ourselves." "I know that you know it." "At times we are not realizing that I need to first of all make sure that I'm dealing with my heart." "And so it says

here very clearly." "The priests and the Levites, number one, purified themselves." "Secondly, now that they purify themselves." "Then they purified," verse 30, "the people of Israel." "And then thirdly, they purified the gates and the wall." "The word for purify comes from the Hebrew word letaher." "Letaher" means to remove anything that is not in accordance with the will of God.

Could you turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12? It says here in verse 1, "Wherefore seen we also are compass about with so great cloud of witnesses." "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us." "And let us run with patience the rays that is set before us." "Looking unto Yeshua, the author and the finisher of faith." "Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross." "Despising the shame." "And he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." "Just like Nehemiah in his days, 445, 444 BC." "He's on you might say another Hebrew believer who wrote to the Hebrew Christians, to the Messianic Jews." "Brethren." "Brethren," he says to them.

"Look, we have such a good testimony in Hebrews chapter 11 of the history of our forefathers." "The list of these men and women of God." "Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and on and on and on." "You have such a good testimony." "Great cloud of witnesses." "Let us now lay aside." "Lay aside what?" "Every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us." "And let us run with patience the rays that is set before us." "If we are going to lead others and to be a good example to them and to be a blessing to them." "And to be running forward in leadership." "We ourselves have to be purified." "Nechemiah said to the priests and the Levites."

"And the Hebrew writer to the Hebrew believers who said to them." "Brethren, if we are going to move forward, we ourselves have to recognize our failure and our sin." "The sin which does so easily beset us." "And so he says, let us purify." "And you know, brothers and sisters, hear that word." "It says in verse 30 that they purify." "Purification." "How do we get purified and clean?" "Because we all get dirty so quickly." "We get dirty in our own hearts because we know how sinful our own hearts." "He noticed what the writer said, the sin which does so easily beset us." "There may be a sin of unbelief." "There may be a sin of pride."

"There may be a sin of self-will." "There may be a sin of whatever kind of sin that rise so easily to beset us." "In the situation of these Hebrews, it was the sin of unbelief." "How do we handle that?" "Well, God made a provision." "Thank God for this, brothers and sisters." "How does one purify himself like these priests purify themselves?" "It's simply to repent before the Lord." "And tell him, Lord, I fail you.

I've sinned." "You remember what the provision is in 1 John 1:9." "If we confess our sins." "He is faithful." "And he is just to forgive us and to cleanse us or purify us from all unrighteousness." "This is the ministry that the Lord is doing for us today." "Believers who repent when they've gone astray, they can be purified again and be used again by the Lord." "See, otherwise, brothers and sisters, who can serve God?" "God is leading people who already have fallen into sin." "He knows who we are, but he saved us for himself." "And now he wants to sustain us in a good relationship with him." "It will be used by him in the midst

of the people." "And so it's so precious that we find out how they purified themselves." "Turn to Psalm 24 with me, please." "It says there, verses 3." "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?" "Or who shall stand in his holy place?" "He that has a clean hands." "And a pure heart." "Who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity." "Nor swarmed deceitfully." "He shall receive the blessing from the Lord." "And righteousness from the God of his salvation." "See, God knows us." "He knows by nature who we are." "But because he wants us to be used for him." "After he had saved us when he forgave our sin and sin through Yeshua the Messiah."

"Now he wants to use us." "And so just like the priests of all." "The old Levim of our own people historically in the time of Nehemiah." "We too can do so today." "And I can tell you, it is a blessing when we are confessing before the Lord and turning to him." "And then he can restore us." "As the psalmist says, he restores my soul." "He cleanses us again and he washes us again." "And he helps us to continue on to live as a testimony for him in this world." "So this is beautiful to learn from verse 30." "And so in verse 31a, Nehemiah bring everyone there upon the walls." "And you notice it says here,"

"And I brought up the princess of Judah upon the wall." "Just last March, I took a group on the walls of Jerusalem." "It's a very beautiful sight." "You are there, there is a pathway along the wall." "And when you walk there you can see Mount Olives if you are facing the eastern side." "And then you can see the valley of Kidron right below." "And it's so interesting when you walk a little bit on the walls of Jerusalem." "Of course the walls of today are not the walls of the time of Nehemiah." "But it is still beautiful to think." "Nehemiah, he says, listen, we got the walls now up." "We got the gates now standing up."

"We want to dedicate that wall to God." "And acknowledge him for who he is and for what he have done for us." "So Nehemiah brought all those princes of Judah." "He placed them upon the wall." "And he divided them into two groups." "It says in verse 31b." "And he appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks." "In other words, as they were walking on the walls of the city of Jerusalem." "They were singing and giving thanks to the Lord." "Because the Lord had helped them to build the wall." "The Lord had brought them from Babel to be restoring the city of Jerusalem." "And so I want you to notice that from verse 31, where

we are now, all the way to verse 37." "You have the first group which march toward the Dang Gate and ultimately to the East Gate." "We just read that and so you can see that and we are going to point to that." "It says in verse 31c." "Whereof one group went on the right hand upon the wall towards the Dang Gate." "And after them went Hoshaya and Azariah, Ezra, Meshulam, Yehuda, Shemaya, Binyamin and Yirmiya." "And certain of the priests sung with trumpets." "So imagine they were going down, you see here's the Dang Gate." "It's right in the south of the city of Jerusalem." "And so apparently they were going this way, passing the Dang Gate."

"And going up the wall all the way up till the East Gate." "Shar HaMizrach." "We call it in Hebrew." "And as they were marching, there was trumpets and other musical instruments." "And then you notice the one who marched before them was this priest by the name of Ezra." "When you remember Ezra, he was the one that gave us the book of Ezra." "He was the one that returned to Jerusalem later on after Zerubabel to beautify the temple of the city of Yerushalayim." "He was leading the march around the wall, passing the Dang Gate, going up the Fountain Gate, passing the Water Gate, passing the Horse Gate, getting all the way to the East Gate." "I'll

read this verse 37." "And at the Fountain Gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the City of David, at the going up of the wall above the House of David, even unto the Water Gate, eastward." "So they passed the Dang Gate." "They went up all the way to the East Gate and passing from here the City of David below the City of Jerusalem and went up all the way towards the Eastern Gate." "As they were marching, as they were singing, as they were blowing the trumpets, chatzotzrot, and with all sorts of musical instruments." "Now again, it reminds me of certain times in history." "For example, if you remember the

blowing of the trumpet in Joshua time, they went seven times around the city of Jericho." "And the whole walls of Jericho were broken down on the seventh time." "And in the time of Gideon." "You remember how Gideon was telling the people of Israel to take trumpets and vessels and lights in their hands." "Those three instruments." "And every one of these symbolically teach us a great lesson." "The vessel is representing the human race." "Man who is merely a vessel for the Lord." "Love God, we are like vessels." "And then if you remember Gideon said to them, you break the vessel, and then the light will shine out." "And as long that we are not broken before

the Lord, we could never be a testimony for the Lord." "And that's why God sometimes have to teach us and to give us lessons in our lives to allow us to be broken before Him." "And when we are broken, you might say, depend upon Him." "Then our light can shine for the Lord." "So the blowing of the trumpet in Joshua time." "The breaking of the vessel in Gideon's time, in the judges' time." "And in both lessons you can see how one can defeat the enemy when there are vessels that are serving the Lord." "It's two different times, in Joshua time it was the shofar, the trumpet, in Gideon's time it was also the trumpets." "But

two different events that happened, and yet they were both serving the Lord." "And here is the one group was going all the way south and north on the eastern side, and arriving to the gate there called Eastern Gate." "Now quickly, in the next verse, 38 to 39, we have the second group." "Now this group have been led in a different direction." "Instead of towards the east, they went the opposite." "They were on the west side, upward, and they have arrived all the way to the inspection gate." "And there they kind of met together." "So one group going from the eastern side, the other one going on the western side, and they are all meeting up

there at the house of God." "And so I'm reading now verse 38 and 39." "And the other company of them that gave thanks, went over against them, and I after them, and half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnace, even unto the broad wall.

"And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hanani'el, and the tower of Me'ah, even unto the sheep gate." "They stood still in the prison gate." "It's a name that is mentioned the first time here called the prison gate." "Some suggest that this is actually the inspection gate, but together they were singing as they were walking around the city of Jerusalem." "It's such a precious truth to get a hold of." "Israel singing to the Lord, walking around the walls of Jerusalem, singing and praising God and making melody to thank the Lord for what he had done for them." "Now you notice that in verses 14 to 43, we have the two groups met at the house of God." "It says in verse 40," "So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God." "And I, and half of the rulers with Me, and the priest Eliakim, and Maasiyah." And I give you again names of lists of people in verse 41 and 42.

"Beloved brothers and sisters, at the end they were reaching to the house of the Lord." "The purpose is at the end to come to the temple, which was situated right in the middle of the city of Jerusalem." "They surrounded in singing all around the wall, and they finally arrived to the house of God." "And here in the house of God, they were now dedicating the wall to the Lord and giving thanks to him for what he had done." "For them." "God made them rejoice." "God provided for them this wall of Jerusalem." "He is the one who brought them in to the city and protected them." "And so notice how verse 43, the expression there, very

nice expression." "At that day," he says, "they offered great sacrifices, and they rejoiced." "For God had made them rejoice with great joy." "Their wives and the children rejoiced." "So that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off." "You see, there was such a joy in Jerusalem in those days." "Because God had provided for these Jewish people." "They were captives for so many years in Babel." "And now they are finally back at home." "The walls are there." "So they rejoiced and they sang praises to God." "And you notice it does say that God had made them rejoice." "You know, brothers and sisters, what we look for in our life in order to have joy." "In

this world, when we look around, we try to get satisfaction from so many things." "We might be happy for a season." "But joy is a lasting joy." "Happiness depends upon things that happen here temporarily." "But we notice how they pass by very quickly." "But joy is much more than just happiness." "It's not depend only on things, but it depends upon God." "And for us, it depends upon our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah." "He had made them rejoice." "He had given them gladness and joy in their hearts." "And their wives, and their children, everyone." "And you notice it said at the end of verse 43." "That their joy have been far reaching beyond the city of Jerusalem."

"As far off as possible." "Many have heard of the celebration of the people of Israel in the city of Jerusalem." "Could you please turn with me to Psalm 92 verses 1 to 5." "And I'm reading." "It says there, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord." "And to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High." "To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning." "And thy faithfulness every night." "Upon an instrument of ten strings." "And upon the psaltery." "Upon the harp." "With Solomon's sound." "Now notice the reason." "For thou, O Lord, hast made me glad." "Through thy work I will triumph in the works of thine hand." "O Lord, how great are thy

works." "And thy thoughts are very deep." You see, the psalmist of Israel that sang this song could say, "Lord, you have made me glad." You see, in Psalm 92 it's very individual and personal.

"You have made me glad." While in Nehemiah chapter 12, "You have made them glad." "It's a collective, the whole nation." "And I'm challenging you and myself, brothers and sisters, "that you and I also need to find gladness and joy "in our blessed Lord Yeshua the Messiah, "who made us glad because of what He has done for us." "You remember sometimes we sing, "He hath made me glad." "He hath made me glad." "Well, Yeshua has made us glad." "Why?" "He hath provided for us." "He forgave our sins." "He hath given us to be able to live in this country." "He hath provided for us so many things." "Even material things, He hath blessed us here." "A lot of mercies He hath provided for us." "So, there's a reason for us to be glad and to be thankful for what He hath done for us." "So, Israel rejoiced and the city of Yerushalayim in the time of Nehemiah, "in the time of Moses when he led the people of Israel out of Egypt and later on coming into the land." "The Lord had made Israel glad." "It is good to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name." "O, Most High," the psalmist of Israel could say.

Another verse I want to read in the book of Hebrews, again, chapter 13. You notice that we read that they offered sacrifices and they rejoiced. Nehemiah, chapter 12, verse 43. Well, look what Hebrews, chapter 13 tells us in verses 15 and 16. The apostle, again, says, "By Him." This is by Yeshua, the Messiah. "Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually." "He is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name." "But to do good and to communicate, forget not." "For with such sacrifices God is well pleased." You notice twice the word "sacrifice" is mentioned here. The first time the word "sacrifice" has applied to giving praise to God for what He had done for us.

The second, in verse 16, is to communicate, to help, to encourage, to be a blessing to one another. That is like a sacrifice that we offer to the Lord, and it is well pleasing with the Lord. And so we can do so by the Mashiach Yeshua. This is something we need to do, brothers and sisters. When we get up in the morning, think about it. We are starting a new day. We are going to ask from the Lord to give us so many things. "Lord, lead me here. Give me there. Do this for me." But you know what the Lord would like to hear is when we say, "Lord Yeshua, Lord Jesus, I thank You for the fact that You are my Savior.

That You are my Lord. That You pay the price for my sin and sin. I am opening my mouth." It says, "Let us offer the sacrifices of praise continually, which is the fruit of our lips." You know, we have to open our lips and to say, "Thank You, Lord, for what You have done for us." That is what the Lord desires from His own people. We have two groups walking around the city of Jerusalem on top of the walls of Jerusalem, praising God with song, meeting each other at the temple of the Lord. There they lift up their voices and they sing to the Lord together.

Because God had made them rejoice with great joy, their wives, their children. And the joy of Jerusalem went beyond the cities. And many have heard of the joy of Jerusalem. So look at the conclusion of this chapter. Verses 44 to verse 47. There we can see that they have restored the temple order in the city of Jerusalem in the temple itself. You see, so much disorder has happened for so many years. And now they want to set things in order. So notice verse 44. They appointed those who are going to be caring for the offerings that are being offered for the temple. It says, "And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offering, for the first fruits, and for the tithe, to gather into them, out of the fields of the cities, the portion of the law, for the priests and the Levites, for Judah rejoiced, for the priests and for the Levites that waited, that served." So they set up an order.

The people of Israel were bringing the offering to the Lord. They were the ones who ministered unto the Levites and to the priests as they were serving among the people of God. Then notice in verse 45 and verse 46. The people there kept their faithfulness, their doing, steady. They continued to serve the Lord faithfully. It says here in verse 45. "And both the singers and the porters, they kept word of their God and the word of their purification, according to the commandments of David and Solomon his son." See, that word kept, meaning that they kept steady to do faithfully what they were called to do. Now in service for the Lord, we need to have steadiness and continuity.

If we are going to serve the Lord, we are going to serve Him steady. We are to walk steady with Him and to be like a pillar, immovable, as we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, in the work of the Lord, to do faithfully what God gave us to do, whatever He had given us to do. If the Lord called us to do something for Him, well, we have to do this faithfully as unto the Lord. Just like those Levites, the singers and the porters, they kept mishmeret, steady, what they were called to do, according to the commandments that David gave them and that his son Shlomo had given to them many, many years ago.

In verse 46, it says, "In the days of David and the days of Asaph, of old, there were chiefs of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God." They instructed years ago the people of Israel to do that order of service for the Lord, to sing. And those who are responsible of the temple in Jerusalem, God gave them instruction through David and Solomon and they wanted to keep it in order. And then finally, brothers and sisters, in verse 47, Israel responded as a nation to the will of the Lord. This is really one of the times, you might say in history, that the whole nation was in a short while, good condition.

You'll notice that the next chapter, already things have gone astray, it didn't take too long, and they've gone astray. But notice this expression here, in the last verse: "And all Israel, in the days of Zubabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portion of the singers and the porters, every day his portion. And they sanctified the holy things unto the Levites, and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron." This is one of those times that you can see that all Israel, in some, you might say, small measure, for a very short period of time, have, as it says here, they gave the portion to the singers, the porters.

Every day they were faithful in the things that they were called to do, and then they maintained that order in the will of the Lord. And God would like also us to be kept in a good state spiritually, so we also can be used for him here in this world. And now finally, brothers and sisters, look at this. The walls of Jerusalem are now being dedicated to the Lord. The temple is in the center. Israel is now gathered to the temple, giving the praise to the Lord. Here, you might say there is a very short time of a good, healthy condition that existed. But unfortunately, somebody said, "I wish that the book of Nehemiah would have ended right here, at the end of chapter 12." And we wouldn't have to read chapter 13, but you will notice, as we're going to study, Lord willing, the next chapter, that failure came again in the history of our people Israel, just the same like often times failure comes in our own lives, and we need again to be restored.

We need again to repent and turn to the Lord, but the Lord is always ready to restore us to himself. May the Lord help us, brothers and sisters, even as we study such a chapter as Nehemiah chapter 12.