Shabbat Shalom, everyone. Please open your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah, chapter 7. This ministry meeting, we have covered the first six chapters so far. And as we arrive to Nehemiah, chapter 7, we found here a list of names of our own Jewish people found here in this chapter. We are not going to read all the names that are found here, but we still will learn some important lessons that are found here in Nehemiah, chapter 7. So let me read at least some of the verses found here in Nehemiah, chapter 7. We begin with verse 1. Now, verse 1. Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters, and the singers, and the Levites were appointed.

That night I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the ruler of the palace charged over Yerushalayim. For he was a faithful man, and feared God above many. And I said unto them, let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot. And while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them, and appoint watchers of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch, and everyone to be over against his house. Now the city was large, and great, but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded. And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy.

And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein. These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away from Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem, and to Judah, everyone unto his city. Who came with Zerubavel, Yeshua, Nechemiah, Azariah, Ramiyah, Nachmani, Mordechai, Bilshan, Misperet, Bigvai, Nachum, Ba'ana. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this. And from verse 8 until verse 69, we have the list of the names of the people of Israel. Now let's read in verse 66.

The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand, three hundred and sixty. Beside the men's servants and their maiden servants, of whom there were seven thousand, three hundred and thirty-seven, and they had two hundred and forty and five singing men and singing women. Verse 68. Their horses, seven hundred and thirty and six. Their mules, two hundred and forty and five. Their camels, four hundred and thirty and five. Six thousand and seven hundred and twenty donkeys. And some of the chief of their fathers gave unto the work. The Tarshatta gave to the treasure a thousand drums of gold. Fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests garment. And some of the chief of their fathers gave to the treasure of the work.

They took twenty thousand drums of gold. And two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver. And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drums of gold. And two thousand pounds of silver. And sixty and seven priests garment. saw the priests and the Levites and the porters and the singers and some of the people and the Netanyim. And all Israel dwelt in their cities. And when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. I'm going to stop here with the reading for today's ministry. I only read the first few verses in the beginning of the chapter. And the last few verses at the end of the chapter.

Because the seventh chapter of Nehemiah gives us a list of genealogy. The Hebrew names of those who lived now in Israel after their return from Babel. Now this is important brothers and sisters. Hear this seventh chapter. Because I want you to notice that even though there is a list of names. We have to realize that there is a reason why we have such a list. And they are found by the way in Ezra chapter 2 and Nehemiah chapter 7. Almost an identical list of Hebrew names. Of these Jewish people who came back from Babel. Now many times unfortunately when you would read those two lists. Those that do not believe in the Bible and the inspiration of the word of God.

They find some faults in them. And the reason that if you will read carefully Ezra chapter 2 and Nehemiah chapter 7. You will find out that there is at least 17 numbers that do not match. And many from the unbelieving world. From the liberals. Says you see Gideon the word of God is not divinely inspired. There is some problems with the word of God. Because if you have the list in Ezra 2. And it's repeated in Nehemiah chapter 7. What is the problem? Why there is no continuity in those two chapters? Well you will find out that when Ezra returned to the land of Israel. And when Nehemiah came to the land of Israel.

There were many years that have passed by. There were new children born to some of the families. They live in a different time. At least 100 years or so. You remember there were 70 years in Babel. And then about 70 years after 538 BC. Ezra and some came back to the land. And then they began to build a temple in Jerusalem. Some years later. 444 BC. Then Nehemiah came. And his men. And there is at least about 100 years or more. Between the two writings of Ezra and Nehemiah. And the timing is different. Children are born. People die. Things are different in those two periods of time. Of the history of our Jewish people.

But I want today in this message. To show us how important it was for Nehemiah. And for the Jewish people who returned from Babel. And later on from Persia. How it was important for them. To set things in order. Among the nation of Israel. You see. It's not sufficient to bring Jewish people back to the land. It's not sufficient to bring them all the way from captivity. To place them in the land. And allow them to have disorder in their midst. Just the same like for you and I today. It's not right for us. To have an assembly. A congregation of believers. And to have things in disarray.

And in disorder. And what we have here. The theme of this chapter. Is the importance of order. Among the people of God. You and I might not look at that list. So much today with the name. Because it's very difficult. Even to pronounce the name. Of these Hebrew men and women. But I would like to highlight. Some important thought for our hearts. As believers in Yeshua the Messiah. We learn from Nehemiah so much. First of all. I want you to know this. That by the time we get to chapter 7. Nehemiah already experienced. In chapter 4. Opposition from without. In chapter 5. Opposition from within. And in chapter 6.

Opposition through snares. And craftiness. Already there. We read chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. There was opposition from without. You remember. The son Balat. And those friends of him. Wanted to destroy the walls of Jerusalem. And then later on. We find in chapter 5. That there was a problem within. That there was a friction. Between the Jewish people. There was a cry. That went up to heaven. To God. Because they were treating each other. In a wrong way. They were abusing each other. They were taking each other's properties. And they were making merchandise from each other. And they were crying to God. Because there was so much disorder. And then in chapter 6.

The study that we have done. In a previous meeting together. San Balat. Tuviyah. Geshem. And the rest of the enemies of Israel. Wanted to craftily sneak around. And influence Nehemiah. To come outside of Jerusalem. And they actually wanted to kill him. In a crafty manner. But now we get to chapter 7. And Nehemiah have gone through these experiences. And he knew. If there is a way. To protect Jerusalem. And to protect the Jewish people. He must set things in order. Let me mention it in our situation. If any local congregation. Who want to grow. Who want to mature. And who want to be a blessing in the world around us.

They must set things in order. They must be careful. Watchful. Wise in their dealing. In their conduct. In their behavior. If there will be growth. And blessing. For the people of God. You remember what Yeshua said. I am the door. By me. If any man enter in. He shall be saved. And then he says. That the false shepherds. That rise up. Even in past history. And the present time. False shepherd arise. He is coming to kill. He is like a thief. Coming to kill. And to destroy. Among the people of God. But the Lord Yeshua. The Messiah said. That he is the good shepherd. And the good shepherd laid down his life.

For the sheep. He came in. In the right way. He is leading the people of God. In the right way. And he wants the shepherds. That God has established. Even among the people of God. To instruct. And to help. And to watch over God's people. And so. You notice how he proceeded. We are basically going to deal. Most of the time. With the first verses. Of chapter 7. In verses 1 and 2. He assigns. Responsible. And faithful people. To take responsibility. In the city of Jerusalem. You notice. Look at this. Verse 1. Now it came to pass. When the wall was built. And I set up the doors. And the porters.

And the singers. And the Levites were appointed. And I gave my brother Hanani. And Hananiah. The ruler of the palace. Charge over Jerusalem. For he was a faithful man. And feared God above many. You notice this. We begin. First of all. You can see. The importance of setting things. In order. The wall was done. The whole city of Jerusalem. The doors. Was also set up. See the doors. Were smaller door. That was part of the larger gate. You have a shahar gate. And then you have a smaller doors. Where people will go in and out. You might open all the gates. Or you might open the small door.

Within the gate. And once everything was set up. Then Nehemiah says. Wait a minute. I'm not going to allow everybody. Just to come in and out. As they please. There is a necessity of carefulness. Who is going to come in. And who is going to go out. You know I can tell you this. Even from today. In the history of our people Israel. Do you think. Anyone will let anybody get into Israel. Or even into the city of Jerusalem. Even in the world today. When you pass from one country to another. You still have to show your passport. You still have to make sure. The country will protect their people.

Nehemiah have done the very same thing. But for us. There is a spiritual lesson here. He was saying. Listen. Wait a minute. We had an enemy from outside. We had Satan tried to attack us. And cause problems from within. We needed to straighten those matters. And they straightened those matters. But now we are going to be careful. And so. Notice it says in verse 1b. The porters. And the singers. And the Levites were appointed. And the interesting thing. The word for porter. In Hebrew is. Sho'arim. The porters. The sho'arim. The sho'er. What is the responsibility of the sho'er. Of the porter. Is to stand by the door.

And to watch those who come. And those who go. Well. You can say to Nehemiah. Nehemiah. Don't you trust God? You're going to say. Of course I trust God. The problem is that. I don't trust men. I trust God. But I don't trust men. I don't trust myself. I need the help of the Lord. And we all need the help of the Lord. And while we pray to God. We still have responsibility. To watch. Who is coming in. Who is going out. And you know. Brothers and sisters. It's very similar for us. As believers. We also need to watch. Spiritually speaking. Who are the people.

And what they teach. And how their practices. What their views are. In order to watch over the flock of God. Let me show you a verse. In 2nd John. Yohanan wrote this letter. To the early believers. As part of the family of God. Notice what John said. In verses 9. 10 and 11. It says. Whosoever transgresses. And abides not in the doctrine of the Mashiach. Or doctrine of the Messiah. Hath not God. He that abides in the doctrine of the Mashiach. Of Messiah. He has both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you. And bring not this doctrine. Receive him not into your house. Neither bid him God's speed.

For he that bidding him God's speed. Is partaker of his evil deed. Now. I don't know about in your home situation. But in our area. Sometimes we have those individuals. Who come two by two. They knock on the door. And they want to give you some material. That has a rejection of the divine nature. Of Yeshua the Messiah. Rejection of the truth of the word of God. Of the word of God. And therefore. You see. They come in. And they bring a teaching. That is not found in the word of God. So Nehemiah was wise. He is saying. Wait a minute. I want to be careful.

I want to protect these Jewish people. That returned from Bavell. I want to protect the city of Jerusalem. Shalom. I am going to set there. The porters. And they are going to watch. And I told you this. Over the years. In ministry. We have had all kind of views. That came across our pathway. Even in our own midst. When I was ministering. Up till today. All kind of views. Someone come with a denial. Of the Messiahship of Yeshua. Another one come with a denial. Of the divine nature of Yeshua the Messiah. Another one come with a denial. Of the triunity of the Godhead. Another one come.

With saying that we can get saved one day. And get lost another day. And on and on. Denial of the virgin birth of the Messiah. And so on. And in other words. There's many ways to heaven. You go your way. And I go my way. And you see what happened. In no time. We can have such problems. Among the people of God. And that's why doctrine. Teaching. And practice. Is very very important. Beloved brothers and sisters. And Nehemia says. I am going to place the porters. The shoarim. There in order. That they will be the one. That will watch. Who is coming in. And who is bringing things.

That are contrary. To the word of God. And then brothers and sisters. Of course. You and I today. Are all responsible. To seek. To study the word. And to be those. That are taught well. And sound. In the things of the Lord. That does not mean. That one of us. Have all the truth. None of us. Have all the truth. We are all in the school. Of God. But nevertheless. There need to be. Carefulness. In. What. Is allowed. To be brought. In. Nehemia. Did so. Nehemia. Set up. The porters. Secondly. You notice. It says. In verse. One. That he set up. The singers. That already.

In biblical time. David. Set up. First Chronicles. Chapter 15. From one of the tribes. Of Israel. There were risen. Those that were singing. Among the people of God. Leading the people of God. In worship. Now. Of course. I know. That over the years. In the history. Of the body of Messiah. We set a choir. And many have sung. In the front. And so on. And some of us. Are still. Singing today. Or leading the congregation. In singing. But. Brothers and sisters. The singers. Are all believers today. We are all responsible. To sing. To the Lord. And to lift up our voices. From our heart. To sing.

To the Lord. And glorifying the name. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. Let me read you a verse. From the book of Ephesians. Chapter 5. Where the apostle Paul. Encouraged. The believers at Ephesus. To sing. And I hope you and I. Have this desire. To sing. Chapter 5. Of Ephesians. Verse 19. Says. Speaking to yourselves. In psalms. And hymns. And spiritual songs. Singing. And making melody. In your heart. Unto the Lord. To the Lord. Giving thanks. Always. For all things. Unto God. And the Father. In the name. Of our Lord. Yeshua. Jesus. The Messiah. Singing. Is a privilege. And a responsibility. Of us all. But in the. History. Of our people.

Israel. There was a designation. Of a certain group. Of people. Who were singing. Many of them. Many of them. Perhaps. Wrote. The Psalms. Of Israel. Like David. And many others. Who wrote. The Psalms. Of Israel. The songs. That were lifted up. When Israel. Was singing. To the Lord. And you and I. Are responsible. To sing. To the Lord. And you know. A person. That doesn't. Have a desire. To sing. Not all of us have. You might say. The same quality. Of voices. But it is. From the heart. That we can sing. And believe. The guitar. That we use. Or a keyboard. That we use. Or any other instrument.

Though it is beautiful. It doesn't rise. Above the ceiling. You know. What rise above the ceiling. Is the song. That comes out. Of the heart. Of the believer. I will sing unto the Lord. For he had been victorious. The armies. Of the enemies. Have been defeated. But the people of God. Can sing unto the Lord. Singing. And making melodies. In your heart. And to the Lord. It is so beautiful. To hear the voices. Of believers. That are singing. To the Lord. And you know. Our song. Rise above the ceiling. Because God. Heal the voice. Of his people. Singing. About his son. And he. Rejoice. With the song.

Of the people of God. With psalms. And hymns. A spiritual song. Singing. And making melody. In your heart. Notice. It is not even. To each other. But it is. To the Lord. The singers. Are responsible. To sing. To the Lord. You know. So when you sing. When I sing. Let's sing. To the Lord. Like Nechemia. Set up the singers. To sing. But notice. Thirdly. Not only the. Porters. Shoarim. The singers. Meshorim. But also. The Levites. The Levim. Now who were the Levites? The Levites. Were the servants. And you see. How precious. It is. Because the servants. Were serving. Among the people. Of God. That's what.

The responsibility. Of the Levites. They would. Be the one. That will serve. In the temple. They will be the one. That will go. Place. To place. And they will. Bring the sacrifices. They will carry. The tabernacle. The responsibility. Was tremendous. In many areas. Around. The tabernacle. In the temple. In the land of Israel. Well. This is also. A responsibility. That you and I have. To serve. Among the people. Of God. Even though. Sometimes. Things are not. Necessarily. As easy. As we would like. Them. All. To be. Servants. Among the people. Of God. And I challenge. You brothers. And sisters. I can tell you. That you will never.

Have. So much. Joy. In your heart. Before the Lord. As when you. Serve. Him. And being a blessing. To the people. Of God. Moses. Called Moses. My servant. If you look. At the history. Of the people. Of Israel. They were serving. The servants. Were blessed. When they were serving. The Lord. The apostle. Paul. Called himself. As the servant. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. On behalf. Of God's people. So we don't need. To wait. For Moshe. Or to wait. For Shaul. Paul. But we are all. Responsible. To be servants. Among the people. Of God. But. Here it is. Verse 2. Tells us. Now. All was built. The gates.

Were set up. The porters. The singers. The Levites. The Levim. Now. Was set up. In verse 2. Nehemia. Gave. A charge. A responsibility. To a person. Who was faithful. It says. In verse 2. I gave. My brother. Hanani. In Hanania. The ruler. Of the palace. Charge. Over Yerushalayim. Jerusalem. For he was. A faithful man. And he feared God. Above many. Now. Here it is. Brothers and sisters. The Lord. Can use us. And the Lord. Wants. To use us. But it requires. Faithfulness. Faithfulness. Not perfection. But faithfulness. We know. From experience. In our personal life. Where we are not. Always. Faithful. But it is. Required. From a servant.

To be found. Faithful. Now you notice. That he doesn't say. That Hanani. That man. That he made him. To be the ruler. Over the. City of Jerusalem. It doesn't say. That Hanani. Went to school. And got a certain degree. Got a certain degree. He doesn't say. That he was. Wealthy man. And he was able. To conduct. Certain things. But he does say. That he was. Faithful. In other words. What it really. Teaches us. That if we are going. To serve the Lord. And to please the Lord. Not men. All the time. Not people. All the time. It is really. Required. That a person. Will be found.

Faithful. In Hebrew. The word is. Neeman. Eeman. Come from the Hebrew word. Emunah. Faith. And we need. This. God. Delight. In this. To see. Faithful. Brothers. Faithful. Sisters. Who just. Want to serve. The Lord. And they. Want to be. Those. That can be. A blessing. To God's people. It has nothing. To do. With degree. It doesn't have. Anything. To do. With. Politics. And position. And a name. That one. Have. It requires. A simple. Faithfulness. In the life. Of this person. Turn with me. To first. Corinthians. Chapter four. In the first. Few verses. We want to apply this. To us. Today. As. Nehemia. Did so. In the history.

Of our nation. Let. A man. So count. Of us. As. Of the servants. Of the Messiah. And the stewards. Of the mystery. Of God. And then. Verse two. Moreover. It is required. From a steward. That a man. May be found. Faithful. You know. It's such a wonderful. Thing. When. The Lord. Can say. Well done. Good. And. Faithful. Servant. Servant. You see. A servant. Is not a man. Pleaser. A servant. Is simply. Called. To serve. Yeshua. The Messiah. Was the greatest. Example. For us. As the servant. Of the Lord. The servant. Of. Yehovah. He was the one. That came. All the way. From heaven. Went all the way.

Down. To the cross. To the tree. With all the shame. That he had experienced. God. Has raised him. From among the dead. And set him. At the pinnacle. Of the universe. We need to develop. This in our hearts. You know. Sometime. We get so. Taking up. With our service. That we are occupied. With ourselves. Rather than with. The Lord. That we are serving. And sometimes. We get discouraged. Because whatever we do. It seems to be that people. Are not pleased enough. And we didn't quite. Make it. And we fail. Many times. And we don't realize. That what the Lord. Is looking for. Is simple. Faithfulness.

Another verse. To look at. Is a very interesting verse. Second Timothy. Chapter two. Again. Paul. Is writing. This time. He's writing to. Timothy. And he said. Verse one. Therefore my son. Be strong. In the grace. That is in the Messiah. Yeshua. And the things. Which thou have heard. Of me. Among many witnesses. The same. Commit. To. Faithful. Men. Who shall be able. To teach others. Also. Do you know. Brothers and sisters. The very fact. That you and I. Are here today. And are still reading. Our Bible. And are still going. To meeting. And are still praying. And are still seeking. To walk with the Lord.

Is because. Many other brothers. And sisters. Have been faithful. To set up an example. In your life. And mine. And that helped us. To say. Wait a minute. What they teach. Is the right thing. And I need to learn. From them. And the continuity. That they have. And the faithfulness. That they have. Become an example. To us. And so. We desire. To learn from them. It requires. From a steward. That he may be found. Faithful. Hanani. Was faithful. In our chapter. We find. What Nehemiah does. He placed. Hanani. As in charge. Over the city. Of Jerusalem. Again. I am reading. Verse 2. And I gave. My brother.

Hanani. And Hanania. The ruler. Of the palace. Charged. Over Jerusalem. For he was. A faithful man. And he feared. God. Above many. So here. Nehemiah. Watched. And by the way. That man. Hanani. Is the very one. That is found. In chapter 1. You remember. Nehemiah. Chapter 1. He was the one. That came back. From Jerusalem. And Nehemiah. Asked him. About the situation. That is found. Of the land. Of Israel. In the city. Of Jerusalem. Notice. In chapter 1. And verse 2. Then Hanani. One of my brethren. Came. And a certain man. Of Judah. And I asked him. Concerning the Jews. That escaped. You see. He was already. In the land.

Of Judah. He came back. To Persia. He gave. That information. To Nehemiah. And now. We find. Hanani. Again. In the city. Of Jerusalem. People. And he wanted them. To be blessed. To restore. The city. Of Jerusalem. What a beautiful. Example. And by the way. He called him. In chapter 7. My brother. Hanani. In Hebrew. Ahi. It's not necessarily. A brother. In the flesh. From the same. Mother. And father. But it is a brother. From among the nation. Of Israel. You see. There's an expression. That we say. In Hebrew. Kol Yisrael. Achim. All Israel. Are brethren. And why. We are all brethren. From the same nation. And even though.

They are brethren. From the same. Mother. We are still brethren. And you and I. Even though. We are not. From the same nation. Every believer. In Yeshua. The Messiah. Is one of the brethren. We are brethren. We are Achim. And Hanani. Was a faithful. Brother. And he could be set. To be over. The city of Jerusalem. What an example. We have here. So brothers and sisters. What we learn. In verses 1 and 2. Is the importance. Of setting things. In order. And beginning. In verses 1 and 2. Is assigning. Or recognizing. People that are. Going to be faithful. In their ministry. The porters. The singers. And the Levites. We need.

In our midst. Those. That the Lord. Will raise. To be a servant. Of the people of God. Faithful. Men. Faithful. Women. Everyone. That can be. A servant. Among the people of God. Are a blessing. And no wonder. He placed Hanani. In charge. Over. The city of Jerusalem. Now secondly. I want you to notice. In verses 3 and 4. Nehemiah. Instruct. The people. And the leadership. To shut. The doors. At night. And not to open it. Until the daylight. Until the. Heat. Of the day. Again. You might say. Nehemiah. Why are you worried? Don't you trust God? Again. I would like to say. He surely. Trusts God. But he didn't trust.

The enemies. That were without. And he knew. Very well. That Satan. As a roaring lion. Or as an angel. Of light. Will always. Seek. To destroy. The testimony. Of God. He does so today. Very well. And he seems to be. Successful. In the condition. That exists. In the church. Age. In which you and I live in. In the. Age. And so we learn. From this. That he gave them. Instruction. Notice that now. Verses 3 and 4. And he said unto them. Let not the gates. Of Jerusalem. Be open. Until the. Sun. Be hot. And while they stand by. Let them. Shut. The doors. And bar them. And appoint.

Watchers. Over the inhabitants. Of Jerusalem. Everyone. In his watch. And everyone. To be. Over. Against. His house. Now the city. Was large. And great. But the people. Were few. Therein. And the houses. Were not. Built. Now notice. He is. Now saying. Listen. Don't open. The doors. Of the city. Of Jerusalem. Until the sun. Be hot. In other words. Make sure. That it will be. By daylight. Now you know. Very well. Who comes at night. He is coming. To devour. He doesn't come. During the daytime. He doesn't come. In the right order. He is coming. In a time. Where we are not. Watching. And that's why.

It is so important. He said to them. Listen. Don't open. The gates. Of Jerusalem. Until the sun. Be hot. In other words. Not a little bit. Of light. Make sure. That things. Are clear. That you can see. Clearly. Who comes in. Who goes out. And how things. Are going on. And you notice. That also. He set. Watches. Notice the word. In verse 3b. And. Appoint. Watches. In Hebrew. We call it. Mishmarot. When we were in the military. We never. Could go to sleep. At night. Without to have. Mishmarot. Every hour. We changing. One another. One soldier. Get up. Put his clothes on. Get his gun on.

Get ready. The one who is watching. Go back to sleep. An hour passed by. This one. Finished. His watch. And another will come in. And exchanging him. He put his clothes on. He gets ready. To watch less. The enemies will come. And attack. The people of God. Same thing. Spiritually speaking. They need to be. Watching. Watching. Yeshua said. Watch. In prayer. In the garden of Gethsemane. In Gatshmanim. Watch. And pray. And often time. Brothers and sisters. We don't watch. We don't have to speak about each other. We know it. Ourselves. In our own hearts. When we don't watch. And when we are not careful. We allow things to come in.

And ultimately. They are not for our benefit. We are losing out. And Nehemia. He was wise. He was wise. They were required. To be watching. For the welfare. Of the people of God. Watching for the welfare. Of the city. Of Yerushalayim. I remember years ago. Before even I was born. When the Jewish people. Immigrated to Israel. They were living in kibbutz. In a commune. But in order to protect themselves. They had to work the ground. With a shovel. And the gun is on their shoulders. They live in communities. So they can protect each other. And they didn't leave one here. And one there. And another one there.

They live close to each other. So they can protect each other. Because of the enemies. That were coming to attack them. In fact. In fact. my sister lived in a kibbutz. Called Netiva Lamedhei. The valley of the 35. There were 35 Israeli young men. Who were ambushed. When they were not careful. And they died on the way. And there they established a kibbutz. A commune. Naming. The way of the 35. Who were ambushed and died. They probably tried to watch. As much as they could. But still. The enemy was successful. And so. To understand that spiritually. We too. Need to be. Watching. And again. Thank God. For. Men and women.

Godly brothers. And godly sisters. Who watch over our souls. And assist us. In our spiritual progress. Thank God. Who raised these men and women. Who loved the Lord. Yeshua the Messiah. And teach us. And instruct us. And instruct us. Of the things. Of the Lord. Turn with me. To the gospel of Luke. Chapter 12. In verse 37. There Yeshua speaks. And he says those words. Blessed are those servants. Whom the Lord when he comes shall find them watching. Verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself and make them sit down to meet and will come forth and serve them. You notice what Yeshua is saying.

He says, listen, I'm going to come soon, but until I come, make sure that you are watching. And blessed are those servants, verse 37 of Luke 12, whom the Lord when he comes shall find them watching. Because he wants them to be alert he's coming. Watch over the people of God. Watch over our lives. Because the enemy will attack us. And brothers and sisters, I can tell you that if you and I will not stay close to the Lord and watch over what we hear, what we accept, and what we look at, and what we are occupied with, you will see how Satan will be successful every time.

Watching is necessary, as Nehemia has placed it. 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 13. Verse 13. Watch ye stand fast in the faith. Quit you like men and be strong. Stop to be like children, he's saying, but be strong. And so, you see what Nehemia does, beloved brothers and sisters, he's very wise in verses 1 and 2. He gives responsibility to faithful men. In verses 3 and 4, he's instructing them to shut the door and not allow anyone just to come in at any time, only by daylight and making sure that they set up watches. In Nehemia chapter 7 and verse 4, it says that the city was large and great, the people were few therein, and the houses were not built.

And you notice that even though our way of looking at the city, it must have been very small, Yerushalayim, but in that time, it was considered to be a large city. And the people that were living inside, these Jewish men and women, were about a few, there were not too many, and they were very weak, very fragile. They needed always to be awakened and alert because the enemy was going to harm them. And Nehemia gave the instruction, to do so in such a way. Set watches and make sure that you don't allow anyone to come into the city. You don't open the doors during the night, only at the heat of the day, daylight.

In chapter 7 now, and verses 5, 6, and 7, we have additional things that we find out here. He shows us that God put in his heart now to know the genealogy of the people of Israel. And notice, it began here, it says in verse 5, And my God put in my heart to gather together the nobles and the rulers and the people that they might reckon, notice, by genealogy, and I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at first, and I found written therein. So apparently, God now does something very important. He awakened Nehemia's heart to say, wait a minute, wait a minute, I want to know who is who.

I want to know the genealogy, whether it is all of the people that are there in Jerusalem and outside that really belong to the people of Israel. And you know, the genealogy, this is very important, the Hebrew word here is Yohassin or Yichus. There is another word that we use and the word is Shoshelet. In other words, to really see if this person is actually the son of this person and whether he or she are the granddaughter of that person, to see the genealogy. Now why it is so important, genealogy? You know, if you will read in your Bible, you find out that in Genesis chapter 4, you have the genealogy of the people who were ungodly or away from God and in Genesis chapter 5, you will find out the godly line and from there on, you find that there was a genealogy given to us in the word of God.

In chapter 10, you have the chapter that gives us the nations, which one belongs to which nation. And you find out throughout the scripture that you have genealogy after genealogy after genealogy and many, many names are given to us. And we ask ourselves the question, well, why is it that it's so important to have genealogies? Well, there are a few reasons. One of the reasons is because God records the name of everyone that belonged to Him. You see, God delights to record the name of we written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You see, no one will ever pass through unless His name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

God knows His own people who belong to Him and who is not. You remember what we just read in our reading today. You have to be thankful that your names are written in the Book of Life. And you see, this is something that we cannot do it for another. Every one of us that was born into this world, our names are written in the Book of the Living. If we die without the Messiah, our name will be erased from the Book of the Living. And if we died in faith in Yeshua the Messiah, our name will be written not only in the Book of Life but also in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Secondly, not only that, but God delights to record the deeds and the names of the people who have done that which was pleasing to Him. There are many lists in the Bible that give us the record of people that have done things that were pleasing to the Lord. For example, here you have a list and if you just jump to verse 8 it says the children of Parosh 2,172 the children of Shephataya and you have a list of Hebrew names and those are the names of the people that have been part of the nation of Israel and they are recorded here because they were faithful. They came back to the land of Israel they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and they sought to be restored to the Lord.

So the Lord is recording the names of these individuals. Thirdly, there is a third reason why we have genealogies in the Bible because it gives us a record of accuracy of the history. You see how do we know if the word of God is correct where we know it on the basis of the genealogy. And that's why when we have records that show us the people that were born how do we know that Abraham has existed? The Bible tells us. How do we know that Isaac was the son of Abraham? Because the Bible tells us. How do we know that Yaakov was the grandson of Abraham?

Because the Bible tells us. It proves that it is accurate. Old Testament and New Testament. The Tanakh and the Brit HaChadasha. But there is one more reason that is very important about genealogy. It also gives us the proof that when the Messiah will come he must come through that one nation one family which came out of one tribe and ultimately he will come through that one mother by the name of Miriam. That is in the genealogy. You find the genealogy in the Old Testament in the Tanakh for example in Isaiah chapter 11 it tells us that when the Messiah will come he will be a descendant of Jesse and a descendant of King David.

In the New Testament we have the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah in Matthew chapter 1 who was a descendant of Abraham Isaac and Jacob all the way down and ultimately he became the son of Miriam. In fact I want you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 1 verse 1 the whole first 17 verses of the Gospel of Matthew deal with the generation of Yeshua the Messiah. Years ago when I first opened the New Testament one of the most encouraging verses that I enjoy reading is just this genealogy in Matthew chapter 1 the book of the generation of Yeshua the Messiah the son of David the son of Abraham Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Yaakov and Yaakov begat Yehudah and his brethren the tribe of Judah and Yehudah begat Peretz and Zerah of Tamar and Peretz begat Esrom and Esrom begat Aram and you can go all the way down in verse 16 until you find out and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Miriam of whom was born Yeshua who is called the Messiah.

See genealogies are very important in the Word of God and therefore God laid upon the heart of Nehemiah to make sure that he find out who belong to who whether they have rights to the land and whether they are part of the nation of Israel. So I'm back in Nehemiah chapter 7 and you notice that just to get to those at least the first names here it says in verse 5 that they might reckon by genealogy and I found a register of the genealogy of them that came up at first and I found written therein. See what did he find?

He found the record that he found in Ezra chapter 2 that came over 100 years ago and now he found it and notice what he says in verse 6 and the children of the province went up out of captivity of those that had been carried away whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away and they came again to Jerusalem and to Judah everyone into his city and here he gives us 12 names it had been suggested that in verse 7 the 12 names are heads of the 12 tribes of the people of Israel Zerub Avel Yeshua Nechemiah Azariah Ra'amiyah Nachmani Mordechai Bilshan Misperet Bigvai Nachum and Ba'ana 12 names are found here in Nechemiah

chapter 7 and verse 7 some suggest that they perhaps heads of the families that belong to the 12 tribes of the people of Israel and by the way if you will read in Ezra chapter 2 and verse 2 there are only 11 names are mentioned while here there are 12 names mentioned that's why some people say well you see the record of God is not right and it's not inspired by the Lord but I would like to remind you that years pass by many have passed away and others were born and perhaps changes have occurred and yet we know that this is divinely inspired beloved brothers and sisters so the genealogy was very very important

for Nehemiah to make sure that he is finding who belonged to who and where are the people come from and you notice the list by the way from verse 8 all the way to verse 69 we have the genealogy verses 8 to 38 the people verses 39 to 42 the priests verse 43 the Levites verse 44 the singers verse 45 the porters verse 46 to 56 the Nethinim verses 57 to 60 the servants of Solomon Shlomo verse 61 and 62 the ones who returned but they could not show that they really belong to the people of Israel I want to pause here for a moment notice in verse 61 it says and these are they

which went up also from Talma and Tarshata and Cherub and Adob and Imer but they could not show their father's house nor their seed whether they were of Israel you see now there were those who could not show that they really belong to the people of Israel now here is something that we can apply to ourselves today we have to ask ourselves the question individually can we show by the way we live that we belong to the Lord you see salvation is a gift and if a person is born from above in Hebrew we say the person accepted Yeshua he or she become born again we have new life we belong to the Mashiach we

belong to him and it has to be evident in our life you see these people could not show that they belong to Israel there was no record that they belong to the people of God to the people of Israel well if there is no record you see it's affected it caused a lot of problem and therefore among the people of Israel perhaps they didn't look at them in the right way they didn't accept them if they were not belong to the people of Israel unless the nations around just adopted the God of Israel but you see Yeshua said my sheep hear my voice and I know them and I'll give unto them eternal life and

they shall never perish Yeshua said to Nicodemus you must be born again except a man be born again he will not inherit the kingdom of God see there were those who could not show that they belong to the people of Israel now notice another interesting thing verses 63 to 65 the children of the priests they were not recorded it says and the priests of the children of Chabiah and the children of Koz and I give you the name it says in verse 64 these sought their register among those that were reckoned by the genealogy but it was not found therefore were they as polluted and they put out from the priesthood now you and I

are going to say well Nehemia what do you mean you put them out and they were considered to be polluted well as far as the service of the priest they couldn't function as priests because they had to be on the record and as far Nehemia is concerned and again I didn't write it it is written in the word of God they were considered to be polluted and verse 64 be at the end and they were put from the priesthood out you see they could not serve because their name were not mentioned and again I would like to say how important for a person to be born again to be a believer in Yeshua the Messiah

and so to serve the Lord because the Lord knows the registry is before the Lord he knows my sheep hear my voice and I know them the Lord knows his own and so beloved brothers and sisters notice what it says in verse 65 and the Tirshata said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy thing until there stood up a priest with Urim and Tumim in other words as long that their name were not recorded they could not participate in the food that the priests were feeding on you remember the table of showbread the priests were enjoying the table of showbread and then the certain sacrifices that the priests participated in feeding

on but they could not and the only time that they may be able is when the Urim and Tumim were there to give indication that they really part of the priesthood and the Urim the Tumim in English is lights and perfection they are the two stones that were in the garment of the high priest when he would appear before the Lord those two stones will give light indication to say God says yes or no to the high priest and he would ask a question whether they belong to the priesthood if yes there will be lights coming out and it will indicate that they belong to the priesthood you find mentioned the Urim and Tumim in

Exodus chapter 28 in verses 29 and 30 and so you see the order that is existing here and I would like just to conclude with these remarks the last verses verses 70 to 73 we have those who gave gifts for the work of the Lord verse 70 it says the chief of the fathers gave unto the work verse 71 the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure verse 72 the rest of the people gave 20,000 and so on drums of gold and so they gave to support the work of the Lord remind me of Exodus chapter 25 when they built the tabernacle and the people of Israel gave so much for the building of

the tabernacle because God was going to be in the midst of the people of Israel and now to conclude the last verse Nehemiah chapter 7 and verse 73 so the priests and the Levites and the porters and the singers and some of the people and the Netanyim and all Israel dwelt in their cities you see not only Jerusalem but there were many cities around Jerusalem and then it said and when the seventh month came the children of Israel were in their cities now the seventh month is the fall feast of Israel you have Rosh Hashanah the feast of trumpet you have Yom Kippur day of atonement and you also have in the seventh month the

feast of Sukkot the feast of Booth this is the time of the yearly season in which all the children of Israel dwelled in their cities you notice it says the children of Israel because apparently those who believe that there were ten lost tribes are really teaching us wrong things because as far as God's concerned all the children of Israel from all the twelve tribes maybe a minority of them were represented in the land of Israel and in the city of Jerusalem well brothers and sisters it is a difficult chapter to teach from but we thank the Lord that we concluded today the seventh chapter of the book of Nehemiah Nehemiah set order among the people

of God may the Lord help us also to have order in our midst