Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 7:1-73, Exodus 28:29-30, Psalm 34:19-22
YES! Genealogies!! Who needs stories when you can just cozy up with a good list of who begat whom, am I right? I bet you love them just a little bit too. I mean, who hasn’t gotten the chills from the genealogy at the end of Ruth, when you realize she fits right into the line of Judah and became the great grandmother of King David? That list prompts the realization that God had a plan for our sweet Ruth all along. Genealogies show us God’s sovereign plan for our salvation and His intimate love for individual people.
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he needed to do more than stack bricks and hang gates; he needed to rebuild a people. These people were born into exile. They had never actually seen Jerusalem. They’d only heard stories about it. All they knew was life without a home, without traditions, and without community. They had nothing. So as Nehemiah began to rebuild Jerusalem, he also had to learn how to rebuild a people. And each one of those people mattered.
This genealogy in Nehemiah chapter 7 is a list of the Israelites released by Cyrus from exile in 538 BC. It’s a wonderfully meticulous list that even includes the number of mules that moved back to the city (there were 245). More importantly, it tells us a lot about who these people were, and how much people matter to God. In verse 7, twelve leaders are listed, and those twelve are representatives of the twelve tribes—showing us that they’re not just a part of the covenant, but are once again whole and entitled to the full blessings of God’s covenant promises.
Each family’s descendants are also counted. Some families were massive (Senaah had 3,930 descendants!), and some families’ reunions were more modest (Beth Azmaveth had only 42). Regardless of how large or small, they were counted as families and not all heaped together, because individuals and families matter to God.
Priests, Levites, musicians, and gatekeepers were also counted, indicating that our callings matter to God. Temple servants are listed using their foreign names because they were not Hebrew-born, having joined with Israel through conversion to their God. Because God redeems the lives of His servants (Psalm 34:22), He makes them equal inheritors of the covenant with those who could trace their lineage all the way back to Abraham.
And finally, there were some who searched the records but were unable to discover their heritage because their families had been so torn apart by the exile. These, too, are listed, and their value is not diminished. Children born into captivity are valued just the same, regardless of their parentage.
From there, the people settled back into their towns and began to knit their lives together. That’s as close as we get to “happily every after” in the book of Nehemiah. But in reading this book, we see that God’s eye is always on His people, restoring not just a broken city, but a broken people as well. He cares about each one of us, our families, our homes, and our lives. And if we are in Christ, we are co-inheritors of His covenant blessings just as much as any son of Abraham.
So thankful that God is in the business of restoring broken people. My family has been broken, but because of God’s grace, and his loving people my family, my mom and the ministry of celebrate recovery I stand here today. Prayers appreciated as there are still many uncertainties at times moments of anxiety but I remind myself where God has brought me from and where I am today. And it’s all because of God!
So thankful for God’s grace and mercies and that He loves us as individuals and families. We matter to him. I had been lost for some time but then felt a tugging. Like a lost sheep, he came for me and I am grateful. Now my daughter has asked to come to church with me this weekend. This is completely the work of our Awesome God. The Lord redeems the life of His servants. Psalm 34:22. Amen!
My heart is overwhelmed…His eye is on the sparrow!
This came to my mind too! Amen!
Each one of us matters to God, where we’ve been, where we’re coming from and where we’re going. I love this passage and this devotional. When we are called out of exile into God’s kingdom there is no part of our story that is beyond his knowledge and use. What a beautiful reminder that He sees us, knows us deeply and has a place for us where we can represent him.
This passage spoke to me about “home”. How we are created with a longing for home- and we know this earth is not our home but we do have homes here. I know not all of us come from loving homes but I know that even when I travel there is always a part of me that longs for home.
I think of my Syrian friends who are now trying to establish new homes in new places because everything that they called home has been destroyed. Their foundations have been shaken but not destroyed as they trust in you Jesus. May we help to be re-builders of homes on firm foundations.
I, too, think about the Syrians and the millions of others who have been displaced from their homes! How they must long to rebuild their houses and return to them.
This is technical question. Is your website set up so when you click on the Scripture, it brings up the verses automatically? Mine doesn’t. Sometimes I can go to the bottom of the lesson and click on the writer and then it directs me to She Reads Truth another way and sometimes I can read the scriptures and then sometimes I can’t. It would be great to be able to read the scriptures without going outside the site and then having to go back to the She Reads Truth website to finish the devotional.
Most of the time when I click on the scripture link, it opens a small box with “read more” at the bottom of a couple verses, when I do that it does open out of the She Reads Truth site, then when I’m done I can go back to the SRT site. Sometimes the links don’t work though so I just open a new window and type in the scripture reference, or what I prefer, I open my Bible and just read it there. I would contact SRT if you continue to have issues with the links as I imagine the admins and Tech people don’t read our comments.
I have this problem on my iPad. I downloaded Chrome (free), go to shereadstruth.com in Chrome and issue is solved.
Hi Arwilda, we appreciate the feedback and we’re sorry that it hasn’t been working for you. I’ll be sure to pass this along to the team to take a look at. In the meantime, I’d try using a different web browser to see if the Scripture is then linked for you. Thanks for your patience! -Margot, The SRT Team
When I began reading today’s passage I wondered, “why are all these names listed?”, I knew there must be a reason for them to be included in Scripture. Now I understand, thank you Rebecca, each one of us is important to and loved by God, no matter who we are or where we come from. What a comfort.
He cares about each one of us, our families, our homes, and our lives.