Return from Exile: Nehemiah 11 and 12 (3)

Pray Psalm 46.1-3.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
Selah

Sing Psalm 46.1-3.
(St. Chrysostom: We Have Not Known Thee as We Ought)
God is our refuge and our strength; He is our help in times of need.
Thus though the earth beneath us should change, the sea engulf the mountain range.
Waters may roar with raging speed; yet God will rescue us at length.

Read Nehemiah 11.1-31; meditate on verses 25-36.

Preparation
1. Where did these people go to live?

2. Which tribes did they represent?

Meditation
A brief and less personal account is given of the people who populated the 32 villages scattered around the rest of the land. This is not because these people were not important; there simply were more of them. Thus, they were mentioned by tribes and towns, rather than by names or families.

Only three tribes are mentioned: Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (v. 36). Where are the other tribes? We recall that, when Israel was divided into two nations, Israel and Judah, ten tribes went to Israel and two, Judah and Benjamin, remained in Judah. Some people from various other tribes ultimately found their way back to Judah and made homes there. But the majority of the ten tribes were taken captive to Assyria and Syria and were, through intermarriage, dissolved.

Hats off to these village dwellers. No walled cities or fancy worship centers. Just farms, small shops, lots of hard work, a handful of faithful shepherds, and constant vulnerability to Samaritan bandits and other ne’er-do-wells. These folks made up the backbone of the nation. Their farms, flocks, and herds would feed not only themselves and their neighbors, but those living the high life in Jerusalem as well. These were the kibbutzim of post-exilic Israel, the pioneers, the hardscrabble folk who lived off the land and the love of their neighbors. From them would ultimately come the One Who would deliver them from all their captivity.

I also have to admire those shepherds—Levites—who, having been assigned to the villages among the people of Judah decided to serve the folks in Benjamin instead (v. 36). Religious life in comfy Jerusalem would produce compromised priests and faithless shepherds. Religious life in the villages would produce Jesus.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
What a beautiful thought: “Religious life in the villages would produce Jesus.”

Although I know this hymn was not available to these Levite shepherds, one can almost hear them singing it as they tended to their gardens and their “sheep”:

I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me within my heart is ringing.

I’d stay in the garden with Him though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling.
(C. Austin Miles, 1912)

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you
shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5.2).

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths,
and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn…in Bethlehem” (Lk. 2.7, 4).

“And as for the villages with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt…” (Neh. 11.25).
Thank you. Your faithful service in the garden, though hard, brought stability enough to house the Savior’s birth.

Help us, Lord, filled with Your powerful Spirit, to be faithful in our gardens, in our villages, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1.8).

For reflection
1. Do you consider your life to be a garden for the Lord? Would it make a difference if you did?

2. As believers, we need to work hard at increasing in our great salvation (Phil. 2.12). What does that involve?

3. What fruit are you praying to bear for the Lord today?

These verses record the residents outside Jerusalem—namely the tribes of Judah (vv. 25–30) and Benjamin (vv. 31–36). The people of Judah lived in 17 towns and their surrounding villages. The descendants of Benjamin occupied 15 sites. Earl Radmacher (1933-2014), NKJV Study Bible Note on Nehemiah 11.25-36

Pray Psalm 46.4-11.
Thank the Lord, Your Shelter and Refuge wherever you go, whatever you’re doing. Declare your trust in Him and your confidence in His Word. Then go forth to work your Personal Mission Field in His strength.

Sing Psalm 46.4-11.
(St. Chrysostom: We Have Not Known Thee as We Ought)
God’s everlasting, joyous grace gladdens the city where He dwells.
Safely in Him, we will not be moved; when morning dawns, His love will be proved.
Fears and distresses Jesus dispels for His beloved, chosen race.

Kingdoms arise and rage and roar, threat’ning the earth with sore distress.
Nations may fall, earth melt away, His Word is yet our hope and stay.
God is among us, ever to bless; He is our stronghold evermore.

Come see the works of God’s Right Hand! He breaks the nations of the earth,
shatters their foolish weapons and pride, sets all their sinful strength aside.
Them He will show His infinite worth as they before His judgment stand.

Rest in the LORD and be at peace, all who are mired in sore travail.
Lift up our God, praise Jesus our Lord; proclaim to all the earth His Word!
God is our stronghold, never to fail; thus may our hope and joy increase!

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help us understand our own captivity and lead us to seek revival and renewal in the Lord. The Church Captive asks us to consider the ways the Church today has become captive to the world. And Revived! can help us find the way to renewal. Learn more and order your free copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available free by clicking here.