Heralds Digest

“and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭7:63-64‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.7.63-64.nkjv In response to the killing of Hauwa Leman, a Red Cross worker, by Boko Haram, a commentator lamented that “Hauwa responded when humanity called on her; but no one responded when she called on humanity”. As painful and disappointing as human experiences to humanity count, there is always a call to a more important count in life. A call to the priesthood was apparently taken as an ordinary humanity call by Barzillai. He ignored the requested sacred romance with the Lord, while shifting affection to the mundane things and the carnal love affair. His romance to the daughter of the Gileadites, an...

“...and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭7:63-65‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.7.63-65.nkjv Beside the peculiar heritage of being counted as special people in covenant relationship with God, the Levites are separated as having the right of priesthood. However, the names of the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai (or possibly, only the sons of Barzillai were particularly singled out) were missing from the genealogy register. The implication is exclusion from the rights and responsibilities as pertaining to the priesthood, and...