Heralds Digest

“and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭13:7-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/12/neh.13.7-9.nkjv Compromise through a partnership with unbelievers is often encouraged to be treated with great care, possibly with an exercise of strict boundaries. The scriptures even admonished complete abstinence from an unequal yoke with unbelievers, especially in all of the life projects; and where the seeking of the face of God is absolutely necessary for their day-to-day execution. For example, unequal yoke in marriage will later require desperate courage and the mercy of God in order to repair the resulting broken altar of prayer and c...

“Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭11:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.11.1-2.nkjv Unlike in our contemporary world, it was a significant sacrifice in the days of Nehemiah, to choose to live and raise a family in the capital city of Jerusalem. Since the major source of livelihood then is farming, city lifestyle attracts low productivity from the scarce farmstead, voluntary preferences for a low standard of living, and a significant constraint to material and physical expansions. While services from leaders of the people that dwelt at Jerusalem may attract some form of remuneration, others who voluntarily surrendered their career and professional pursuits are merely motivated by the need to live solely for humanity. Since...

“Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding— these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭10:28-29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.10.28-29.nkjv Anyone would rightly query the decency in entering into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, until the penalty of interaction with the world, outside the presence of God, is properly reviewed. The remnants of the Israelites from the captivity have had the knowledge and understanding of the consequences of breaking away from the precious covenant with the Lord. Now with the privil...

“Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭9:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.9.19.nkjv Wilderness experience is often considered a despicable distraction from the goal of success and achievement in life. The normal reactions, especially due to a prolonged wait for the expected light at the end of the tunnel, include murmuring, blame game, provocations, loss of vision, indifference, intolerance, and general discouragement. But as rightly reflected by the children of Israel, after the rebuilding of the broken walls of Jerusalem, wilderness experience is expected to reveal the manifold mercies of God. There were many manifestations, including a sufficient pillar of the cloud for the scorching sun in their days; a luminous pillar of fire for the darkened night; abundant manna f...

“And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.8.9.nkjv People often query why revival tarry in the assembly of those who seek the presence of God. There is always a multiplicity of religious activities that produce little or no effect in the heart of the people. However, the collective reawakening of the restored people of God during the Feast of Tabernacle, after the completion of Nehemiah's project, is significant. All the people, including counseling coach, political and spiritual leaders, were specifically inspired by the word of the Lord. The uniform inspiration of the leadership prepared the ground for the reawakening of the spiritual atmosphere. No wonder they spoke the same language with a clear expression of the wor...

“...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...

“Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭6:12-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/neh.6.12-13.nkjv Winning work does not comprise of activities void of the weakening tactics of the enemy. It is rather the demonstration of an overriding confidence in the God who initiate the work, than the fear of the weakening tactics. When all tactics of distraction failed to weaken Nehemiah and his men from starting or continuing the good work of re-building the broken walls of Jerusalem, they resorted to the weapon of fear. A reliable informer of Nehemiah was hired to spill the beans of fear. However, Nehemiah was confident with the incompatibility of fear in the scheme of God's dealing with the faithful followers of His prom...