Today I read Nehemiah 7, in which the walls are complete with doors and there is a list of returnees from Babylon. Today I considered that sometimes you must establish safety and security before you can consider the other parts of the city.
Returned and Genealogy
Upon finishing and establishing security for the city, they then looked at who was there and the resources (Nehemiah 7:1-73). After the walls were built, the doors were put in with leaders, guards, singers, and Levites selected. The doors were only opened during the day and all the people in the city conducted the watch. There weren’t many people there and most had no houses. Nehemiah found a list of who previously returned from captivity in Babylon with Nebuchadnezzar to establish genealogies. The people are written by genealogy for those they could find along with numbers of cattle and contributions given to the treasury for the work. The people went to their cities by the seventh month to live there.
Questions and Thoughts for Today
Sometimes safety and security are a priority before you can fully figure out the resources and people present. First the people spent 52 days focusing on making sure the walls were built, doors secured, guard established. Then they were able to look at the people there, contributions made to the treasury for the work, and cattle and resources available.
What would you do if you had to contribute to the safety and security of your city? Are you ready?
As an FYI, you can read the list by genealogy in Nehemiah 7.