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Roll the Credits

ROLL THE CREDITS

I would like to begin this study by recognizing those involved in the rebuilding, repopulating and those who are too often overlooked from the remanats returning from captivity to Jerusalem.

I stated last week that I really wanted to go in depth..and so it seems we will unravel and study this chapter to see those on the “credits” and realize that no matter who you are, God knows you and knows your heart and your place in Kingdom Building.

Eugene Petersen wrote these challenging words in his book entitled Run with the Horses:

Now when the wall was rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed, 2then I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

3Then I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bolt the doors.

Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house.”

4Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built.

5Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogies.

Then I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up first in which I found the following record:

—

Eugene Petersen wrote these challenging words in his book entitled Run with the Horses:

There is little to admire and less to imitate in the people who are prominent in our culture.

We have celebrities but not saints.

Neither the adventure of goodness nor the pursuit of righteousness gets headlines.

If, on the other hand, we look around for what it means to be a person of integrity, we don’t find much.

They aren’t easy to pick out.

No journalist interviews them.

No talk show features them.

They’re not admired.

They’re not looked up to.

They do not set trends.

There is no cash value in them.

No Oscars are given for integrity.

At year’s end, no one compiles a list of “The Ten Best-Lived Lives.”

The world does not notice lives that ought to be noticed.

For the most part, neither does the Church.

Frankly, part of our fallen nature, as people, is to take each other for granted and to ignore the accomplishments and service that benefit all of us.

They are all around us, but we rarely notice.

Take mothers, for example—I recently read the following:

A man came home from work to find total mayhem in his house.

His three children were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the dirt with empty cookies boxes and candy wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door to his wife’s SUV was open, as was the front door to the house.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess.

A lamp had been knocked over and the throw rug was wadded up against one wall.

In the family room, the TV was loudly blaring, and the living room was littered with toys and items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, dog food was scattered on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly ran upstairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife, worried that she was ill or that something serious had happened.

He discovered her in the bedroom, still curled up in bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.

There was a half-eaten bagel and two coffee cups on the bedside stand.

She looked up and asked how his day went.

He looked at her, bewildered, and asked, “What happened here today?”

She smiled and answered, “You know, every day when you come home from work, you ask me what in the world did I do all day?

Well, today I didn’t do it.”

It’s unfortunate and yet true that even those closest to you will never fully comprehend the scope of your labor and toil, nor will they take the time to discover it.

I find it absolutely fascinating that at the end of chapter six, when the show is over, so to speak, and the walls are built, Nehemiah takes time to roll the credits.

The list is long and most of the names are unpronounceable.

But there are some gems tucked inside these credits that God considers profitable for every student of the Bible.

So, before you are tempted to pick up your popcorn bucket and candy wrappers, let’s take time to notice some of the men and women who were part of this incredible story of God’s faithfulness.

We will concentrate on but also keep our finger at , which has another divinely inspired list of names and numbers—all representing many behind-the-scenes people who finished the Jerusalem project.

So, let’s take time to “Roll the Credits”...

SINGERS

Last week you had questions about the singers.

So did I.

As I personally studied this out, multiple commentaries shared this perspective.

I truly see this as solid.

Remember, for years the people of Israel had been in captivity, and then for a century beyond that, had been in a foreign land.

During this time, all singing had ceased.

In fact, tells us that they sat down and wept by the rivers of Babylon.

They hung up their harps on the branches of the willow trees and stopped singing.

Yet in the Book of Nehemiah, they began once again tuning up their instruments.

It is noteworthy that Nehemiah makes eight references to giving thanks to God through song.

Think on this: “Music is not incidental to worship—it is essential to worship.”

[T]he sons of Asaph, who were the singers for the service of the house of God.

For there was a commandment from the king concerning them and a firm regulation for the song leaders day by day ().

Also, during the time of entering the promised land, singers and vocal worship led the armies first into battle.

They produced a foundation of true worship to God.

This too focused on Who was the One to worship.

Remember, for years the people of Israel had been in captivity, and then for a century beyond that, had been in a foreign land.

During this time, all singing had ceased.

In fact, tells us that they sat down and wept by the rivers of Babylon.

They hung up their harps on the branches of the willow trees and stopped singing.

Yet in the Book of Nehemiah, they began once again tuning up their instruments.

It is noteworthy that Nehemiah makes eight references to giving thanks to God through song.

Music is not incidental to worship—it is essential to worship.

On the occasion of Dallas Theological Seminary’s fiftieth anniversary, the seminary published a special hymnal titled Hymns of Jubilee.

Dr. Edwin Deibler wrote the following prologue in the hymnal:

From earliest times, the people of God have employed music to give expression of their adoration of the triune God.

Succeeding generations of Christians, to our present day, have adopted poetry set to music to express their adoration, praise, aspirations, and prayer.

Often, perhaps nearly always, such expressions have exceeded in intensity the actual lifestyles of the congregations who employed them.

If Christian experience were, even for a period of one week, brought to the level of Christian hymns, a great revival would sweep over the world.

I find it fascinating that before revival occurs in , choir memberships are renewed in chapter seven.

GATEKEEPERS

While the singers provided the praise for the city of Jerusalem, the gatekeepers provided protection:

Can you imagine the following conversation:

I can imagine the following conversation:

I can imagine the following conversation:

“Hey, Akkub and Talmon, what great role do you play in the kingdom?”

“We open and shut the gates, and then, we watch to make sure nobody gets in who shouldn’t.”

Imagine 172 keepers at the gate.

The Great Wall of China was breached by invaders at various times.

Most famously, Genghis Khan reportedly said, “The strength of the wall depends on the courage of those who defend it” and then breached it by bribing a sentry.

Gates are only as good as the character of the guards.

Were you aware that every believer in Christ is also a gatekeeper?

John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, also wrote a book entitled The Holy War.

In that book he talked about Mansoul, a city with five gates.

The gates were:

1.

The Ear Gate

2. The Eye Gate