King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022
Chapters: NEHEMIAH 11-13, PSALM 126
Study: Faithful And Just
Hello My Friend,
Well, so far as we are in the middle of the hurricane, hunkered down as they say, at my sister-in-laws sisters house. The streets are flooded, rains are coming down like crazy as another squall hits, God, has so graciously kept the power on so far when everyone else around has none. And as I was reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [Exodus 9:24-26 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.]
When God was judging Egypt for all the years that they not only kept Israel captive, but killed so many baby boys, He protected the land of Goshen from the plagues, except for one, the death plague. I am convinced that God has His hedge of protection over all His faithful. While I have no idea what is going on with my house at the moment, I do know that my God is watching over and protecting me everywhere I go, [Matthew 6:31-34 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.]
As we come to the end of the reading of Nehemiah, the temple was rebuilt, the walls were built, the Law was read, the oaths were taken, and now it was time to put action to their words. The rulers stayed within the walls to take care of the city, as for the rest, they literally drew straws so to speak, to take on that duty.
[Nehemiah 11:1-4 And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities. 2 And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. 3 Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants. 4 And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez;]
[one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city,] A whopping one in ten were picked to stay within the walls of Jerusalem to help with the upkeep of the city. That is quite sad actually, but sounds about right as the longer I walk with Christ the more I discover that there are even less saved, born again Christians are willing to walk with Him too. We ought to be like the ones who willing offered themselves to whatever service is needed, but it is just like Jesus said, [Luke 10:2-3 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. 3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.]
Serving God is not just about being a part of His ministry, it also includes laymen and their obedience to Him while they are living their normal lives. There is one of three reasons why a saved, born again Christian does not step up to offer their time for God, and this has nothing to do with serving God in His ministry. They are either babes in Christ and ignorant to the Holy Spirit calling them, and have no desire to hear Him, afraid of what the world would do to them, or are living in sin. Now, after the laymen took their place, the Levites took their place.
[Nehemiah 11:15-17,20,25 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God. 17 And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 20 And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance. 25 And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjatharba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof,]
[was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer:] [Principal; Chief; highest in rank, character or respectability;] Instead of waiting for someone to take he lead in thanking God for all that He has done for us and His mercies, we ought to be the ones taking the lead. The reminders of God’s goodness and all His provisions and protections needs to be proclaimed, and lived out, and we ought to never be ashamed to call ourselves true Christians, [Romans 10:11-15 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!]
Do you see the importance of living and proclaiming God, whether we are called to serve God in His ministry or just being faithful to Him? It is not to save our own soul, it is to lead others to Him. Now, as the people took their places, a dedication took place of he walls being built only to discover that there were Levites unaccounted for. Nehemiah, and Ezra searched outside he walls to find them.
[Nehemiah 12:1,23-27 Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 23 The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward. 25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe. 27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.]
[to keep the dedication with gladness,] [Dedication; The act of consecrating to God, or to a sacred use, often with religious solemnities; solemn appropriation;] Jesus, cleanses our soul with His blood, the least we can do is dedicate our lives to Him. Before I dedicated my life to Christ my life was just as lost as my soul was before I go saved. In fact, I had gotten saved when I was a teenager, but sill as lost as can be in my flesh because I did not know what that meant. I did not learn what that meant until I was thirty-six years old, and that was when I had reconfirmed my faith by getting baptized and dedicated my life to Him. Now, I keep the dedication with gladness, and while I have my ups and downs at times, there is not a day that goes by when I am not reminded of God’s good graces and how He saved this chiefest of sinners, [1 Timothy 1:15-16 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.]
Part of following the pattern of Christ is making sure that we have no sin in our lives, and I am talking about knowingly committing sin. Those who are ignorant to their sin also need to cleanse themselves of their sin once they realize that they are sinning. Now, after the dedication, and the reading of the Law, it was discovered that many of the Jews were married to Ammonites and Moabites.
[Nehemiah 13:1-3,6-9 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; 2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. 6 But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king: 7 And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.]
[the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever;] Remember, Ruth was a Moabite, but she was converted, [Ruth 1:16-17 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.] God, never denies anyone the opportunity to be saved, man does that on their own, [2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.]
Now, just because we are saved that does not mean that we can live our lives as we please, hence why we dedicate our lives to Him. And this is not for the sake of our salvation, or even for the sake of seeing others get saved, this is about honoring and respecting Jesus for what He has done for us. Now, after everything was set in order, Nehemiah went back to Babylon, it was discovered that the people were not only selling things on the Sabbath, but within the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah, wasted no time in letting them know their error.
[Nehemiah 13:15,17-19 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.]
[I commanded that the gates should be shut,] This reminds me of what Jesus did when He saw people doing the same thing, [Matthew 21:12-14 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.] Do you see who believed? It was the ones who had no reason to believe. Remember, we are to be separated from the world, not live with them and we are to never bring them into to church. This is basically what Nehemiah was telling them.
[Nehemiah 13:25-30 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. 27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives? 28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. 30 Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business;]
[Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?] Remember also, the people we read about from the Bible as well as those we come to know who have gone through similar experiences set the example for us, whether it be they were obedient or disobedient, [1 Corinthians 10:4-6 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.]
The evil things that turn a saved soul away from God, the worldly things that destroy a saved souls testimony, the immoral things that separate God from His believer, these are the things that keep a saved soul from the provisions and protections of God. No faithful saved, born again Christian is withheld from God’s provisions and protections, even in death, [Psalms 126:1-6 A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 4 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.]
[They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.] This brings tears to my eyes, as much as I fail God, He truly is faithful and just, and full of mercy and grace. Not because I do not mess up every now and then, but because I am faithful to confess my sins and stay faithful to Him, [1 John 1:7-9 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for my salvation, I know there is nothing I can do apart from receiving Your Son as my Saviour to merit eternal life. Lord, Lead me and guide me, give me Your power to serve You faithfully, keep my heart tender and willing to serve You wherever you lead me. Give me Your strength to separate myself from the world and let me not be tempted by its visage of evil. Keep me in Your Word and walking with You daily so I do not fall into temptation. And iIf there is anything that I am doing that hinders You, purge it. Let me always be a faithful witness that seasons the world with Your Son through me me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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