Were written in the book of the chronicles. Nehemiah 12:1-28 A book J. Parker, D. D. I. A BOOK UNITES THE AGES. Brings the past into the present; borrows the future to give the present significance. The "sceptred spirits of history" rule us still. With books the poorest enters the highest society: the loneliest need not be solitary. II. A BOOK REVEALS LIFE'S IMPORTANCE. It gives permanence to thought. Life is a writing. III. A BOOK SILENTLY ANTICIPATES THE JUDGMENT. A record may be appealed to: "Is this thy handwriting?" God's "Book of Remembrance." ( J. Parker, D. D. ) Books "The commerce of books," says our gossiping Montaigne "has the constancy and facility of its service for its own share: it goes side by side with me in my whole course, and everywhere is assisting to me: it comforts me in my age and solitude; it cases me of a troublesome weight of idleness, and delivers me at all times from a company that I dislike: and it blunts the point of griefs, if they are not extreme, and have not got an entire possession of my soul...books do not mutiny to see that I have only recourse to them for want of other more real, natural, and lively conveniences; they always receive me with the same kindness." According to the Commandment Of David the man of God. Nehemiah 12:24 Posthumous influence Homiletic Commentary. A man's influence after he is dead. He is still present with his people. I. BY HIS WILL. "The commandment of David." The grip of the dead is on our fields and churches, our schools and hospitals. II. BY HIS WRITINGS. Immortality of genius. David's psalms. Solomon's proverbs. The writings of Shakespeare, Milton, Bunyan, and many others. III. BY HIS EXAMPLE. "David the man of God." For good or evil a man lives. For good or evil his deeds will live after him. "The memory of the just is blessed." ( Homiletic Commentary. ) And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 12:27-43 The dedication of the wail W. Ritchie. In this dedication — I. IT WAS DESIGNED TO OFFER THANKS TO GOD FOR THE COMPLETION OF A GOOD WORK. II. IT WAS INTENDED TO SET APART THE HOLY CITY FOR ITS SACRED ENDS. III. IT WAS DESIRED TO INVOKE THE DIVINE BLESSING AND GUARDIANSHIP ON THE CITY OF GOD. IV. IT IS BEAUTIFUL TO OBSERVE HOW FULLY THE DOMESTIC AFFECTIONS ARE CHERISHED AND DISPLAYED. "The wives also and the children rejoiced." ( W. Ritchie. ) And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people. Nehemiah 12:30 Beginning at the right place T. Binney. I. A PURE CHURCH MAY MAKE A SOUND COMMONWEALTH. "They purified themselves." Like priest, like people. Cleric and laie act and react on each other." Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord." Eli's sons. Uzzah may not sustain the ark. II. TO A PURE PEOPLE ALL THINGS ARE PURE. "They purified the people and the gates and the wall." Citizens and city; sanctuary and house; God's work and their own. All things are sacred; The eye of God is on them all, And hallows all."Jesus revealed God in the minutest. Peter's vision. The present preparatory. "I think our fathers had a better, grander, a diviner idea even of common life than we have when they spoke of the trades and professions of men as being their calling. There is a great thought in this word. It makes all the men, streets, shops, and warehouses to me as I walk along Divine objects. I feel that I am in a Divine place when I think of the men about me as following their calling. I feel that there is a God above men; that there is a God in human society; a God in the shops and counting-houses of London, touching and teaching every human being; and that every man is occupying the place, and putting his hand to the work to which God has called him. Sometimes you may see a man at a certain calling which is but preparatory. He is meant for something else. Providence opens the way, and he goes up higher and does another thing. God has given us a spiritual vocation — a Divine calling in Christ Jesus — and we are to walk worthy of that vocation here, doing all worldly things in a spiritual manner, preparatory to a higher calling which shall come one day, when we shall enter upon other forms of duty and service, to which the present inferior forms of duty and service faithfully fulfilled shall gradually prepare and fit us. ( T. Binney. ) Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced. Nehemiah 12:43 A great rejoicing Homiletic Commentary. A great rejoicing as it should be. I. ASSOCIATED WITH THE BITES OF RELIGION. II. THE OUTCOME OF A GREAT DELIVERANCE. From captivity to freedom: heathen surroundings to heaven-chosen city and Divinely-built temple. The memory of God's great goodness should awaken joy — a joy that all may share. "The wives also and the children rejoiced." III. The preparation for strong adhesion to a great cause. Sacred festivals not an end, but a means to an end. ( Homiletic Commentary. ) True joy Dr. Schultz. I. ITS RIGHT. The God who has given us life wishes also that it shall move joyfully; the God who always anew overwhelms us with favours wishes that they should fulfil their mission; that is, make us happy, in the end holy. II. ITS OCCASION. God's grace, which has strengthened, protected, assured, and elevated our lower or higher life. III. ITS KIND. It raises itself to God, is a joy in Him; that is, becomes s service to God and our neighbours. ( Dr. Schultz. ) The joy of Christian work E. Herber Evans, D. D. Notice — I. THAT GREAT SACRIFICES ALWAYS PRECEDE GREAT JOY. God's best gifts never increase by saving, but by scattering. The sea is in a constant state of evaporation. The mist rises, there are clouds above the hills, there are streams running into the valleys, there is life and greenness everywhere. There are some men who do not believe in evaporation. They believe in getting all they can and keeping all they get. But they are never joyful There is no joy in selfishness. It is against the great law of God, the law of sacrifice by His own Son. What is the meaning of these sacrifices mentioned in the text? 1. The sin-offering. This shadowed the great sacrifice. Morality alone will not save any man, and if you will only admit sin, you admit half the Bible, and the rest has to do with God's way of getting rid of it. 2. The burnt-offering. This means that we give ourselves up to God entirely; and the happiest men I have met in my life have been men who have handed the keys of every room in their soul up to Christ, without keeping one closed to hide a loved sin. 3. The peace-offering. This was a peculiar offering in Israel. It was a free-will offering. When a man brought the peace-offering, God gave him a feast there and then in his house. A part of the offering was given back to the offerer. This peace-offering is very much like your contributions to-day. You can keep your offerings, but if you do God will keep the feast from you. We in Wales have two sermons in one service very often, and the collection comes before the second sermon. I have watched a man drop the smallest coin into the plate from a richly gloved hand. I have seen a poor old woman unwrapping a two-shilling piece from a paper, from another paper, from a third paper, in which she had wrapped it in order to keep it for the collection. And I have watched them through the second sermon. The tears of joy are coursing down the wrinkled face of the poor Christian woman, but the man who dropped his miserly coin is as dry as Gilboa. It is a remarkable fact that the Almighty never accepted a wild animal as an offering in the olden time. A man was always obliged to offer something he had taken trouble with: the fruit of his own garden, the fruit of his own farm, or from his own flock. I have heard a man say sometimes, "If I succeed in this speculation now, I will give to the cause of Christ." Ah! that is a wild hare. II. GREAT WORK FOR GOD BRINGS GREAT JOY FROM GOD. Charles Kingsley has said that every man ought to thank God every morning because he has something to do that must be done that day. Work is the greatest blessing. I was once struck down with complete nervous prostration, and a medical man told me that I must do nothing for a twelvemonth, and that was the hardest work I ever did in my life — to do nothing. I see gentlemen come up along the Menai Straits in their yachts fighting the tempest. On they come like sailors on the ocean-wave, because it is easier to do that than to do nothing. You may see the room in which Louis XVI. worked as a common blacksmith, because it was easier to do that than to do nothing. Prisoners have come to the gaoler many a time, when confined in a room to do nothing, asking him for permission to pick oakum, or anything rather than do nothing. It is possible to do the most common work to God, to Christ, and when every one will do his work to Christ, that is the time when this world will be full of happiness and song. There is joy in serving Christ. Just think, for instance, of the erection of a place of worship: what an investment it is to contribute towards that. III. THIS RELIGION OF GREAT SACRIFICE AND GREAT JOY WILL TELL ON OUR FAMILIES. "The wives also and the children rejoiced." Joyful religion repeats itself to others. Parents should let their children see that they value religion. 1. By making sacrifices for it. 2. By letting them see that they are most anxious for them to become decided Christians. IV. THAT THE RELIGION OF GREAT SACRIFICES AND GREAT JOY WILL BE HEARD OF AFAR OFF. "Then joy was heard afar off." It is the names of self-sacrificers that live — Abraham — Abraham Lincoln — Florence Nightingale — Jesus, the Redeemer of the world. ( E. Herber Evans, D. D. ) Sacrifice, a condition of joy S. S. Chronicle. The principle of sacrifice stands at the very threshold of the ever-fascinating study of life, and is found at every turn of the bewildering maze which marks life's upward pathway of struggle and survival. In merely physical processes, as well as in many vital functions of vegetable and animal life, there are clear foreshadowings of the part which sacrifice plays in the great tragedy of existence. The primitive rock, when subjected to the disintegrating action of the atmospheric agents, yields up its characteristic compactness, and crumbles into soil, which, in turn, surrenders its richness to promote the welfare of multitudinous forms of vegetable growth. In the lower species of animal life the death of the parent is the essential condition of the life of the offspring, and in the higher grades of creatures there is invariably a parental sacrifice in favour of the well-being of the progeny. Notwithstanding that these functions are nothing more than compulsory obedience to the stern mandates of nature, Mr. Herbert Spencer calls them acts of unconscious sacrifice, and so distinguishes them from those voluntary surrenders of self which spring from love to others, and which, strictly speaking, can only be termed sacrifice. The helpless infant survives merely on account of the care which the maternal love lavishes upon it. Let the attention of others be withdrawn, and the child must perish. It lives by the sacrifices which others make for it. The bond of family life is kept intact by a succession of beautiful deeds, springing from the ever-growing tendency to sacrifice the immediate interests of self to promote the good of others. The capacity to enjoy purely egoistic pleasures is heightened by ministering to the wants of others. Indulged selfishness, by producing satiety, defeats itself. But a nobler truth than that is this — that the deepest satisfactions and most lasting joys of life are blossoms on the tree whose roots derive nutriment from the soil of sacrifice. ( S. S. Chronicle. ) And both the singers. Nehemiah 12:45-47 Thanks-giving and thanks-living Matthew Henry. We have here the effects of the joy that was at the dedication of the wall. I. The ministers were more careful than they had been of their work. Ii. The people were more careful than they had been of the maintenance of their ministers. The surest way for ministers to recommend themselves to their people, and gain an interest in their affections, is to wait on their ministry, to be humble and industrious, and to mind their business; when these did so, the people thought nothing too much for them to encourage them. 1. Care is here taken for the collecting of their dues. 2. Care is taken that, being gathered in, it might be duly paid out. ( Matthew Henry. ) For in the days of David and Asaph of old. The good old times Homiletic Commentary. I. NOTHING IS NECESSARILY GOOD BECAUSE IT IS OLD. "Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?" Habit, education, tradition, prejudice, play an important part in history. II. THAT WHICH IS OLD IS PRESUMPTIVELY VALUABLE. Good lasts. Truth is as old as the hills. Application: Prove all things. Despise nothing. The present is a huge borrower from the dead past. ( Homiletic Commentary. ).

Benson Commentary Nehemiah 12:1 Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah 12:1 . Now these are the priests — The chief of the priests; the heads of those twenty-four courses which David appointed by divine direction, 1 Chronicles 24. And whereas there were twenty-four, and here but twenty- two, and Nehemiah 12:12 , &c., only twenty, the reason of this difference may be because two of the twenty-four courses were extinct in Babylon, and two of the persons here named, (verse, 2-5,) Hattush and Maadiah, may be omitted in the account of the posterity of these, ( Nehemiah 12:12 , &c.,) because they had no posterity. Ezra — Either this was another Ezra, or, if it were the same mentioned Ezra 7., he lived to a great age; which may well be supposed, considering his great sobriety, and his great piety, to which God promised long life, and withal the special providence of God continuing him so long in such a season, wherein the church of God did greatly need his help and counsel. Nehemiah 12:2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Nehemiah 12:2 . Malluch — In the repetition of this and some other names hereafter, Nehemiah 12:14 , &c., there are some small variations, which are very frequent in the Hebrew language. Nehemiah 12:3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, Nehemiah 12:4 Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah, Nehemiah 12:5 Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, Nehemiah 12:6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, Nehemiah 12:7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua. Nehemiah 12:7 . These were the chief of the priests — The heads of the courses of the priests instituted by David, which were restored after their return from captivity, though as yet they were not so many as they had been before: see Ezra 6:18 . And of their brethren — That is, of the priests, who were their brethren; in the days of Jeshua — Who was the high-priest at the return from captivity. Nehemiah 12:8 Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, which was over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren. Nehemiah 12:8-9 . Moreover the Levites, which were over the thanksgiving — Appointed to see that the psalms of thanksgiving were continually sung in the temple, in due time and manner. Also, their brethren were over against them in the watches — That is, in the places where they were appointed to stand, and wait, and perform their office, which was to keep the guard of the gates, while the others sung. Nehemiah 12:9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, were over against them in the watches. Nehemiah 12:10 And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada, Nehemiah 12:10-11 . And Jeshua begat Joiakim — In these two verses is an account of the succession of the high-priests, from the return of the captivity till the time when they began to bear the greatest sway in the Jewish nation. For the Jaddua mentioned at the end of Nehemiah 12:11 , is commonly thought to be that Jaddus, the high-priest, who went to meet Alexander the Great in his pontifical habit, as he came from the conquest of Tyre and Gaza, and procured great privileges for the Jewish nation. This catalogue of their high-priests was the more necessary, because their times were now to be measured, not by the years of their kings, as formerly, but by their high-priests. Nehemiah 12:11 And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua. Nehemiah 12:12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; Nehemiah 12:12 . In the days of Joiakim were priests — As the writer had mentioned those who were the chief of the priests in the days of Jeshua, so now he mentions the sons of every one of them who officiated in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, either as assistants to their fathers, or succeeding them when they were dead. He begins with the three named in this verse, and so proceeds in order to give an account of the rest, which reaches to Nehemiah 12:22 . Nehemiah 12:13 Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; Nehemiah 12:14 Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; Nehemiah 12:15 Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; Nehemiah 12:16 Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; Nehemiah 12:17 Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; Nehemiah 12:18 Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; Nehemiah 12:19 And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; Nehemiah 12:20 Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; Nehemiah 12:21 Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel. Nehemiah 12:22 The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian. Nehemiah 12:22 . Also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persians — “This verse,” observes Dr. Dodd, after Le Clerc, “wherein mention is made of Darius Codomanus, and the high-priest Jaddua, affords us proof that Nehemiah did not put the finishing hand to this book. For Nehemiah, to be able to speak of Darius, must have lived, according to Huet, at least one hundred and thirty-one years, and at that age have written or enlarged his book, which is not probable. We may therefore conclude, that the book of Nehemiah could not have been published, such as it is, till the reign of Darius Codomanus at least; and since one chapter of the book of Nehemiah has been put into that of Ezra, we may very probably suppose that it did not appear in its present form till about the same time. So that these two books have been collected from the memoirs of three different authors, to which have been added several things for the illustration of the history.” Le Clerc, and Houbigant’s note on the place. Nehemiah 12:23 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. Nehemiah 12:23-25 . Written in the book of the Chronicles — That is, in the public annals or registers, in which the genealogies of the several families were recorded by the Jews with great exactness, as all persons agree. Ward over against ward — Or, by turns, one coming in when another went out, to attend in their courses, which are called wards. At the thresholds of the gates — To wit, of the temple, where the holy things were laid up, their watching-place being close by the thresholds of the gates. Nehemiah 12:24 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. Nehemiah 12:25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates. Nehemiah 12:26 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. Nehemiah 12:27 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. Nehemiah 12:27 . At the dedication of the wall — Of the city itself, which is here dedicated to God, and to his honour and service, not only upon a general account, by which we ought to devote ourselves, and all that is ours, to God; but upon a more special ground, because this was a place which God himself had chosen, and sanctified by his temple and gracious presence, and which therefore did of right belong to him, whence it is often called the holy city. And they restored it to God by this dedication, withal imploring the presence, and favour, and blessing of God to this city, by solemn prayers, and praises, and sacrifices, wherewith this dedication was accompanied. They sought the Levites out of their places — To which they were now retired, after that great and general assembly, Nehemiah 8:9-10 . Nehemiah 12:28 And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi; Nehemiah 12:29 Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem. Nehemiah 12:29-30 . The singers had built them villages, &c. — That they might be near at hand for the service of God and of his house. The priests and the Levites purified themselves — By sprinkling the water of purification upon them, by which the tabernacle and sacred utensils were purified; ( Numbers 8:7 ;) by solemn prayers and sacrifices; and especially by keeping themselves from all impurity. And purified the people — By sprinkling, it is probable, the same water upon them, and by prayers and sacrifices. Nehemiah 12:30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. Nehemiah 12:31 Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate: Nehemiah 12:31-33 . Then I brought up the princes — And half of the people with them, as it is expressed afterward, Nehemiah 12:38 . Upon the wall — For the wall was broad and strong, and so built that men might conveniently walk upon it, as at this day it is in many cities. Whereof one went on the right hand — Toward the south and east. Azariah and Ezra — Not the scribe, as is evident from Nehemiah 12:36 , but another Ezra. Nehemiah 12:32 And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, Nehemiah 12:33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, Nehemiah 12:34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, Nehemiah 12:35 And certain of the priests' sons with trumpets; namely , Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph: Nehemiah 12:36 And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them. Nehemiah 12:37 And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward. Nehemiah 12:37-38 . By the stairs of the city of David — By which they went up to the hill of Zion and the city of David. The other company that gave thanks went over against them — Namely, on the other side of the city, northward and eastward. Even unto the broad wall — Which they had made thicker and stronger than the rest of the wall, for some special reason. Nehemiah 12:38 And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them , and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall; Nehemiah 12:39 And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate. Nehemiah 12:39-40 . They stood still in the prison-gate — Waiting, as also their brethren did, that they might go together in due order into God’s house, there to perfect the solemnity. So stood the two companies, &c. — That is, they met together at the temple, and gave thanks in the courts of it. And I and the half of the rulers with me — And Ezra and the other half with him, as appears by comparing this with Nehemiah 12:35-36 . The order wherein they marched in this pompous manner round about the city seems a little obscure; but the sense of the whole description is this: that they being met together in the same place, half of the rulers went upon the wall on the right hand, accompanied with several priests and Levites, and Ezra the scribe at the head of them, Nehemiah 12:36 ; and the other half took the left hand, and walked upon the wall in the same order, accompanied with Nehemiah, who brought up the rear of them, Nehemiah 12:38 . And, at length, both parts of this chorus met in the temple, and there they stood still and completed their praises and thanksgivings, and offered sacrifices, as mentioned Nehemiah 12:43 . Nehemiah 12:40 So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me: Nehemiah 12:41 And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; Nehemiah 12:42 And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. Nehemiah 12:43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. Nehemiah 12:43 . For God had made them rejoice with great joy — By restoring the holy city to such a secure condition, that they could praise the Lord there without disturbance or fear. And the children rejoiced — And their hosannas were not despised, but are recorded to their praise. All that share in public mercies ought to join in public thanksgivings. So that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far off — Either their loud voices and instruments were heard at a great distance, or the fame of it was spread far and near. Nehemiah 12:44 And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited. Nehemiah 12:44 . For the offerings — Such as they had lately engaged themselves to give, or other voluntary or prescribed offerings. To gather out of the fields the portions of the law — That is, the aforesaid first-fruits and tithes, and other things, which God, by his law, appointed for them. For Judah rejoiced for the priests, &c. — For the eminent gifts and graces which they observed in many of them; for the great benefit which they had now received by their ministry; and for the competent provision which hereby was made for them, that so they might wholly wait upon their office. The sure way for ministers to gain an interest in the affections of their people is, to wait on their ministry, to spend their whole time, and thought, and strength therein. Nehemiah 12:45 And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son. Nehemiah 12:45 . Both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God — That ward or charge which God had prescribed them. And, in particular, the charge of purification, of taking care that no unclean person or thing should enter into the house or courts of the Lord. Or, the meaning may be, the singers sung orderly in their courses, as they were appointed, and thereby kept the ward of their God; and the porters kept the ward of the purification, that is, duly observed the orders about it, in preventing the temple from being defiled by any unclean person or thing. According to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son — Who had regulated all things belonging to the duty of these persons. Nehemiah 12:46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God. Nehemiah 12:46 . For in the days of David, &c. — This verse gives the reason why the Levites and the singers performed their duty so accurately; because, from the time of David, who constituted their orders and offices, there were overseers appointed, who presided over them, and were careful both to instruct them in their duty, and keep them to it. Nehemiah 12:47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron. Nehemiah 12:47 . They sanctified holy things unto the Levites — They set apart the first-fruits and tithes from their own share, and devoted them to the use of the Levites. And so did the Levites by the tithe of tithes. Thus they all conscientiously paid their dues, and did not profane those things which God had sanctified, nor take them unto their own common use. When what is contributed for the support of religion is given with an eye to God, it is sanctified, and will cause the blessing to rest upon the house, and all that is therein. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Nehemiah 12:1 Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah 12:27 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. BEGINNINGS Nehemiah 12:27-47 A CURIOUS feature of the history of the restoration of Israel already met with several times is postponement. Thus in the days of Cyrus. Zerubbabel leads up an expedition for the express purpose of building the temple at Jerusalem, but the work is not executed until the reign of Darius. Again, Ezra brings the book of The Law with him when he comes to the city, yet he does not find an opportunity for publishing it till some years later. Once more, Nehemiah sets to work on the fortifications with the promptitude of a practical man and executes his task with astonishing celerity, still, even in his case the usual breach of sequence occurs; here, too, we have interruption and the intrusion of alien matters, so that the crowning act of the dedication of the walls is delayed. In this final instance we do not know how long a postponement there was. Towards the end of his work the chronicler is exceptionally abrupt and disconnected. In the section Nehemiah 12:27-43 he gives us an extract from Nehemiah’s memoirs, but without any note of time. The preservation of another bit of the patriot’s original writing is interesting, not only because of its assured historicity, but further because exceptional importance is given to the records that have been judged worthy of being extracted and made portions of permanent scripture, although other sources are only used by the chronicler as materials out of which to construct his own narrative in the third person. While we cannot assign its exact date to the subject of this important fragment, one thing is clear from its position in the story of the days of Nehemiah. The reading of The Law, the great fast, the sealing of the covenant, the census, and the regulations for peopling Jerusalem, all came between the completion of the fortifications and the dedication of them. The interruption and the consequent delay were not without meaning and object. After what had occurred in the interval, the people were better prepared to enter into the ceremony of dedication with intelligence and earnestness of purpose. This act, although it was immediately directed to the walls, was, as a matter of fact, the re-consecration of the city, because the walls were built in order to preserve the distinct individuality, the unique integrity of what they included. Now the Jews needed to know The Law in order to understand the destiny of Jerusalem, they needed to devote themselves personally to the service of God, so that they might carry out that destiny, and they needed to recruit the forces of the Holy City, for the purpose of giving strength and volume to its future. Thus the postponement of the dedication made that event, when it came about, a much more real thing than it would have been if it had followed immediately on the building of the walls. May we not say that in every similar case the personal consecration must precede the material? The city is what its citizens make it. They, and not its site or its buildings, give it its true character. Jerusalem and Babylon, Athens and Rome, are not to be distinguished in their topography and architecture in anything approaching the degree in which they are individualised by the manners and deeds of their respective peoples. Most assuredly the New Jerusalem will just reflect the characters of her citizens. This City of God will be fair and spotless only when they who tread her streets are clad in the beauty of holiness. In smaller details, too, and in personal matters, we can only dedicate aright that which we are handling in a spirit of earnest devotion. The miserable superstition that clouds our ideas of this subject rises out of the totally erroneous notion that it is possible to have holy things without holy persons, that a mystical sanctity can attach itself to any objects apart from an intelligent perception of some sacred purpose for which they are to be used. This materialistic notion degrades religion into magic; it is next door to fetichism. It is important, then, that we should understand what we mean by dedication. Unfortunately in our English Bible the word "dedicate" is made to stand for two totally distinct Hebrew terms, one of which means to "consecrate," to make holy, or set apart for God, while the other means to "initiate," to mark the beginning of a thing. The first is used of functions of ritual, priestly and sacrifical, but the second has a much wider application, one that is not always directly connected with religion. Thus we meet with this second word in the regulations of Deuteronomy which lay down the conditions on which certain persons are to be excused from military service. The man who has built a new house but who has not "dedicated" it is placed side by side with one who has planted a vineyard and with a third who is on the eve of his marriage. { Deuteronomy 20:5-7 } Now the first word-that describing real consecration-is used of the priests’ action in regard to their portion of the wall, and in this place our translators have rendered it "sanctified." { Nehemiah 3:1 } But in the narrative of the general dedication of the walls the second and more secular word is used. The same word is used, however, we must notice, in the account of the dedication of the temple. { Ezra 6:16 } In both these cases, and in all other cases of the employment of the word, the chief meaning conveyed by it is just initiation. It signalises a commencement. Therefore the ceremony at the new walls was designed in the first instance to direct attention to the very fact of their newness, and to call up those thoughts and feelings that are suitable in the consideration of a time of commencement. We must all acknowledge that such a time is one for very earnest thought. All our beginnings in life-the birth of a child, a young man’s start in the world, the wedding that founds the home, the occupation of a new house, the entrance on a fresh line of business-all such beginnings come to rouse us from the indifference of routine, to speak to us with the voice of Providence, to bid us look forward and prepare ourselves for the future. We have rounded a corner, and a new vista has opened up to our view. As we gaze down the long aisle we must be heedless indeed if we can contemplate the vision without a thrill of emotion, without a thought of anticipation. The new departure in external affairs is an opportunity for a new turn in our inner life, and it calls for a reconsideration of our resources and methods. One of the charms of the Bible is that, like nature, it is full of fresh starts. Inasmuch as a perennial breath of new life plays among the pages of these ancient scriptures, we have only to drink it in to feel what inspiration there is here for every momentous beginning. Just as the fading, dank autumn gives way to the desolation of winter in order that in due time the sleeping seeds and buds may burst out in the birth of spring with the freshness of Eden, God has ordained that the decaying old things of human life shall fall away and be forgotten, while He calls us into the heritage of the new-giving a new covenant, creating a new heart, promising a new heaven and a new earth. The mistake of our torpor and timidity is that we will cling to the rags of the past and only patch them with shreds of the later age, instead of boldly flinging them off to clothe ourselves in the new garment of praise which is to take the place of the old spirit of heaviness. The method in which a new beginning was celebrated by the Jews in relation to their restored walls is illustrative of the spirit in which such an event should always be contemplated. In the first place, as a preparation for the whole of the subsequent ceremonies, the priests and Levites carried out a great work of purification. They began with themselves, because the men who are first in any dealings with religion must be first in purity. Judged by the highest standard, the only real difference of rank in the Church is determined by varying degrees of holiness; merely official distinctions and those that arise from the unequal distribution of gifts cannot affect anybody’s position of honour in the sight of God. The functions of the recognised ministry, in particular, demand purity of character for their right discharge. They that bear the vessels of the Lord must be clean. And not only so in general, especially in the matter of purification is it necessary that those who carry out the work should first be pure themselves. What here applies to priests and Levites ceremonially applies in prosaic earnestness to all who feel called to purge society in the interest of true morality. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? The leaders of moral reforms must be themselves morally clean. Only regenerate men and women can regenerate society. If the salt has lost its savour it will not arrest corruption in the sacrifice that is salted with it. But the purification does not cease with the leaders. In ceremonial symbolism all the people and even the very walls are also cleansed. This is done in view of the new departure, the fresh beginning. Such an occasion calls for much heart-searching and spiritual cleansing-a truth which must have been suggested to the minds of thoughtful people by the Levitical ceremonies. It is a shame to bring the old stains into the new scenes. The fresh, clean start calls for a new and better life. Next, it is to be observed, there was an organised procession round the walls, a procession that included citizens of every rank-princes, priests, Levites, and representatives of the general community, described as "Judah and Benjamin." Starting at the west end of the city, these people were divided into two sections, one led by Nehemiah going round by the north, and the other conducted by Ezra proceeding by the south, so that they met at the eastern side of the city, where opposite the Mount of Olives and close to the temple, they all united in an enthusiastic outburst of praise. This arrangement was not carried out for any of the idle ends of a popular pageant-to glorify the processionists, or to amuse the spectators. It was to serve an important practical purpose. By personal participation in the ceremony of initiation, all sections of the community would be brought to perceive its real significance. Since the walls were in the keeping of the citizens, it was necessary that the citizens should acknowledge their privileges and responsibilities. Men and women need to come individually and directly face to face with new conditions of life. Mere dulness of imagination encourages the lazy sense of indifference with which so many people permit themselves to ignore the claims of duty, and the same cause accounts for a melancholy failure to appreciate the new blessings that come from the untiring bounty of God. In the third place, the behaviour of the processionists invites our attention. The whole ceremony was one of praise and gratitude. Levites were called in from the outlying towns and villages where they had got themselves homes, and even from that part of the Jordan valley that lay nearest to Jerusalem. Their principal function was to swell the chorus of the temple singers. Musical instruments added emphasis to the shout of human voices; clashing cymbals and finer toned harps supported the choral song with a rich and powerful orchestral accompaniment, which was augmented from another quarter by a young band of trumpeters consisting of some of the priests’ sons. The immediate aim of the music and singing was to show forth the praises of God. The two great companies were to give thanks while they went round the walls. Sacrifices of thanksgiving completed the ceremony when the processions were united and brought to a standstill near the temple. The thanksgiving would arise out of a grateful-acknowledgment of the goodness of God in leading the work of building the walls through many perils and disappointments to its present consummation. Rarely does anything new spring up all of a sudden without some relation to our own past life and action, but even that which is the greatest novelty and wonder to us must have a cause somewhere. If we have done nothing to prepare for the happy surprise, God has done much. Thus the new start is an occasion for giving thanks to its great Originator. But the thankfulness also looks forward. The city was now in a very much more hopeful condition than when Nehemiah took his lonely night ride among its ghostly ruins. By this time it was a compact and strongly fortified centre, with solid defences and a good body of devoted citizens pledged to do their part in pursuing its unique destiny. The prospect of a happy future which this wonderful transformation suggested afforded sufficient reasons for the greatest thankfulness. The spirit of praise thus called forth would be one of the best guarantees of the fulfilment of the high hopes that it inspired. There is nothing that.so surely foredooms people to failure as a despairing blindness to any perception of their advantages. The grateful soul will always have most ground for a renewal of gratitude. It is only just and reasonable that God should encourage those of His children who acknowledge His goodness with fresh acts of favour over and above what He does for all in making His sun to shine and His rain to fail on the bad as well as the good. But apart from considerations of self-interest, the true spirit of praise will delight to pour itself out in adoration of the great and good Father of all blessings. It is a sign of sin or selfishness or unbelief when the element of praise fails in our worship. This is the purest and highest part of a religious service, and it should take the first place in the estimation of the worshippers. It will do so directly a right sense of the goodness of God is attained. Surely the best worship is that in which man’s needs and hopes and fears are all swallowed up in the vision of God’s love and glory, as the fields and woods are lost in a dim purple haze when the sky is aglow with the rose and saffron of a brilliant sunset. Further, it is to be observed that a note of gladness rings through the whole ceremony. The account of the dedication concludes with the perfectly jubilant verse, "And they offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy, and the women also and the children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off." { Nehemiah 12:43 } The joy would be mingled with the praise, because when people see the goodness of God enough to praise Him from their hearts they cannot but rejoice, and then the joy would react on the praise, because the more blessedness God sends the more heartily must His grateful children thank Him. Now the outburst of joy was accompanied with sacrifices. In the deepest sense, a sense almost unknown till it was revealed by Christ, there is a grand, solemn joy in sacrifice. But even to those who have only reached the Jewish standpoint, the self-surrender expressed by a ceremonial sacrifice as a symbol of glad thankfulness in turn affects the offerer so as to heighten his gladness. No doubt there were mundane and secular elements in this joy of a jubilant city. A laborious and dangerous task had been completed; the city had been fortified and made able to defend itself against the horrors of an assault; there was a fair prospect of comfort and perhaps even honour for the oppressed and despised citizens of Jerusalem. But beyond all this and beneath it, doubtless many had discovered Nehemiah’s great secret for themselves; they had found their strength in the joy of the Lord. In face of heathenish pleasure and superstitious terrors it was much to know that God expected His holy people to be happy, and more, to find that the direct road to happiness was holiness. This was the best part of the joy which all the people experienced with more or less thought and appreciation of its meaning. Joy is contagious. Here was a city full of gladness. Nehemiah expressly takes note of the fact that the women and children shared in the universal joy. They must have been among the most pitiable sufferers in the previous calamities, and they had taken their place in the great Ecclesia when The Law was read, and again when the sad confession of the nation’s sin was poured forth. It was well that they should not be left out of the later scene, when joy and praise filled the stage. For children especially who would not covet this gladness in religion? It is only a miserable short-sightedness that allows any one to put before children ideas of God and spiritual things which must repel, because of their gloom and sternness. Let us reserve these ideas for the castigation of Pharisees. A scene of joyous worship is truly typical of the perfect City of God of which children are the typical citizens-the New Jerusalem of whose inhabitants it is said, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away." Lastly, following his extract from the memoirs of Nehemiah, the chronicler shows how the glad spirit of this great day of dedication flowed out and manifested itself in those engagements to which he was always delighted to turn-the Levitical services. Thus the tithe-gathering and the temple psalmody were helped forward. The gladness of religion is not confined to set services of public worship, but when those services are held it must flood them with the music of praise. It is impossible for the worship of God’s house to be limp and depressed when the souls of His children are joyous and eager. A half-hearted, melancholy faith may be content with neglected churches and slovenly services-but not a joyous religion which men and women love and glory in. While "The joy of the Lord" has many happy effects on the world, it also crowds churches, fills treasuries, sustains various ministries, inspires hymns of praise, and brings life and vigour into all the work of religion. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.