No Little Leader; No Little People; No Little City Nehemiah 11:1-36

((These are my notes from my sermon at The Well Los Osos this morning (5/4/25). Here's the link if you would like to watch the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_V3F6Oqmw )).

INTRO –  Good morning. Opening prayer.

If we were to ask Bible lovers – men and women who have read the Bible from beginning to end many times – what their favorite 10-20 chapters in the Bible were, I can promise you – none of them would say Nehemiah chapter 11. In fact if I were to ask these same people what Neh. Ch. 11 was about, few would be able to answer.

Yet we know God did not waste paper or ink or our time when He inspired Nehemiah to pen chapter 11. Knowing that, and knowing He knows His church intimately and has much to say to her  I have tried over this last week to listen for and search for His words to us from this chapter. And I believe I have at least a few words from Him for us today.

If you are new with us or kind of new or maybe stumbling upon us on youtube I should tell you that we have been preaching through the book of Nehemiah over the last few months and today we land in chapter 11. This book is sandwiched in between Ezra and Esther in the Old Testament. It chronicles the story of a man named Nehemiah who walked with God, who had God’s heart for the city and destiny of Jerusalem (and its mother nation Israel), even though he lived and worked as a Jewish exile in the city of Susa, which was in Babylon originally, but then was conquered by Persia.

Nehemiah was in Babylon or Persia due to the widespread rebellion and idolatry of his people Israel and the subsequent conquering of Israel by the Babylonians. This punishment by God via Babylon was prophesied by the prophets of Israel – that is the godly prophets like Jeremiah.  And so some years later - godly people like Nehemiah knew they deserved it, but he was still deeply grieved by the devastation – especially after his brother Hanani and some other men were able to visit him in Susa and give him a detailed description of just how bad the devastation in Jerusalem was. This account caused Nehemiah to get alone with God, wherein he repented of his sins and the sins of the fathers, and the sins of his nation, and yet he also reminded God of His word to Moses and through Moses as recorded in Deuteronomy 30:1-3, that reads like this, “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the Lord your God has banished you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.”

Nehemiah reverently held God to His promise and pled for mercy based on His promise and His great compassion, and then Nehemiah became a major part of God’s answer to his prayer by leading the effort to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which was a monumental task with no little opposition from the God haters of that day.

One of the reasons we have been faithfully preaching through this book is because we believe in these last days before Jesus returns God is going to raise up many modern day Nehemiahs (both male and female) who will hold God reverently but persistently to His word - - until every one is fulfilled for His glory.

You see anyone can tear down, anyone can criticize, anyone can join a loud organized protest – as if the problem is out there somewhere instead of in here; but it takes a Nehemiah or a William Wilberforce or a Hudson Taylor or a Heidi Baker or a Mother Theresa or a Jackie Pullinger and thousands of lesser known men and women in the unseen trenches, who will recognize and confess first the log in their own eye, and then will recognize that unless we get the living God involved in the problems our society faces our efforts are futile and vain. And the way to get Him involved is to remind Him and remind Him and remind Him of what He has said – in persistent prayer – and then wait for His merciful instructions to do our part in solving the problem. Again as George Verwer the founder of Operation Mobilization said in my hearing many years ago, when I was a critical idealistic Seminary student -  “Anyone can tear down, but it takes a Nehemiah to build.”

May the Holy Spirit impart the spirit of Nehemiah to every disciple of Jesus Christ in this room and every disciple whom might be listening or watching on youtube at some later date.

Now to chapter 11. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section – vs. 1-19 basically tells us who began to live in Jerusalem once the walls were built. The second section – vs. 20-36 recounts where the rest of Israel chose to live.

Let’s read vs. 1-19 and then I will make a couple of observations.     “Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities. 2 And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

3 Now these are the heads of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah each lived on his own property in their cities—the [a]Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the [b]temple servants and the [c]descendants of Solomon’s servants. 4 Some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. From the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez; 5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite. 6 All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 able men.

7 Now these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah; 8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai, 928. 9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second [d]in command of the city.

10 From the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin, 11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God, 12 and their [e]kinsmen who performed the work of the [f]temple, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, 13 and his kinsmen, heads of fathers’ households, 242; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and their brothers, valiant warriors, 128. And their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of [g]Haggedolim.

15 Now from the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the [h]leaders of the Levites, who were [i]in charge of the outside work of the house of God; 17 and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of [j]Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the [k]leader in beginning the thanksgiving at prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and [l]Abda the son of [m]Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in the holy city were 284.

19 Also the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brethren who kept watch at the gates, were 172."

Perhaps it would be good to remind ourselves first of all as chapter 7 vs. 4 informs us,  “Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built.” Not only were the houses not built, but the debris from the devastated walls was not going to be easily removed. So to solve this problem and to guard the city from invaders, and more importantly to see this city restored to its original destiny -someone had to be willing to live in it.

First we are told in vs. 1 “the leaders” of Israel chose to live in Jerusalem. These leaders, unlike the Pharisees whom Jesus warned His disciples of - saying, “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.” (Matthew 23:4). These leaders followed Nehemiah’s example of selfless sacrifice and leading by example.

Then there were those who were chosen by lots to live there. Using lots to make choices and decisions was normal in those days. And vs. 2 tells us that all the people of Israel blessed and commended the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem. It was the people themselves vs. 1 tells us who cast lots (not some elitists); and those who were chosen apparently were glad to be chosen – glad to serve their nation.

Then we are told in vs. 3 that heads of provinces, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants were among those who chose to live in Jerusalem. And then we are given these long lists of the names of those who chose to live in Jerusalem who were of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

So why the lists? Why did Nehemiah by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit want his readers to know who these specific people were who chose to live and serve in Jerusalem at this critical time of their nation’s history?  Well the text doesn’t tell us, but my sense is because there are no little people in God’s kingdom. God is most glorified when everyone in His family embraces His purposes and everyone fulfills their role, and leaders see themselves as merely servants and equippers to make that happen.

In God’s kingdom there are no elitists; no superheroes. Everyone has equal value. In fact the apostle Paul said - when speaking of how the body of Christ or Christ’s church best functions - that “…the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and the members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable.” (I Corinthians 12:22-24). In other words – everyone has equal value in Christ’s body or church; and the ones who are not as visible or up front are actually just as important and strategic as the more visible and up front ones. Many of these who volunteered to live in Jerusalem were what Chuck Swindoll calls “the willing unknowns.” Many of them were probably never interviewed by the Jerusalem Post or asked to appear on “The Five”, but in God’s eyes they were precious and known and highly esteemed. And their presence in Jerusalem day in and day out encouraged their brethren and struck fear in their enemies.

Listen fellow disciple, you will probably never know until you are in heaven how much your willingness to get out of bed every morning and report for duty to King Jesus means to those around you. But I can promise you it means a lot. When the prophet Elijah was depressed and dejected and complaining to God that he was the only one fighting for righteousness, and God corrected him that there were 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal, God was not exaggerating or embellishing numbers. He knew the name and address of every one of the 7,000. He knew what their job was; and He knew the challenges they had to overcome to show up for duty every morning. Every one of them was strategic and valued in God’s eyes. And every one of you is the same. Don’t let the accuser of the brethren tell you otherwise. (Pray for them)

Well that was my second word. Here’s my third and last one – I think. Did you notice in vs. 1 and vs. 18 what Nehemiah called Jerusalem? “the holy city”.  The prophet Isaiah referred to Jerusalem in this way twice. The prophet Daniel once. And then Nehemiah twice in these two verses in chapter 11. What did they mean by this?  Was Jerusalem at that time holy as in morally pure and absolutely devoted to God?  No they weren’t. In fact for much of their history the people of Jerusalem have not been (as a whole) morally pure and absolutely devoted to God. They certainly aren’t today. But there is another meaning for holy and that is “set apart for a specific purpose”. And in this way Jerusalem has always been “the holy city”. I believe she still is. And I believe disciples of Jesus Christ need to acquire His heart for this city and its divine destiny.

Jerusalem is referred to in various ways in Scripture. For instance in Psalm 48, she is referred to as “the city of our God, His holy mountain” referring to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. He goes on to say of her, in vs. 2, “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King”  - the great King referring to God Himself who always intended to be Israel’s King, though she often rebelled against Him and preferred fallen, human kings.

Sometimes Jerusalem is referred to simply as Zion. Several days ago my Psalm for the day was Psalm 87, wherein we are told “…The Lord loves the gates of Zion  More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.” (vs. 2). And then in vs. 5 we are told “..the Most High Himself will establish her.” He will establish her because it is He who created her and called her in the first place.

If you read through the prophets from Isaiah on, you will discover many harsh rebukes and warnings to Israel and Jerusalem for their disobedience, idolatry and rebellion. But you will also discover in the midst of these - many promises and declarations of God’s special choosing of and heart for this city called Zion or Jerusalem and His intentions to fulfill His promises to her. As early as Isaiah 2:3 Isaiah prophesies by the Spirit of God, “And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths. For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

Many believers would say that one of their favorite promises in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11, where God says, “For I know the plans that I have for you, ‘declares the Lord,’ plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” But that wonderful promise was made to the Jews who were in exile in Babylon, and both in vs. 10 and in vs. 14 He promises to bring them back to Jerusalem.

The prophet Micah prophesied regarding Jerusalem these amazing words in Micah 4:1,2, “And it will come about in the last days  That the mountain of the house of the Lord  Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord  And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways  And that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

There are many more such promises and declarations, but what about our Savior? How does He feel about Jerusalem, the city and the people therein?  Well interestingly Jesus’s mother and husband Joseph – according to Luke 2:41 – took their child Jesus to Jerusalem every year for the Passover. That could have been as many as 18 or perhaps more trips there.  While much of Jesus’s earthly ministry was outside of Jerusalem, we know He ministered in Jerusalem at least twice – both times cleansing the temple of all of the corruption and greed therein – reminding them of what God had said about its purpose from Isaiah 56:7.

On the heels of one of the longest and most in your face rebukes Jesus ever gave to the Pharisees and scribes, He said these sad and sober words about Jerusalem, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” Matthew 23:37

Before Jesus cleansed the temple the second time, Luke 19:41 tells us, “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it.”  While it is entirely possible and probable that Jesus wept multiple times in His short poured out life on planet earth, the Holy Spirit chose to only tell us about two of them in Scripture – one of the two being when He looked upon this city with such amazing and yet unfulfilled destiny. 

So why was Jesus weeping over it?  Was it because the dreams and intentions of our triune God before the foundations of the earth for this city were dashed – never to be realized?  God forbid that we fall for this lie!  Has God ever dreamt a dream or declared an intention and not eventually realized it?  Does not the Scripture assure us in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

Is it not of Jerusalem that God said through His prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 60:14,15, “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated  With no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, A joy from generation to generation.”

So how likely is it – that when our Savior entered the Synagogue in Nazareth, and after a bit – by the leading of the Holy Spirit stood up to read, and the book of Isaiah was handed to Him – and Luke says, “..He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ”THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES…” etc., (Luke 4:18). What chapter was that passage from?  Yes – Isaiah ch. 61. And let me ask you, did Jesus quote from the book of Isaiah often in His ministry?  Yes He did. So how likely is it that Jesus would turn to Isaiah 61, read that passage and inform everyone that it was speaking of Him, and not be familiar with Isaiah 62:1-4, which reads, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name  Which the mouth of the Lord will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, My delight is in her, And your land, “Married”; For the Lord delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.”

Jesus wept because of the devastation to individuals, and marriages, and families and communities that Jerusalem’s idolatry and disobedience and hard heartedness caused. He wept because of the shipwreck in Jerusalem and beyond as a result of the hypocrisy and idolatry of its shepherds. But “…for the joy set before Him (He) endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2)   As Jesus subjected Himself to the unrestrained hatred and violence of the Jews and the Romans – what enabled Him to endure the scourging and stay on that cross until His work was totally and completely finished was the joy that soon - men, women, young people and children from every tribe, tongue, people and nation were going to be finally and forever saved and healed and cleansed and redeemed by His precious and powerful blood; and as His church among the Gentiles learns to carry His heart and His burden for Israel and for Jerusalem’s unfulfilled destiny, this destiny will begin to be realized - to the shock and amazement of the watching world.

Our God is doing amazing things on the earth in these last days. I believe these amazing things were greatly accelerated by the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people on the National Day of Prayer this last Thursday. You and I have the privilege of increasingly being a significant part of what He is doing - - as we learn to do three things: 1.  humble ourselves like Nehemiah did – recognizing that the transformation of our nation and the world is dependent upon our willingness to confess our sins and the sins of our fathers and our nation – always dealing first and foremost with the log or beam in our own eye.  2. As we learn to see our value and contribution to His kingdom advance through His eyes and not through anyone else’s. He knows our name and He delights in our waking up every morning and showing up for duty whether that is working at Grocery Outlet, or Sierra Vista Hospital, or Homeschooling small children, or wherever He has strategically placed us.  3. As we learn to see and feel about Israel and Jerusalem – “the holy city” -  the way our Savior does. 

Let’s pray to that end. (prayer for 1 & 2)

Now I would like for us to practice or heed the exhortation in Psalm 122:6-9, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.” For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.”

Ministry Team – prayer for something the Lord spoke to you about this morning

Prayer to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ and to know beyond a shadow of doubt that you belong to Him and He belongs to you for eternity

Prayer for healing

Announcement: Kingdomstreams has an exciting update coming soon to enhance the experience of its online members! Be on the lookout for notice of a new way to connect with our content and the Kingdomstreams community!