Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built. (Nehemiah 7:4)
Now that there was integrity in the wall around Jerusalem and the gates were hung with gatekeepers in place, there was one remaining problem. The people living within the “large and spacious” city were few and far between.
As they do on cruise ships, it was time to muster the people who had returned from exile, and God laid upon Nehemiah’s heart a plan to repopulate the city that would be informed by past genealogical records.
You never want your leaders running off half cocked, meaning ill prepared and uninformed. A cross-referenced verse to Nehemiah 7:5 is Proverbs 2:6:
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
This issue was potentially a very sticky one. Nehemiah needed to be on proper footing. In David’s day (2 Samuel 24:1-25), taking a census was not the right thing to do, and it cost him dearly. Here, this approach was not to assess military might, but to understand the problem of restocking the holy city. This process was endorsed by God.
When the books were finally closed, “The whole assembly together was 42,360, besides their male and their female servants, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers. (Nehemiah 7:66–67)
A couple of insights come from this account. There is high value in having godly leaders who seek out the Lord’s will.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
Second, we learn from history, nationally and individually. It’s a good thing to take account of how we got here. Therein lies proof positive of the Lord’s hand both in his guidance and where by our missteps we went awry. Here Nehemiah was reminded of the thousands who were taken to Babylon and who now had miraculously made their way back. In this process the physical resources were identified (and amassed) to reestablish the nation, and the people available identified to do it. Once fully accounted for, there had to be hope that it’d all work out.
But nothing would get done without spiritual revival. On to Chapter 8.
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