Nehemiah 7:5 - Meaning and Application

Here we have another good project of Nehemiah. Wise and zealous men are always finding fresh ways to promote God’s glory and strengthen his church. Nehemiah knew that a city’s safety depends more on its people, under God, than on the height or strength of its walls. So when he saw that very few people lived in Jerusalem, he decided to take a census, or count, of the people.

He wanted to find out which families had once lived in Jerusalem but had moved out into the countryside. Then he could bring them back. He also wanted to see what other families might be persuaded, by their religion or their work, to come rebuild the houses in Jerusalem and live there. We should not wish to be alone in the world, or even alone in Jerusalem. Much of our safety and comfort depends on neighbors and friends. The more people there are, the stronger and happier life is. It is wise for leaders of a nation to keep a fair balance between city and country, so the capital does not become so large that it drains the countryside, or so weak that it cannot protect it.

Notice first where this good idea came from. Nehemiah says, “My God put it into my heart” (Nehemiah 7:5). Any good thought in our minds, whether careful or godly, should be credited to God. He put it there. Every good gift and every good work comes from above. He gives knowledge, and he gives grace. Everything comes from him, so everything should be given back to him. Even what comes through human wisdom should be traced to God’s guiding care. He teaches the farmer judgment (Isaiah 28:26), and he teaches the ruler as well.

Notice next how Nehemiah carried out this plan. He called together the rulers and the people so he could learn the current state of their families, their number, their strength, and where they lived. It seems likely that when he gathered them, he told them to bring reports from their own districts. There were probably not so many that this would take long.

Then he checked the old register of the family lines of those who had first returned and compared the present reports with it. That is why the list from Ezra 2 is repeated here. The heading is the same here as there, “These are the children of the province” (Nehemiah 7:6, 7; Ezra 2:1). Two things are repeated again, the names and numbers of the families, and the gifts they gave for the temple service.

This repetition may show the pleasure God takes in the people, families, and service of his spiritual Israel, his people by faith. He notices them closely. He knows those who belong to him. He knows them all by name. He keeps their record in view, and he works out all things according to his wise purpose for them.

First, we have the names of the heads of the families who came up at the beginning, in verses 6 to 69. This may seem of little use to us now, but it was very useful then. It let them compare what they had been with what they now were. We may think they had grown much by this time, but it was good for them to remember their small beginnings, so they would thank God for increasing their families and building them up. It also helped preserve their family lines and keep the distinctions between families until the Messiah came. After that, those genealogies, which had been kept for his sake, would no longer be needed.

There are many differences in the numbers between this list and the one in Ezra. Most of them are exactly the same, and some differ only by one or two. So I do not think, as some do, that one list gives the number at the first return and the other gives the number now, at least forty years later, perhaps much more. We cannot suppose that so many families stayed exactly the same in number for all that time. The differences are more likely due to copyists’ mistakes, which happen easily with numbers, or because the lists came from different copies. Or perhaps one list was made when they set out from Babylon with Zerubbabel, and the other when they arrived in Jerusalem. The total sums are the same in both places, except for the singers, who are 200 there and 245 here. These were not important enough for a very exact count to be kept.

Second, we have the gifts given for the work of God (Nehemiah 7:70 and following). This differs a good deal from the account in Ezra 2:68, 69, and it may even be asked whether it refers to the same offering. Here the tirshatha, meaning the chief governor, who is not mentioned there, begins the offering. Also, the single total mentioned there is larger than all the amounts listed here together. Still, it is likely that it was the same offering, only one record followed one copy of the lists and the other followed another.

The last verse here is the same as in Ezra 2:70, with the addition of Ezra 3:1. Blessed be God that our faith and hope are not built on exact details of names, numbers, family lines, and dates, but on the great truths of the law and the gospel. Whatever is given to God’s work, he will not forget. Even a cup of cold water given to honor him will receive its reward.