Today's passage is Nehemiah 12:1-26.
Yesterday's was chapter 11. Because I traveled from North America, I jumped a day, so yesterday and today are the same day for me at the moment.
In chapter 11, the leaders of Jerusalem cast lots to bring ten percent of the people into Jerusalem to live. Some men volunteered, for which they were praised.
The descendants of Judah, Benjamin, the priests, and Levites are listed.
The leaders of the gatekeepers, temple servants and singers are named.
The kings's agent is named. The nearby villages where the descendants of Judah and Benjamin live are named.
In 12: 1-36 the names of the returning priests and Levites are named along with their genealogies. They name the heads of the families back to the time of Joiakim.
The heads of the Levites were recorded in the time of Darius. The associates of the Levites, who give praise, are named. The guards of the storerooms are named. Everything is brought up to date to the time of Nehemiah and Ezra.
Last night I got home from my trip at 8 pm. My wife was with the mokjang members at a restaurant for supper.
I went to the apartment where we would all meet for praise and sharing.
The new mother of twin boys was at the apartment because she had not gone to the restaurant. I met the mokjang members as they arrived.
#65279;
My wife was the last to arrive because she had taken some children to a store to buy some fruit and ice cream.
So the person I most wanted to see, the one I had missed the most, was the last one I greeted. But I got to see everyone in the mokjang.
This made me wonder about who is important.
In the last two chapters of Nehemiah, everyone is important.
No one is left out, not the servants or the storeroom guards.
Everyone is included. And that's who God wants--everyone.
During my family visit, my purpose was to see everyone.
Over and over, my mother said, "It's so nice that you got to see everyone."
Every night I slept in a different house. I lost track of days.
I knew their numbers because of the QT readings but I didn't know the days of the week except for Sunday when I went to worship.
Because I have been just been in and out of three countries, I have had to repeatedly pass through immigration controls with thousands of other travelers.
Our names are all recorded.
As school principal, I am responsible for all the names of the students in my school.
Everyone is recorded along with the names of their parents.
#65279;
What is beside my name in God's record?
What is my role, my title, my village? Have I volunteered to live in Jerusalem?
praise God that he has given me the courage and desire to do my daily QT because through it I see better who I am.
Yesterday I learned that as important as my wife is to me and my spiritual life, everyone else is included too.
God has given me many names on my list of "everyone".
must remember them and love them all.
I will begin with phone calls and emails about my return and my love for them.
