The wall is dedicated to the Lord, there is worship at the temple. Spiritual reform is part of any healthy building program.
Nehemiah 12: Priests and Levites
1 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.
9 And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them in the service.
10 And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada,
11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.
12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers' houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian.
23 As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers' houses were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.
24 And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch by watch.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates.
26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra, the priest and scribe.
Dedication of the Wall
27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites;
29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem.
30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.
31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate.
32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,
33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
35 and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph;
36 and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.
37 At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.
38 The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall,
39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard.
40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me;
41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader.
43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.
Service at the Temple
44 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.
45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.
46 For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.
Things to think about…
1. More names! But have a look at their significance. These guys were in charge of how the Lord was to be worshipped. Look at the worship leaders who were set apart in Neh 12:8 and the worship teams from the families in Neh 12:9, 24. Please continue to pray for our worship teams. They do an incredible job and need your prayer and support.
2. The senior leadership team are mentioned in Neh 12:26. We would call this the eldership. Please pray for the elders and ministry team leaders that the Lord continues to bless their ministries within the church. Ezra the scribe was gifted in the teaching/preaching, Nehemiah was gifted in administration. Both are required for the growth and spiritual health of the Lord’s people. The administration of a city is generally looked after by the council. But the spiritual element should be looked after by the churches in the city.
3. At the dedication of the wall in Neh 12:27-43 what do you see are the main characteristics of this service? There is gladness, thanksgiving, shouts of praise which could be heard for miles. Are these characteristics found in your life personally? Are they part of our lives and obvious to all as we worship corporately? Let’s pray for this Sunday’s services that they may be on display in an ever growing capacity.
4. In Neh 12:44-47 we see the provisions for those who were directly associated with the singing and praise as well as the gatekeeping ministries of the temple. They were provided for from the storehouses that contained the first fruits, tithes and offerings that came into the temple vs 44. Imagine if we could pay the gatekeepers (Elders, Treasurer and Secretary) and the Singers (Worship leaders, Technical and Sound) at our church. Just something to think about as we grow. There is certainly a biblical principle in doing so.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups on break over School holidays
Prayer Points
1. Pray for people as they settle into life at CBC.
2. Over 400 flood victims in South Africa. These people are in great poverty as well.
3. Pray for peace to cover Ukraine and for Russia to retreat. Pray the gospel reigns in this situation.
4. Upcoming Australian elections
5. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
6. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
7. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord for a wonderful Easter and visitors over the Easter period.
2. Pray the Kremlin are held accountable for war crimes.
3. Visitors to CBC over Easter weekend – new folk added to the church.
4. God’s word affecting people for Christ
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
6. Flood cleanup is restoring communities around Ipswich and Brisbane.
Announcements
1. Kidz@Church back on this Sunday.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for April...
Q. 2. Where is Christ now? A. In heaven, interceding for sinners and sitting at the right hand of God the Father.
