In
Nehemiah 11, we have the names of the residents of Jerusalem as well as the people
who lived in villages in Judea. As we come to Nehemiah 12:1-26 we see a list of
the record of priests and Levites. The list in verses 1-9 contains the names of
priests and Levites who came back to with Zerubbabel and Jeshua the high
priest. Verses 10-11 identify and enumerate six generations of the descendants
of Jeshua the high priest. Their names were Joiakim, Eliashib, Joaida, Jonathan, and Jaddua.
In
verses 12-21, the author zoomed in on the 21 heads of the priestly family in the days
of Joiakim. In other words, these were the second-generation heads of priestly families following the generation of Jeshua. Then
in verses 22-26 methodically, we are given the names of Levites serving in
the days of Joiakim, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
One
lesson to take away from these verses on the names of priests and Levites would be on
the significance of continuity. How many of us can recall our ancestors beyond our
great-grandfathers. There are not many of us who can. Just think of how these people
of God kept the record of their forefathers. It helps to remember the people who affected our journey with God. Remembering people who had impacted us will help us to better understand who
and whose we are. Many of us are here because of the lives of faithful men who
weather tough circumstances. They had left a legacy for us to emulate. Let us be
sure to leave a legacy worthy of our children to emulate.
No comments:
Post a Comment