A Leader’s Legacy | Nehemiah 7:1 – 8:18 | Message 8
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After the wall hadbeen rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed. 2 I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. 3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”
The List of the ExilesWho Returned
4 Nowthe citywas large andspacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. 5 So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:
6 These are the peopleof the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 7 in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah):
The list of the men of Israel:
8 the descendants of Parosh 2,172 9 of Shephatiah 372 10 of Arah 652 11 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab) 2,818 12 of Elam 1,254 13 of Zattu 845 14 of Zakkai 760 15 of Binnui 648 16 of Bebai 628 17 of Azgad 2,322 18 of Adonikam 667 19 of Bigvai 2,067 20 of Adin 655 21 of Ater (through Hezekiah) 98 22 of Hashum328 23 of Bezai 324 24 of Hariph 112 25 of Gibeon 95
26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah 188 27 of Anathoth 128 28 of Beth Azmaveth 42 29 of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth 743 30 of Ramah and Geba 621 31 of Mikmash 122 32 of Bethel and Ai1 23 33 of the other Nebo 52 34 of the other Elam1,25435 of Harim 320 36 of Jericho 345 37 of Lod, Hadid and Ono 721 38 of Senaah 3,930
the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua) 973 40 ofImmer 1,052 41 of Pashhur 1,247 42 of Harim 1,017
the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah) 74
the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai 138
the descendants o fZiha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, 47 Keros, Sia, Padon, 48 Lebana,Hagaba, Shalmai, 49 Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, 50 Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, 51 Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, 52 Besai, Meunim, Nephusim, 53 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, 54 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, 55 Barkos, Sisera, Temah, 56 Neziah and Hatipha
57 The descendants of he servants of Solomon:
the descendants ofSotai, Sophereth, Perida, 58 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, 59 Shephatiah, Hattil,Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Amon
60 The temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon 392
61 The following cameup from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha,Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel:
62 the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda 642
63 And from among the priests:
the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkozand Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name).
64 These searched fortheir family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 The governor, therefore, ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there should be a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.
66 The whole company numbered 42,360, 67 besides their 7,337 maleand female slaves; and they also had 245 male and female singers. 68 There were 736 horses, 245 mules,[a] 69 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.
70 Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. 71 Some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics[c] of gold and 2,200 minas[d] of silver. 72 The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas[e] of silver and 67 garments for priests.
73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants, along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns.
EzraReads theLaw
When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, 1 all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
2 Soon the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
4 Ezra the teacher of he Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 The Levites—Jeshua,Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear[f] and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for thisis a holy day. Do not grieve.”
12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law. 14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.[g]
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
18 Dayafter day, fromthe first day to the last, Ezra read from the Bookof the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.
Nehemiah 7:1 – 8:18
What will people say about you? Have you ever paused to reflect on how you will be remembered and what will be said at your funeral? I don’t mean to be morbid—but honest. Ask yourself: What has been the sum total of my life? Who have I influenced for Jesus Christ? Has God used me to transform lives for His purpose and glory? Reflecting on the end of your life can ignite a profound sense of urgency to change your life for God today.
Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), the brilliant yet troubled inventor of dynamite, once woke up to a shocking surprise—his own obituary in the newspaper. To his horror, the headline declared, “The merchant of death is dead—the man who made it possible to kill more people more quickly than ever before.” Stung by the realization of how he would be remembered, Nobel resolved to rewrite his legacy. A year before his death, he revised his will, dedicating his vast fortune to honor individuals who had advanced humanity in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and the pursuit of peace. Out of that moment of sobering self-reflection, the world received one of its greatest gifts: the Nobel Prize.
In Nehemiah 7 and 8, we arrive at the thrilling legacy section of his leadership journey. Nehemiah calls the people together, and we witness one of the greatest revivals in history, centered on Ezra’s public reading of God’s Word. Imagine the scene—it is breathtaking! All the people stood for three hours as God’s Word was read aloud, and their response was electric: “Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, ‘Amen! Amen!’ as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:6).
Two essential truths leap from this passage:
1. The Critical Importance of God’s Word
Daily renewal, direction, and spiritual sustenance flow from the Word of God. God’s will for your life is revealed in God’s Word. Close your Bible, and you will stumble in confusion. Consider Helen Keller (1880–1968), blind and deaf, who said the Bible was “the book she had read more than any other” in Braille—so much so that her fingers wore down the dots. Nadine Hammonds, who lived in Memphis, TN, likewise memorized the entire New Testament in Braille. Their examples challenge us to make a rock-solid commitment to open and read the Bible every single day.
Yet, an alarming trend in America is the decline of Bible reading. I believe our addiction to social media has contributed to this trend. Surveys reveal that many Christians lack even a basic plan to read through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. A significant percentage have never read the Bible in its entirety. This leads to nothing short of spiritual bankruptcy. The late pollster George Gallup Jr. observed, “Americans revere the Bible—but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.”
2. The Paradigm of Faithful Preaching
Nehemiah describes Ezra’s example: “They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping people understand each passage” (Nehemiah 8:8). That is the paradigm of faithful preaching—clear, careful, and compelling. Ezra provided skilled exegesis of the Scriptures. Shallow preaching always produces shallow Christians. But teaching that honors the original text, wrestles with its meaning, and then skillfully applies biblical truth to daily life builds deep, resilient disciples.
When you discipline yourself in these daily spiritual calisthenics—reading, meditating, and applying God’s Word—you are building an enduring legacy. Your spouse, children, friends, and future generations will remember a leader who stood strong in the Word of God. Open your Bible to Nehemiah 7:1, and learn from this marvelous scene where God alone is honored and glorified. The detractors and critics are forgotten—what remains is the legacy of a life lived faithfully before the Lord.
