Now that the walls were rebuilt and the people reestablished, Nehemiah needed to repopulate the city. After most of the people of Jerusalem had been carried into exile, the city was in ruins, Jerusalem left as a ghost town, a very unpopulated city for its size.
To repopulate the city, lots were cast to bring the people back and begin to fill the city. 1 in 10 of the people from the surrounding towns, from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites and priests that were living within the tribes, were brought into the city. They were honored, along with the leaders who were obligated to move, for the sacrifice.
Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns. The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 11:1-2
Why would it be a sacrifice? Because everything must change. They are going on a mission for the good of the Jewish people, for the good of God’s people, for the glorification of God himself through the rebuilding of the city of God. Their sacrifice would ultimately mean:
Changing a lifestyle. Now instead of living in a smaller town, they live in the city.
Economic changes. They would need to find a new way to earn a living.
Social changes. Only 1 in 10 would come to live in Jerusalem. How likely would it be that one of their friends would be coming as well? Not highly likely.
Sometimes, to serve God means that we need to move to a new location. Doing so may look glamorous, and maybe even glorious, but frequently it means that we need to make sacrifices from the things that we would prefer to do that which God has asked us to do. And so we have a choice whether or not to do that which is comfortable for us or to do that which glorifies God.
Reading about the movement of these people this morning reminded me of two different stories from the time of Christ.
First, I remembered Jesus teaching the Pharisees and the teachers of the law that the unoccupied house – the person who has had a demon driven out of them – would be filled with even more evil spirits than before because the original evil spirit would return, bringing along his friends as well, if the “house” was left unoccupied:
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45
In Nehemiah’s case, he had to fill the city or else those that wanted evil for Jerusalem would come to take it over. Filling the city with those who are like-minded and who wish to serve Yahweh, the one true God, Nehemiah would complete the rebuilding of Jerusalem and set the city on a sustaining path for success.
For us, we must look to continually seek to fill our lives with the good things of the Spirit of God. The evil has been driven out and we have been born again by the Spirit, yet evil still desires to return, to steal, to kill, and to destroy. We must not allow it, but instead “populate” our lives through the good things of the Spirit of God.
Second, when the rich, young ruler came to ask Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus responded that he must sell everything that he owns and come and follow him. He wanted the man to know that he needed to leave his old life and join this new life, a life in Christ. He had an invitation to eternal life there in front of him, but he chose to stay just as he was. He chose his old life. The life of riches. The life without God.
Yet seeing this, Peter and the other disciples were having a hard time understanding. If the rich can’t get into the kingdom of God, how could they possibly do it? Similar to the people in the story of Nehemiah, the disciples had left their home towns to follow Christ. Would they be able inherit eternal life? Would they be able to truly enter the kingdom of God?
Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Matthew 19:27-30
Yes, of course, says Jesus. They, in fact, will be the judges of Israel. They will be the ones, because they have left everything to follow Jesus, who will receive much more and will inherit eternal life.
So we must ask ourselves… is it worth it? It is…or better said, it will be. But it will only be worth it to you if you truly believe it.