Nehemiah 7 - What Do You Mean, I am NOT in the Book?

These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.

Nehemiah 7:64

Nehemiah along with the inhabitants of Jerusalem have completed the rebuilding of the walls in just 50 some odd days, The Doors have been hung and now the city is ready for occupation!

In an effort to establish order and assign leadership within the walls Nehemiah in obedience to God given direction registers the Israelites;

Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it

Nehemiah 7:5

Unfortunately, during the period of exile many of Jewish people who where of Holy Lineage had turned their backs on the God of their Fathers and had taken up sinful ways, defiling themselves. As a result they had forgotten their Ancestry!

Wow, the practical application of this for us as western civilization with all our stuff is all so alarming as I consider how easy it is to have our attention drawn away from the Lord and placed upon the non eternal. It is as if we have slowly been lured away into this false sense of placing our security in stuff, allowing it to define us and dictate to us an unrealistic expectation. Often times without even realizing we have become enslaved by the very need of this stuff.

As I consider the definition of stuff, I think about things that often intermingle and entwine with what God intended to be Pure and Holy, however we have attempted to serve both God and man and have lost sight of what truly matters, the preservation of our Spiritual Family Linage.

Having been grafted into the olive branch we are now part of God's family and have our names written in the book of life! This is something far more wonderful than most will ever understand. Something worthy of cherishing like that of a family heirloom, something to pass on to the next generation that it might be looked upon as costly gold!

Let us guard our hearts and pray for the protection of our loved ones in Christ as well the salvation of those who have no idea, that we might all be found worthy of having our names in the book!

Be Blessed!