Nehemiah--Part 7 More names of laborers
In last week's teaching, I showed you some
of the “hidden manna” that Jesus promised the overcomers in the Church
at Pergamum in Revelation 2:17 by showing you the hidden messages in the
names of the leaders who are overseeing the rebuilding of the wall of
protection around the city of Jerusalem. Hidden within this section of
scripture is the message of Jesus and the spiritual maturation process in those
who believe in Him. To some, this in-depth teaching may seem boring, but it is
important to see that God's ways have not changed, nor has the ways of His Son
and the Holy Spirit. They work together as One with one heart, one mind, one
Spirit and one Truth. As I have said many times before, God is painting a
picture of Jesus and His Bride/Kingdom throughout the Older Testament
scriptures because He is the fulfillment (fullness) of these scriptures.
I left off last week with Uzziel and
Harhaiah who restored the wall up to the Broad Wall. Then Raphaiah son of Hur
repaired the next section. Raphaiah means “healed of Jehovah,” and Hur
means “hole” as that of a
viper. In other words, Raphaiah has been taken out of the pit of the
viper and is the healed of the Lord. The prophet Isaiah spoke of those in the
pit in 42:22, “But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them
trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no
one to rescue them.....” Lost sinners are trapped in pits and in
bondage. It is the job of believers to
help lift them out of the pit and bondage that the devil has kept them in. Jesus is the lifter of our heads and came
to earth to save us from the death and destruction of the devil and sin. The
devil wants to keep us down – earthly and bound—but Jesus wants to bring us up
higher with Him—spiritually bound to Him. God will use those He has refined and
have the sweet fragrance of Christ to bring others out of the pit of their
earthly nature and pain, so He can spiritually heal them and lift them up into
the high places with Him. Jesus works through His followers. If those who love
and serve Jesus are no different from those who are unsaved, our lives will not
reflect the higher and more blessed life that Jesus came to give us.
Next to Raphaiah, Jedaiah, son of Harumaph,
made repairs “opposite his house,” and Hattush son of Hashabnah made
repairs next to him. Jedaiah means “whom Jehovah has shown,” and
Harumaph means “flat-nosed”or “split-nosed.” In other words, God has
taken one who is double-minded, and now gives him wisdom and revelation of His
character. Transformation begins at home! Each individual's heart must be
changed first. God will take our divided heart and transform us into those
after God's heart. God will fill those who hunger after God and His
righteousness with revelation knowledge and use them to help others grow in the
knowledge of the Lord using His Anointed Word. As head of his household,
Raphaiah wanted to also assure that his family was protected. So he began his
work at home.
Hattush who was working next to Raphaiah
means “assembled,” and his father, Hashabnah means “whom Jehovah
honors.” This father and son--Hattush and Hashabnah--were Levites (priests)
and were among the priests who sealed the covenant, and were at the
dedication of the wall with Nehemiah. In other words, Hattush was raised in a
godly home and followed in the footsteps of his godly father. God honored
Hattush's father because his father honored God and served Him. The son,
Hattush, (“assembler”) will gather the laborers together as one to do
the work just as Jesus, the Son of the Father, does.
Another section is repaired by Malkijah,
son of Harim. Malkijah means “My King Is Jehovah or appointed by Jehovah.” Harim
means “dedicated.” Malkijah is dedicated to the rule of His King – God.
Hasshub, son of Pahath-Moab, worked
next to Malkijah repairing the next section of the wall and the Tower of the
Ovens. (Nehemiah 3:11) Hasshub means “considerate.” To consider
means to contemplate before making a decision, to think, believe. He was
the son of Pahath-moab which means “pit of Moab.” Moab means “of his
father.” Hasshub has been pulled out of the pit of his father and now
considers the work of God for His people that is before him. He will not only
lead the restoration of the next portion of the wall, he will restore The Tower
of Ovens where bread is put on the fire and baked. Sometimes these ovens were
made of earthen jars that were heated on the inside with a wood fire. Others
were pits lined with stone. When the fire burned out and was smoldering, they
would place small pieces of dough inside to bake it. The fire of the Holy
Spirit on the inside of believers in Christ and the Unleavened Bread of God's
Word (pure truth—Jesus) smoldering on the inside of us, God’s earthen
vessels, will make the wall of protection around our hearts stronger and take us
to the higher place (tower) with Jesus the Bread of Life.
As
Hasshub considered the work that was ahead of him, believers must weigh their
decisions with the Word of God, put it on the fire of the Holy Spirit to
rightly-divide it and believe God's Word before moving in any situation.
Shallum, the son of Hallohesh, worked next
to Hasshub with his daughters. Women also contributed to the work of repairing
the wall of protection around the city of God and His people. Shallum means “retribution
or recompense.” His father's name Hallohesh means “slanderer.” To
make restitution means to repay, and recompense means to make reparation by
giving compensation for damage or injury caused and to be restored to the
former or original state or position. The message in these names is that God
will defeat the accuser (slanderer) of the brethren and restore all that
the devil has stolen from us. God will turn the devil's evil deeds back on his
own head. He will restore believers to the righteousness that was in the
beginning in Genesis before sin entered through Jesus, the Second and Last
Adam.
As you can see in this teaching, God used
all people – high priest and priests, Jew and Gentile, male and female, leaders
and laborers—from all walks of life to repair and restore the wall of
protection around God's holy city so all within would be protected and safe.
All worked in unity of purpose out of their love for God and His people. All of
the gates had locks and doors on the inside that were also repaired. God
doesn't want sin or the enemy to get a hold in our hearts. As the gates could
only be unlocked from the inside, believers in Christ are also the only ones
who can unbolt and unlock the door of our hearts to let the enemy come in. The
antidote to this is to love and believe God and His Words of promise with all
of our hearts and shut the enemy out. Amen
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