The First to Return

Last time we saw Nehemiah unpack his God-given idea to expand Jerusalem. Today we see the genealogical records which helped him plan.

“I found (matsa – fall, discovered, meet) the genealogical record (sepher – document, writing, letters – from saphar – recount, relate) of those who had been the first (rishon – forefathers, one in front, previous) to return (alah – go up, ascend, arise, bring back).

Those who go before us matter. If we can get our hands on any of their stories – letters, writing, books, retold tales of lessons learned – let’s do and cling to the wisdom we find. While not all who go before us leave a positive legacy, those who have ascended, risen to their calling, are worthy of our attention. We do not have to learn everything the hard way. We can glean from those who have pearls of truth to bring back to the rest of us.

“This is what I found written (kathab – inscribed) there:”

I wonder how Nehemiah first discovered the documents. And when he did, and realized they related details of those who had been the first, what must he have felt? Don’t you wonder if the people ever told each other the stories of their forefathers? About how the Temple had been rebuilt and how they fought off their own scoffing from the peoples around? And how they celebrated before Yahweh when it was completed?

“These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity (shbiy – prisoner, captive)…”

Those who go before us have much to teach. But, oh friends, those who have gone before us and come up from captivity? What a treasure, what authority they carry. As a friend said yesterday, “We only have authority in that which we have overcome.”

If you want to know where to go to overcome your prison, look to those who have their cell keys hanging on their purse or belt hook as a memory of where they’re never going back. If you want to be set free from an addiction, look to those who hold sobriety in one hand and Jesus in the other. Those who know where they’d be without cooperating with their Liberator. If you’re desperately hanging on in a relational hardship, look to those who – in His strength – found the courage to set boundaries or forgive or release a toxic situation. And if you want to know how to live like overcomers in a difficult national time, let’s together look to those for whom none of this is new. To those who have had to lean on the Jesus of the Bible for courage of conviction and strength to rise from captivity. Agree with them 100% on everything? No. Learn from? Yes.

“…of the exiles (golah – carried away, removed) whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (Babel) had taken captive (galah – uncover, indeed reveal) out of captivity…”

Those who have been forcibly carried away, those uncovered and stripped of dignity can lead us. They also tend to know the types of people under whose leadership we can flourish. Those who have been used as a weapon are much less likely to attack others, because they know how it feels to be shamed. But if they are coming out of captivity, they also know the hard-won feeling of overcoming, shaking off that shame, and living in the God-given dignity of every image bearer of our Creator.

“…they returned (shub – certainly bring back) to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town (iyr – excitement, city)…”

Those we look to for leadership do not only arise or recount tales or come up out of captivity. They also return. Return to their spiritual roots, to the innocence of childlike faith, to the excitement of joining God where He is at work. It is one way our Father refuses to waste our struggles. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, we can all – no matter where we’ve been or how far we’ve gone – press on toward the goal to win the prize to which our Father has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Isn’t He wonderful? Isn’t that good news? If you think yours is the only generation to have struggles, if you’re convinced you know more than others, if you’re grateful you’re not like some tax collector, get face down quickly, my friend. And when you stand, begin looking for Holy Writ, a genealogical record of your own, to help you get outside yourself and into the wisdom of those who were the first to return.