“[The document was ratified and sealed with…the following Levites…]
Hashabiah, Zakkur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah…”
Nehemiah 10:11b-12
Last time we looked at covenant-signing Levites whose names reminded us Yah provides the marvelous and broadens our hearts as we walk with Him. Today we will step into the next four Levite names.
We begin with Hashabiah whose name we also see in Nehemiah 3:17. The meaning is “Yah has taken account” or “Yah has regarded,” from Yah and chashab – to think, account, calculate, design, devise, determine, esteem, plan, purpose, scheme.
These words give me pause at first blush. The idea of calculating, devising, or scheming conjure up images of human striving, working each angle to make something fit to a predetermined end. And if we look at the news or our own hearts, we can surmise this end is a selfish one. The good news is that is never God’s heart.
If He is devising plans, they are for our ultimate good. If He is calculating or scheming, it is not as humans would do, trying to figure out the best end. He knows the best end, the perfect direction for everyone involved. No needing to recalculate, redesign, or reassess His purpose. He has one purpose – His glory and our good – and as Creator God, God Incarnate, and God the Spirit, He moves resolutely in that direction.
And this Perfect One has regarded us. He has taken us into account though we often ignore Him. He esteems our worth as His image bearers, though at times we trash that worth in ourselves and others. In short, whenever we devise, calculate, or determine that He has somehow gotten it wrong in our lives (read: sin) we can pretty much assume we are the ones who have missed the mark.
And, as such, we get to join God in His redemption of our messes. When we start to wonder if Yah has taken account of certain systemic injustices or blatant iniquities, we get to remind ourselves He has. He sees and knows and is on the move to redeem. Our invitation is to calculate, determine, how to jump into the already rushing tide.
Our next Levite is Zakkur whose name is from zakar – mindful, confess, remember, boast, call to mind.
I remember the first time I heard confession explained using the Greek definition: homologeó – to speak the same, to agree. It made so much sense and gave my heart some freedom in the idea. If to confess our sins to God means to agree with Him that they are not what is best – for us, for others, for Shalom – the heart can follow. To be of the same mind that living for ourselves is junk and never worth it can remind us no matter how tightly we’re clinging to what wants to kill us, some part of us knows it’s not what we truly want.
And to come to the same conclusion as the prompting from the Spirit inside us brings immense relief. We can let go of the heavy burden and allow Him to bring the sorry we may not feel yet, open our eyes to how we’ve hurt others in our selfishness. In short, confession is saying, “My flesh still wants this, but my heart knows it’s wrong. Forgive me and give me godly sorrow over it. Help me let it go.”
Freeing, yes? It helps us be mindful of what we genuinely want to be true of our lives, remember how living for Him feels, and boast in His magnificent grace toward us. In short, good name, Zakkur.
Our final two Levites are also listed in Nehemiah 9:4-5 of those standing on the stairs in view of the people commanding praise to God. The first is Sherebiah whose name means “Yah has sent burning heat.” It’s from Yah and sharab – burning heat, parched ground, to glare; quivering glow (of the air), mirage.
Can’t you picture it? The mirage in a desert, heated air distorting the vision ahead?
According to Science Daily, the mirage effect is “an optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The most common example of a mirage is when an observer appears to see pools of water on the ground. This occurs because the air near the ground is a lot warmer than the air higher up, causing lights rays to bend upward towards the viewer’s eye rather than bounce off the surface.
This results in an image of the sky appearing on the ground which the viewer perceives as water actually reflecting the sky; the brain sees this as a more likely occurrence.”
Interesting that this heat – this burning heat, parched ground – would be what Yah has sent. Is He trying to distort reality for us, making His work in our lives like a deceptive mirage? Of course not, that’s not His character. And He wouldn’t be worthy of worship, let alone our entire lives, if it was.
So what does it mean that He has sent a quivering glow? Heat that burns and ground which is in need of moisture? I don’t know all of what it could mean, but in my experience with our Consuming Fire it has had to do with getting rid of impurities which needed gone before He and I could take the next step together. Fire cleanses not just destroys.
When in the capable hands of Yah, fire in the lives of His people is not for our destruction. It may, however, be teaching us not to rely on our own powers of perception. I don’t know about you, but I have been completely wrong in the past with what I thought I was seeing. He can use such times of burning heat to help us live out leaning not on our own understanding. Not because He’s cruel but because He’s kind.
Our final Levite today, who was alongside Sherebiah on the stairs leading praise, is Shebaniah, whose name means “Yah has grown, prospered.” I so quickly go to finances in my mind for this prosper verse, when growing wealth cannot possibly be true for every follower of Jesus around the world.
But if Yah indeed grows any influence or depth of spirituality in our lives, may it be coupled with a hefty dose of humility and fear of the LORD. One need only to see those in the public eye fall to know it could happen to any one of us. Every one of us. As we choose to walk in the Spirit of power, love, and self-control, rather than anxious fear of public failure, we can both protect our hearts from temptation and walk in a manner worthy of our calling.
For it is true, Yah has regarded us.