The Roll Call of the Valiant: Text: Nehemiah 11:1-19
Introduction: The Cost of Citizenship
We live in an age of shallow commitments. Our culture prizes the consumer, the tourist, the one who dips his toe in the water but never gets wet. This attitude has thoroughly infected the modern church. We have multitudes who are fans of Jesus, but few who are true disciples. We want the benefits of the kingdom without the cost of citizenship. We want the security of the walls without the responsibility of living inside them. We treat the church like a weekend resort, a place to visit for a spiritual pick-me-up before returning to our real lives in the world.
The book of Nehemiah is a potent antidote to this flimsy spirituality. The wall is built. The covenant is renewed. The great festival is over. The emotional high has passed. And now comes the hard part. Now comes the mundane, unglamorous, day-to-day business of rebuilding a civilization. A city is not just a set of walls; a city is made of people. And Jerusalem, the holy city, was largely empty. It was a frontier town, a dangerous place to live, surrounded by enemies who had recently tried to kill them all. It was an economic backwater. Moving there was a sacrifice. It meant leaving your established farm, your familiar village, your comfortable life, for a hazardous and uncertain future.
This is why chapters like Nehemiah 11, which seem to us like a dry and dusty phone book, are actually pulsating with theological significance. This is not just a census. This is a roll call of the valiant. This is a list of men who counted the cost and willingly chose the hard path for the glory of God and the good of His people. This chapter teaches us that true revival is not measured by the height of the emotional experience, but by the depth of the practical commitment that follows. It is measured by who is willing to move into the city.
The Text
And the officials of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities. And the people blessed all the men who freely offered to live in Jerusalem. Now these are the heads of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem...
(Nehemiah 11:1-19)
The Lot and the Blessing (v. 1-2)
The chapter opens with the central problem and its two-pronged solution.
"And the officials of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities. And the people blessed all the men who freely offered to live in Jerusalem." (Nehemiah 11:1-2)
First, notice that the leaders led by example. The officials already lived in Jerusalem. True leadership is not about pointing the way; it is about going the way. They did not ask the people to make a sacrifice they were unwilling to make themselves. This is the pattern of Christ, who did not command us from a distance but came to dwell among us.
Second, we see the interplay of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. They cast lots to bring one in ten into the city. As Proverbs tells us, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). God sovereignly chose who would be drafted. There was no room for arguing that the process was unfair. God's finger pointed, and that was that. This was a divine summons.
But alongside this divine draft, there was a call for volunteers. And verse 2 is the key to the whole chapter: "And the people blessed all the men who freely offered to live in Jerusalem." The community recognized the cost. They saw the courage of these volunteers, and they blessed them. This is the sign of a healthy covenant community. They did not resent the volunteers for making them look bad. They did not grumble about the inconvenience. They honored the sacrifice. This is the opposite of our modern egalitarianism, which often resents excellence and seeks to pull everyone down to the same level of mediocre commitment. Here, costly obedience is seen, celebrated, and blessed. This encourages more of the same.
The Laymen on the Front Lines (v. 3-9)
The list begins not with the priests or Levites, but with the laymen from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. These are the backbone of the nation.
"From the sons of Judah: Athaiah... All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 valiant men. Now these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu... and after him Gabbai and Sallai, 928." (Nehemiah 11:4, 6-8)
These are not just names; they are family trees. They are tracing their lineage back, re-establishing their claim to the land and their place in the covenant. This is about roots. They are the sons of Perez, the line through which the Messiah would come. This is a deliberate act of historical and theological restoration.
And look at the description. The men of Judah are called "valiant men." The word here is chayil, the same word used to describe a "mighty man of valor" or the "virtuous woman" in Proverbs 31. It means strength, ability, courage, and substance. It took guts to move your family to Jerusalem. This was not a task for the faint of heart. It was an act of spiritual warfare, reclaiming God's holy city from desolation and threat. The kingdom of God is not advanced by timid men.
Notice also the order. God's work is not a chaotic free-for-all. There is structure. Joel was their overseer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command. God brings His order to bear on the chaos of the world, and He does so through delegated authority and clear lines of responsibility. This is how a city, or a church, is faithfully governed.
The Priests and the Mighty Men of God (v. 10-14)
Next come the priests, the spiritual leaders of the nation. If the city is to be holy, the worship at its heart must be restored.
"From the priests: Jedaiah... Seraiah... the leader of the house of God... and their relatives, mighty men of valor, 128." (Nehemiah 11:10-11, 14)
Seraiah is the "leader of the house of God." The proper leadership is in place. The temple is not just a building; it is the place where God condescends to meet with His people, and it must be administered according to His Word. The work of the house required 822 men. This was a significant operation.
But pay close attention to that last description in verse 14. A contingent of 128 of the priests' relatives are described as "mighty men of valor." This is striking. We expect warriors to be valiant, but priests? Absolutely. The work of the ministry is a fight. It is a war. The priest stands between a holy God and a sinful people. He offers sacrifices that point to the coming war that Christ would win on the cross. He guards the holiness of God's house against profanation. He teaches the law, which is a sword against the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. A faithful pastor, a faithful elder, is not a soft-handed motivational speaker. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior for the truth.
The Levites and the Ministry of Thanksgiving (v. 15-18)
The Levites were the essential support staff for the temple, and their roles were varied and crucial.
"Now from the Levites... Shabbethai and Jozabad... who were over the outside work of the house of God; and Mattaniah... who was the chief in beginning the thanksgiving in prayer..." (Nehemiah 11:15-17)
We see a division of labor here that honors all kinds of work. Some were over the "outside work." This is the administration, the logistics, the finances, the building maintenance. This work is just as spiritual and just as necessary as the work happening at the altar. A church cannot function without people faithfully managing the budget, cleaning the bathrooms, and organizing the nursery. This is all "work of the house of God," and it is honorable.
And then we have Mattaniah. His job description is glorious. He was the chief who began the thanksgiving in prayer. Think about this. In the midst of this difficult, costly, dangerous resettlement, the primary posture of their worship was to be thanksgiving. Gratitude is the fuel of Christian obedience. A grumbling spirit cannot build anything that lasts. But a heart overflowing with gratitude for God's past faithfulness, even in the ruins, is a heart that can build for the future. Mattaniah's job was to lead the charge in giving thanks. What a ministry.
Finally, we have the gatekeepers, 172 of them. Their job was to guard the gates, to be constantly vigilant. They were the immune system of the city. They had to know who to let in and who to keep out. This is a picture of doctrinal and moral discernment. A church without gatekeepers, a church that lets in every predatory wolf and every false doctrine, will not remain a holy city for long. It will be overrun and destroyed from within.
Conclusion: Citizens of a Heavenly City
This chapter of names is a picture of the church. God is building His city, the New Jerusalem. And He is populating it with people He has called out of the surrounding darkness. To be a Christian is to be one who has, by God's grace, volunteered to move into the holy city.
This is not a safe move. The world, the flesh, and the devil hate this city and all its inhabitants. To be a citizen is to be a soldier. It requires valor. It requires sacrifice. It means you are no longer living for your own comfort and security in the outlying villages of the world. Your address has changed. Your allegiance has changed.
This chapter calls us to examine our own commitment. Are we mere tourists, visiting Jerusalem on the weekends for the nice music and inspiring speeches? Or have we moved in? Have we sold our farm in the world and committed ourselves, our families, and our fortunes to the building of Christ's church? Are we laymen of valor? Are we priests who are mighty men? Are we Levites who lead with thanksgiving? Are we gatekeepers who guard the truth?
The ultimate volunteer, the ultimate valiant man, was the Lord Jesus Christ. He left the ultimate security of heaven and moved into the most dangerous neighborhood of all, a world of sin and death, our world. He did this to rescue us and make us citizens of His eternal city. He is the great leader of the house of God, our High Priest. And because He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, our names, if we are in Him, are now written in a greater census. They are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Let us therefore live as worthy citizens, blessing those who take the hard posts, and joyfully taking our own place on the wall.