The Muster Roll of Grace Text: Nehemiah 12:1-9
Introduction: God's Arithmetic
We live in an age that is allergic to history and despises lists. Our eyes glaze over when we come to the genealogies in Genesis or the census numbers in, well, Numbers. We want the action, the drama, the easily digestible moral lesson. But the Bible is not written to accommodate our modern impatience. God is in the details. He is a God of order, of history, and of names. He knows His people by name, and He wants them remembered.
When we come to a passage like Nehemiah 12, which begins with a long list of priests and Levites, our temptation is to skip it. We think it is just a dusty old record, an appendix to the more exciting story of rebuilding the walls. But to do so is to miss the entire point. This is not just a list; it is a declaration. It is a testament to God's covenant faithfulness. After seventy years of exile, after the Temple had been rubble and the priesthood scattered, God has brought His people back. He has reconstituted a people for Himself. This list is the proof. These are the men God raised up to lead His people in worship once more.
Think of it this way. If a great company went bankrupt and was liquidated, and then, years later, a list of the new board of directors was published, would that be a boring detail? Not at all. It would be the triumphant announcement that the company was back in business. This is what we have here. The spiritual leadership of Israel is back in business. The worship of the living God is about to be restored in Jerusalem. These names are the charter members of that great restoration project.
Furthermore, these lists are a profound statement against the spirit of our age, which is individualistic and autonomous. We like to think of faith as a private matter, a personal journey. But biblical faith is always corporate. It is about a people, a community, a body. God saves individuals, yes, but He saves them into a family. And a family has a history. It has a genealogy. This list is part of the family tree of faith. It reminds us that we are part of a great cloud of witnesses, a long line of saints who have gone before. These men are our spiritual ancestors, and their story is part of our story.
So, we must not skip the lists. We must learn to read them as God intended them: as a record of His grace, a blueprint for His church, and a foundation for true worship.
The Text
Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua. The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was over of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers. Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in keeping their responsibilities.
(Nehemiah 12:1-9 LSB)
The Priestly Vanguard (vv. 1-7)
The chapter begins by identifying the first wave of spiritual leadership that returned from Babylon.
"Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua." (Nehemiah 12:1-7)
Notice who they came up with: "Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua." Zerubbabel was the civil governor, a descendant of King David. Jeshua was the high priest. This is the partnership of throne and altar, the civil and the sacred, working together for the restoration of God's people. This is God's pattern for a healthy society. When the state and the church understand their distinct but complementary roles under God, the people flourish. Zerubbabel's job was to rebuild the commonwealth, and Jeshua's job was to reestablish the worship that was its heart.
Then we have the list of twenty-two priestly heads. These names are not just ink on a page. These were men who left the relative stability of Babylon to return to a ruined city. This was an act of faith. They were answering the call to rebuild from the ground up. The name Ezra is listed here, which likely refers to an ancestor of the more famous Ezra the scribe who would come later. The name Jeremiah, of course, echoes the great prophet who foretold the exile. God is weaving the past into the present. He is showing that His promises, made through men like Jeremiah, are now being fulfilled through men who bear their names.
These men were the "heads of the priests." They were the leaders, the ones who would organize the courses of the priests and re-institute the sacrificial system. This was the essential first step. Before the walls, before the market, before the houses, there had to be the altar. True reformation always begins with worship. A nation is not truly restored until its worship is restored. We cannot expect God's blessing on our politics, our families, or our culture if we are not first rightly ordered in our worship of Him.
This list is a rebuke to any notion of a priestless religion. God has always appointed men to mediate His grace and lead His people in worship. In the Old Covenant, it was the Aaronic priesthood. In the New Covenant, all believers are priests in a general sense, but God still appoints specific men, elders and deacons, to lead and serve His church. This list establishes the principle of an ordained, recognized leadership. God's house is a house of order, not a free-for-all.
The Levitical Support Staff (vv. 8-9)
After the priests, we have the Levites, who had their own distinct and vital role in the worship of Israel.
"The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was over of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers. Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in keeping their responsibilities." (Nehemiah 12:8-9 LSB)
The Levites were the support staff of the Temple. They were the musicians, the gatekeepers, the teachers, and the assistants to the priests. Their work was not less important; it was simply different. Here, specific roles are highlighted. Mattaniah was "over of the songs of thanksgiving." This is a beautiful and crucial office. Worship is not just about atonement for sin; it is about the joyful expression of gratitude for grace. Thanksgiving is the fuel of the Christian life. A people who have been redeemed from exile have every reason to sing, and God appoints men to lead them in that singing.
The phrase "he and his brothers" reminds us again of the corporate, familial nature of this work. This was a band of brothers, working together. Then we see another group, Bakbukiah and Unni, who "stood opposite them in keeping their responsibilities." This likely refers to the practice of responsive singing or antiphonal praise, where one choir would sing a line and another would respond. Think of Psalm 136, with its repeating refrain, "For His lovingkindness is everlasting."
This detail paints a picture of ordered, structured, and beautiful worship. This is not the chaotic, self-expressive, entertainment-driven model so common today. This is worship as a holy duty, a carefully structured dialogue between God's people and their King. The parts are assigned, the responsibilities are clear, and the goal is the glory of God and the edification of the saints. They stood "opposite" one another, not in opposition, but in a complementary harmony. This is a picture of the church functioning as it ought, with different members using their different gifts in a coordinated effort to offer up a sacrifice of praise.
Conclusion: Finding Your Place in the List
So what does this ancient list of names have to do with us? Everything. First, it is a powerful reminder of God's faithfulness. He promised to preserve a remnant and bring them back, and here are their names. God keeps His promises, down to the last individual. He did not forget Seraiah or Amok, and He has not forgotten you. Your name is written on His heart, and if you are in Christ, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, a list that will never be forgotten.
Second, this passage calls us to remember our heritage. We are not the first generation to follow Christ. We stand on the shoulders of these men and countless others. We are part of a story that began long before us and will continue long after we are gone. This should humble us and encourage us. We are part of something vast, ancient, and glorious. We have a responsibility to be faithful in our generation, just as they were in theirs.
Finally, this list calls us to find our place in the work. Every person named here had a role. Seraiah was a priest. Mattaniah led the singing. Bakbukiah sang the response. Not everyone was a Zerubbabel or a Jeshua, but every role was necessary for the proper worship of God. So it is in the church today. God has given each of us gifts and a role to play in the body of Christ. Are you a priest, bringing the prayers of the people before God? Are you a Levite, leading in song, teaching the young, or serving the needs of the saints? Are you a gatekeeper, protecting the purity of the church?
God is still rebuilding His temple, which is the church. He is still calling people out of the exile of sin and into the glorious liberty of the children of God. And He is still writing down the names. He is looking for men and women who will, by faith, leave the comforts of Babylon and give themselves to the hard, glorious work of building His kingdom. This list in Nehemiah is not a closed book. It is an invitation. By God's grace in Christ, let us find our place in the line and add our names to the muster roll of grace.