Nehemiah finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He lead a great celebration with Ezra the priest (who may would been very old by then). They marched in procession on too pf the wall around Jerusalem Ezra lead half one way and Nehemiah lead the other half until they had completely encircled the city meeting at the temple of the Lord (Neh. 12:31-43).
The people had all recommitted themselves to Yahweh and His holy covenant. They promised, after the Levite teachers lead them in a national prayer of confession...
- not to intermarry with gentiles,
- not to profane the Sabbath day by buying or selling goods
to provide for all the work of the temple through tithes, temple taxes, wine and oil - to bring wood and livestock, grain and first-fruits and redeem their firstborn sons
- to keep all the holy festivals, assemblies, sacrifices and offerings
In short the people promised, "We will not neglect the house of our God (Neh. 10:39b)."
To keep the tribes in unity they each gave a tithe of their own people to live in Jerusalem by casting lots. Those chosen did so happily for Israel of for their God. The rest reoccupied the cities of their ancestors, the land of their inheritance from the Lord. "It's all good in the hood," as they say.
Zechariah prophesied this restoration in beautiful terms.
The LORD says this: "I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, the mountain of the LORD of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain." The LORD of Hosts says this: "Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them."
"They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God."(Zch. 8:3-5, 7b)
But the commitment of the people doesn't last. They get it right for a time, but cannot seem to keep it right. Nehemiah returns to his king in Persia as he had promised. During his absence some of the people fell into unfaithfulness. Some intermarried and had children with gentile women. Alliances with their old enemies Sanballat and Tobiah continued. Eliashib the priest even had a special room set of for Tobiah the Ammonite and his family to stay on the temple grounds! The space had been used fro string grain, incense, win and oil for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers. The people had stopped supporting them. So the singers and gatekeepers returned to their own towns to keep the farm rather than the Lord's house. In addition people were buying and selling on the Sabbath day.
Nehemiah corrected all these crimes against the covenant of the Lord. Men were beaten and their hair pulled out. Eliashib was thrown out of Jerusalem along with the belongings of Tobiah the Ammonite. Faithful priests who could be trusted were placed in charge of the storehouses for the Lord's temple. Tithing was reestablished and the singers and gatekeepers returned to their duties. Nehemiah acted with righteous zeal for the Lord's house. It reminds me of Jesus' zeal to His Father's house when He drove the moneychangers and their livestock and doves from the temple courts.
Zechariah prophesied that the Branch (the Christ) would come to Zion in humility riding on a donkey's colt (Zch. 9:9). Jesus fulfilled this prophecy during His triumphant entry into Jerusalem recorded in all the gospels. This branch coming from David is the righteous king who will proclaim peace to the nations. Even the Philistines will become a righteous remnant for the Lord (Zch. 9:6-7).
John continues his visions from the Lord Jesus. This section gives the visions of the woman with child (the Jerusalem church with Messiah Jesus) and the seven headed, ten horned, red dragon (Satan) who wants to devour the child. God delivers her and the child from the dragon. So the dragon goes to war against the Gentile church, "the rest of her offspring —those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony about Jesus (Rev. 12:17b)."
Then beasts rise from the sea and the abyss. These are servants of the Devil. The first beast is worshiped as a god (Caesar of Rome). The second beast is supernaturally empowered to trick the world into worshiping the beast. His name has a number 666.
The number 666 has been a popular topic in the church, mostly to our embarrassment. Because we are so far removed from the context in which this book first encouraged the church, we've used the beast to frighten. We've named the beast "Antichrist" as some kind of son of Satan on earth, the anti-savior.
Let's get it right. The best interpretation I have seen is that the calculation of the number represents the name Caesar Neron the formal name for Nero. Each letter in the Greek alphabet has a numerical value in a code. Add up all the numbers for each letter in a name and you get a calculated number for the name. Other manuscripts have the number 646 for the informal version "Nero" which further supports this interpretation. The real monsters are men who want to be worshiped, who want to bend everyone to their own will. These are servants of the Devil whether unwittingly or willingly for they serve selfishly.
But as with all human endeavor, there is always a fly in the ointment. It doesn't last. Corruption remains a cancer on our world. Jealousy, greed, selfish ambitions, lust and idolatry creep back into our once right ways.
Set your hope not in humanity to get it right. Look to the One who is always right, Who can and will make it right. To quote the English mystic Julia of Norwich, "All shall be well and all shall be well. All manner of thing shall be well."
It would all sound like a fairy tale if it weren't for the living God.
"Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me?"—the declaration of the LORD of Hosts (Zch. 8:6)."
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