Welcome to today's Daily PBJ devotional. If you're reading through the Old Testament with us this year, today's readings are Genesis 23, Nehemiah 12, and Psalm 22. This devotional is about Nehemiah 12, verses 27-47. It's a long chapter with a lot of names in it, so I'm just going to read those verses, Nehemiah 12, 27-47, but read the whole chapter if you're trying to do the Bible reading schedule. At the dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from all their homes and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres. The singers were also assembled from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophethites, from Beth Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Asmaveth. for they had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall. Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and I appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. One was to proceed along the top of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate. Hoshiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed, along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshulam, Judah, Benjamin, Shammiah, Jeremiah, and some of the priests, with trumpets, and also Zechariah, son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mataniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zechar, son of Asaph, and his associates, Shemaiah, Azarel, Mililai, Gililai, Mai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. Told you it was a lot of names. With the musical instruments prescribed by David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe led the procession. At the fountain gate, they climbed the steps of the city of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the water gate on the east. The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left, and I followed it, with half the people along the top of the wall, past the tower of the ovens, to the broad wall, over the gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanna gate, the fish gate, the tower of Hananel, the tower of the hundred, as far as the sheep gate, and they stopped at the gate of the guard. The two thanksgiving choirs then stood in the house of God, as did I, along with the half of the officials accompanying me, as well as the priests with their trumpets, Eliakim, Masaiah, Meniamin, Mekiah, Eleoni, Zechariah, and Hananiah, and also Massiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Melchijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then the choirs sang out under the direction of Jezrahiah. On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar. And on that same day, men were appointed over the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tithes. The portions specified by the law for the priests and Levites were gathered into these storerooms from the fields of the villages because Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who were serving. They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed. For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, All Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for the descendants of Aaron. This is God's word. God was doing something in Jerusalem. Now compared to the growth and expansion of the kingdom that David and Solomon saw, what Nehemiah and his countrymen were doing was small. But compared to the ruin that Jerusalem had been for 70 years, and the powerlessness and exile that God's people had experienced for a generation, the days of Nehemiah and Ezra were amazing. They were more hopeful than successful, like a sprout from the ground on a farm that hadn't produced anything in years. A sprout is not the same as an acre of corn ready to be harvested. But it is a reason to be hopeful. Every acre of corn began with a sprout, after all. So these were not Judah's greatest days politically or economically, but spiritually they were powerful. God was moving in his people and for his people again. He was working in the hearts of pagan kings and governors to protect and provide for his people. The people were expressing their repentance for their disobedience to God's word, and were publicly recommitting themselves to obey His covenant. And what was the result of all this work God was doing in Jerusalem? Singing. The wall around Jerusalem was a defense mechanism. It had no real spiritual purpose, like the altar in the temple did. It was there to protect the inhabitants of the city from enemy attacks, and really nothing more than that. Nehemiah saw the repair and rebuilding of this wall as a spiritual act, however, because Jerusalem was God's city. It was the place where his temple was, where his name would live, and eventually where his Messiah would reign. So when the wall was finished, Nehemiah organized a ceremony to dedicate it, according to verse 27. And one of the key features of that dedication ceremony was singing. Verse 31 refers to two large choirs. that were organized and that gave thanks, according to verse 31, by singing during this ceremony, according to verse 40. They were joined by musical instruments prescribed by David, the man of God, according to verse 36 in the NIV. The two choirs stood on the top of the wall to give thanks. Then they came together to continue singing in the temple, according to verse 40. The result of all this music was joy. Look at how verse 43 described it. It says in the NIV, And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. The music offered to God on that day had such a powerful effect that people wanted it to continue. People brought provisions to the temple, according to verse 44, to provide for musicians and singers, according to verses 46-47. This shows what a key, important role music has in the worship of God's people. When God is working in people's lives, They want to praise him in song. Music lifts our hearts when our hearts are wounded. And it gives us a way to express our joy when we are glad and thankful for what God is doing and God has done. This can be part of your walk with God as well. Not only can you be thankful for all of our worship team members who lead us in worship on Sunday, We in this age have the gift of recorded music to help us even in our private devotional times, to encourage us when we are down, and to help us set our hearts to thankfulness and to praise as we go to work each day. Why not pick some uplifting song of praise to listen to right now or on your way to work today? Sing along and let the Lord use this gift to help you this day to dedicate your work to his praise and honor and glory. So I hope you'll do that today. I hope you'll sing on the way to work along with some recorded music or just on your own. And I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day.