Resettle in Jerusalem

Good morning and greetings in Jesus’ name! Welcome to this beautiful new day. I know that the Lord has been working on your heart; he has been depositing something fresh inside of you every day. There is not a single moment in our life when God has stopped working; when God is not doing something new in you, for you, or through you. If only we would learn to recognize it, surrender to it, and to partner with this work of God, our life will become so much more fruitful. We have to know where the Lord is moving, what the Lord is doing and just make sure to reorder everything in our lives to be right there.

When we talk about the nation of Judah that came back from the exile, you would see how in Nehemiah chapter 11 and verse 1 and 2 the people from the rest of the cities in the towns of Judah and Benjamin decided that they will have 1/10 of their people to resettle in Jerusalem.

The leaders of the people were living in Jerusalem, the Holy City. A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah ad Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there, too, while the rest stayed where they were. And the people commended everyone who volunteered to settle in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was the Holy City, the place where the temple was, where God dwelt among them, the city that God had chosen. It is interesting to note how the entire nation of Judah, the whole tribes of Judah and Benjamin, made sure that they will have their representatives in Jerusalem. Every town in the nation had sacred lots and 1/10 of the people of that town were chosen so that they can resettle. They already had an inheritance, their homes, their livelihood, everything in their own towns. But they were chosen to resettle in Jerusalem.

Verse 2 says that the entire nation commended the people that did resettle in Jerusalem. Because it is a lot of work. They are letting go of their ancestral properties, their communities, their families, their conveniences, their comfort so that they can go to a city where they have nothing to hold on to. The only good thing in Jerusalem is that the temple is being built here, the temple of God, the presence of God, the move of God, the work of God is in this place. They are selling and leaving everything behind so that they can resettle in Jerusalem. This is what made their decision even more dangerous. Jerusalem was the place the enemy would come to attack, it was strategic, it was the capital, it was the place that was in ruins, it was the place that they had to rebuild the walls around because it was the place that was under siege and attacks the most number of times in the history of Israel and Judah. Now, that is the place that these guys are moving to. Not a very comfortable place, not a well-built place. They are technically moving and resettling into ruins. This city is not completely rebuilt; the walls around the city are, but this city is still in a lot of chaos and ruins. The infrastructure is not up to the mark. Yet, these guys chose to move there.

I like that the fact that it says “every town and city said that they wanted their representatives there. They wanted somebody with their family name over there, they wanted something in the house of God, something near the presence of God that would remind God of their city, town, to move and send a revival back where they come from.”

This morning, I just want to inspire you to have your house, family, the church be represented wherever the Lord is moving. You see a move of God in your city, make sure that there is somebody from your church investing there. Make sure there is somebody from your church sowing into those meetings. Make sure there is somebody in your church, house, community, family who will be given to fuel the fire that is going on in that place. It could be a revival, it could be an opportunity to reach more people, it could just be a blessing to the community. Wherever you see God at work, the temple being built, Jesus being exalted, you have to make sure that you have a representation there. That is a place that is a good place for you to invest.

I believe that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin did a wise thing by saying “I will have people from my town, from all of our localities represented in Jerusalem.” It was not a very easy decision for the ones that went. That is why the bible says that all that went, all that got resettled were commended by everybody else. They celebrated them, they said “Hey, you guys are making such a big choice. We are with you. We will support you, we will give you the finances required, we will give you the physical help required because we want our homes to be represented near the presence of God, the temple of God, in the house of God, in Jerusalem (the city of our God).”

I pray that we will catch that culture in our churches, ministries, where we will say, “Lord, I want my house to be represented in this church, I want my work to be represented in this church, I need a portion of what God is doing in this church.”

Thank you for tuning in today! Ask the Lord for practical instructions that will make sure this becomes your revelation and your reality too.