the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 2 of 5
Nehemiah 11:1-2; Nehemiah 12:22-30
The returned exiles from Babylon were indeed few in number compared with those who lived in the country before they were carried away. Jerusalem, with its walls rebuilt on their former foundations, could only muster a tiny number of citizens: amongst others those who had rebuilt the wall in front of their houses! It is decided to appeal for volunteers from Judah and Benjamin to come and live in the city. Their names are given. God surely honours those who, leaving their fields and houses, come and live near His sanctuary out of devotion for that place.
Promises are made regarding Jerusalem during the reign of a thousand years (Zechariah 2:4; Isaiah 33:20 and Isaiah 60). But even more wonderful promises concern the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem. God who has "prepared" her for Christ (Revelation 21:2), has also "prepared" her for those who belong to Him and who have given up the idea of possessing a permanent city in this life (Hebrews 11:16). This marvellous city is not built to lie empty. God Himself will live in it amongst His own. Nevertheless one condition is essential to enter it: it is necessary to have "washed one’s robe" by faith in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 22:14 JND translation). Have you done that?
