Nehemiah 11

Once the temple and the walls had been rebuilt, Jerusalem was in need of a population. But it seems like there weren’t too many people eager to live there. The beginning of chapter 11 tells us how the city was settled: "Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns. The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem." (vs 1-2)

So, here we see that the leaders settled in Jerusalem. That only made sense, since the temple was there; thus, they were under a necessary obligation to live there. Then, there were people who were obligated to live there because they had been selected during the process of casting lots. But there was also a third category. Verse two says the people commended those who volunteered to live there. That makes it sound like a remarkable thing that anybody would want to live in Jerusalem. Why was it such an unpopular idea?

1. It would require something akin to starting a new business venture. Family fortunes in Israel were passed down through land. If you were going to pack up and move to Jerusalem, you’d have to sell your family’s land and start all over in Jerusalem. That might or might not work out.

2. Connected to the first reason you might not want to move to Jerusalem was the fact that it wasn’t an ideal place to start over. It had been deserted for seventy years, and even though the temple and walls had been rebuilt, things were still in a very fragile state. There was still a lot of work to be done to make Jerusalem a functioning place to live.

3. Just like any kind of move, packing up and moving to Jerusalem would require you to leave friends and possibly family behind. It would require a re-ordering of your social priorities, forcing you to leave your comfort zone and build a new social structure. For most people, that’s a daunting prospect.

4. After all the animosity and opposition to the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls, people living in Jerusalem had to know that they were targets for those who hated Israel. Armies from surrounding nations were likely to want to make an example out of Jerusalem and destroy all the restoration that had been made.

So, at the very least, moving to Jerusalem would require people to sacrifice in a material way, a social way, and possibly a physical way. Yet there were some who were apparently willing to make such sacrifices. And, when you think about it, that’s also what God is like.

Photo © Unsplash/The New York Public Library

God makes personal sacrifices for our benefit. For those families who volunteered to inhabit a place like Jerusalem for their fellow Israelites can be compared to our God, who volunteered to inhabit a dismal place like this world for us. His actions involved the same kind of material, social, and physical sacrifice—including becoming a target for the enemy.

So, whenever we engage in self-sacrifice, we are near to the heart of God. Everything He has done, is doing, and will do for His creation involves self-sacrifice on His part. He never has to be forced to take action. He always volunteers!