(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 11:1-36 )

1 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. 2 The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

The temple and the wall of Jerusalem had been restored and now the city needed to be repopulated. Without people, the city would remain a ghost town, and it is only when people moved back in that there would be life in the city of God.

Perhaps it surprises us to see that there wasn’t a big rush to move back to Jerusalem, but rather many people wanted to just stay in the other areas of Judah where they had made a life for themselves after returning from exile.

Why wouldn’t people want to move back to the holy city of God? Why wouldn’t people want to be close to the temple and the glory of the Lord? Perhaps because it would require much work to rebuild the homes and community there.

It is more comfortable, perhaps many thought, to live in the homes they built surrounding Jerusalem. Others perhaps thought about how much time and work it took for them to rebuild their own homes and towns after returning from exile, and didn’t want to relocate and do it all over again in Jerusalem. And there were some that probably were afraid of the potential attacks on Jerusalem from their enemies, and thought it would be safer to live in the outskirts.

In the end, there was a lottery and one of every ten were to move from their homes in Judah to live in Jerusalem. In addition, the leaders of the people also settled in Jerusalem. The challenges in repopulating the city of Jerusalem remind us of the challenges that face the church.

How many church buildings are there around the world. These once beautiful cathedrals full of God’s people are now tourist attractions and photo opportunities rather than a place of worship. Perhaps there is even a hidden problem in our churches that we are called to consider today.

Yes, sometimes churches are filled with people, but are they just physically full, and not spiritually full? Yes, our church may be filled with people during the week and on Sunday we have worship services, but are we a spiritually filled church, rather than just a physically filled church?

The Lord is asking us today, “Who will fill this place?” Yes, we may say that we are physically here, but are we spiritually here? Is the church our place of worship, and even more than that, is it our home? Who will fill this place? May this question enter into our hearts today, and may we honestly answer this question for ourselves. Is the church more than just a place of worship, but my home? If it is my home, and my family is there, then how should I respond?

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Nehemiah 11