Nehemiah 7:66 – The whole assembly together was 42,360…
Having completed the wall and establishing leadership to care for people in the city and church, the stage was now set for an influx of people and their conversion to the God of the Bible. The leadership principle here is that a leader labors to establish a world of facilities, leaders, care, and systems that can then welcome, evangelize, and disciple people. The people who God brought into the city and church are listed in this chapter of Nehemiah because everyone is known by and cared for by God.
After finishing the wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem in just 52 days, people are finally allowed to inhabit the city, which had previously lay in ruins for 141 years. Most of Nehemiah 7 is a repetition of the same list of people mentioned in Ezra 2:1–64. While many commentators skip this section of inspired Scripture, it shows to us how much of ministry revolves around caring for multitudes of people and stewarding money and other assets.
While we are not well-informed of each of these leaders, Scripture does tell us that Zerubbabel was a prominent civil leader, and that Jeshua (or Joshua) was a noted religious leader from whom descended 14 successive generations of high priests. Both men figure prominently in the minor prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
This lengthy list is of regular people who returned to the city to worship God. The equivalent of this list today is simply those who are Christians and living their faith at your church and the churches around you.
Nehemiah 7 honors a lot of ministry staff and volunteers by naming them with gratitude. Take some time thinking of who you can be praying for and encouraging in their ministry.