July 12, 2018: Day 89 – Nehemiah 12

This chapter seems to be rife with references to the singers, or the choir which had a very special place in the life of Israel.  I guess the closest thing that I can think of are the choirs in the Russian Orthodox Churches which play a primary role in the entire liturgy of Sunday morning for those services.  I love the choirs that have been a part of the churches where I have served and often I have participated in them.  They provide a ministry which is crucial to our worship.  The role of the choir in the Orthodox churches is very different from the role which is played in our contexts.  In our contexts the choir is an integral part of the worship.  In the Orthodox churches it actually leads the worship.  

The clip below is the “Our Father” which is sung every service and is known by all the people.  It is not a piece sung apart, but it is part of every service.  So much of the liturgy is sung.

So where does that take us in this  Scripture?  Did you notice that the choir had their own cities and lived among themselves.  Can you imagine?  They were instrumental in the worship, the temple was primary in worship, and the walls were created to allow the worship to continue as it should.  As a result the choir, the singers, are picked out and mentioned over and over again because they were so central.  

We find also in this chapter the dedication of the wall.  It looks  like things worked out the way that God wanted them to work out with Nehemiah in charge.