Day 42 – July 12, 2025
55-day Devotional Journey – Day 42

Scripture:
5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:
6 These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town.
7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baana.
The number of the men of the people of Israel: ...
39 The priests: ...
43 The Levites: ...
46 The temple servants: ...
61 The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers' houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: ...
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns. And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns. Nehemiah 7:5-73 selected verses (ESV)

Reflection:
Anyone who has tried to take a census or do a population count of a nation knows what a monumental task it is. God caused Nehemiah to do a national headcount of Israel in order to get a number of all who had returned to Jerusalem from exile. The count was done according to the genealogies of the families who had been exiled many years earlier. This was important for only those who could prove that they were clearly in the line of Aaron could serve as priests. It turned out that there were many who could not prove their genealogy as priests. Many others without a genealogy were servants who had returned with their masters. There were also a number of people who did not fit into any genealogy or category.

Nevertheless, everyone counted was included in the population of returned exiles, with or without a traceable genealogy. Returning from Babylonian exile to the Promised Land to restore the Jewish nation marked them as obedient to the Lord and qualified them for inclusion. They were "pioneers of faith" who trusted God to enable them to do the impossible. Early in the 55-year history of NYCBC, God blessed us also with "pioneers of faith" – those saved and enabled by grace through faith in Christ who did the impossible of planting this Church. We continue to preach the same today – we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, and so are qualified and enabled to be included in the ongoing building of his Church.

Reflection Question:
If you had to prove your genealogy in order to get into God's program and purposes, could you do it? Have you qualified for inclusion into heaven by receiving Jesus Christ as Saviour from sin and Lord of life?

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you have established this Church and you continue to sustain your people here today. Lord, grant us grace to always live in light your faithful care of us over the years, and to trust you for the impossible of gospel fruitfulness in the coming days. Grant us perseverance in our walk of faith in Christ and obedience to all he has commanded.

By Pastor Richard Choy