Priests and Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel
12 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their [a]kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.
8 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was [b]in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers. 9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in their service divisions. 10 Jeshua [c]became the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim [d]became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib [e]became the father of Joiada, 11 and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers’ households were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of [f]Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
The Chief Levites
22 As for the Levites, the heads of fathers’ households were registered in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan and Jaddua; so were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers’ households, were registered in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, to praise and give thanks, [g]as prescribed by David the man of God, division corresponding to division. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates. 26 These served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.
I’ve never noticed before that the head of the Levites (at this time) was named Jeshua, which means “God is my salvation”. It’s a derivative of Joshua (God/Yahweh is salvation), and is the Hebrew form of Jesus (we won’t go into the mess created by the German pronunciation of the Y/J sound from Hebrew). As our pastor often reminds us, Jesus (Yeshua) was a common name, but I had never noticed it this far back in the Bible.
With a name like Jeshua, I suspect it made him a natural leader, or at least opened that door if he was so inclined. After all, Joshua was one of the first great leaders of the Israelites after their captivity in Egypt. And for Jews living in captivity, a name that literally says “God is my/our salvation” was something they could rally around.
Just as God sent Jesus to save us from our sins, He had a plan for Jeshua in the days of Nehemiah. That said, the odds are that you aren’t named Jeshua, but God still knows you (and me) by name. And even more importantly, He has a plan and a purpose for your life. I’m continually amazed by the things God does in my life. Things I would never have dreamed of, and some things I never wanted to happen.
Through it all, God uses these things to shape and mold us into the person He created us to be. Want to find fulfillment in life? Look no further than His plan for your life. It doesn’t mean you have to become someone else, because He created you just the way you are, and God knows exactly what He intended for your life. Seek Him first, and you’ll most certainly find out who you really are!