Not only was there a carefulness as to those without, but Nehemiah was also led by God to register the remnant by genealogy: “My God put into mine heart ... ” (Neh. 7:5). Many a problem would be avoided if our communion with God was similarly close.
The basis for the reckoning was the census recorded in the second chapter of Ezra. The reason for the registry was the same as that at the first. For Israel, born after the flesh, establishing one’s genealogy was vitally important — it determined the inheritance of each person. For the priests and Levites, it was essential for their qualification to serve in the temple. Though it was a thousand years earlier that God sanctified the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron to Himself, nothing had changed. Outwardly, things were still largely in ruins, and the state of the temple was nothing when compared to the glory of Solomon’s, and yet, God still held his people responsible to walk in obedience to His Word. For us, born not after the flesh but of God, though two thousand years has passed since the beginning of the church, God still desires that we walk in obedience to His Word. We should be no less careful in our associations and in the administration of the assembly.
Clearly there are differences to be found between the records of Nehemiah 7 and Ezra 2. Magbish, for example, does not appear in Nehemiah, though he does in Ezra (Neh. 7:33-34 and Ezra 2:29-31). The total size of the congregation, however, remains the same: 42,360 (Ezra 2:64; Neh. 7:66). While this may appear contradictory to some, faith does not falter. It is not difficult to imagine reasons for these discrepancies, but we are not given to know. While the skeptic argues that it demonstrates the fallibility of Scripture, we could just as easily point out that if this record had been of man, he would have corrected it years ago!