At the dedication of the wall in Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication....
  Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
  They also consecrated holy things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron.
   - Nehemiah 12:27, 30, 47

We have here in Nehemiah chapter 12 three words of great importance to us. The first word is "dedication," in verse 27. The second is "purified," in verse 30. The third, "consecrated," is in verse 47.

What do all the above words mean to us in our Christian lives? If these words meant a lot for the remnant of God's people in Nehemiah's day, how much more should they mean to us today!

The word dedication means, in a practical way, to give onself to something or someone. Romans 12:1 presents a clear meaning of dedication:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

In Nehemiah's time, the remnant from captivity dedicated the wall of Jerusalem to God. So, if the wall speaks of protection and separation from what is outside, we need to dedicate ourselves and the walls in us to God.

We now come to the word purified. Purification is to cleanse what is defiled, and it can only be for the believer. We are in a world of sin; and wherever we go, whatever we hear, and whatever we see in the world is apt to defile us. Therefore the Word of God, like water, purifies us.

This is illustrated in John 13. When our Lord washed His disciples' feet, He told Peter, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me" (verse 8). We see how important purification is. We are purified by "the washing of water by the word" (Ephesians 5:26). The priests and Levites in Nehemiah's time purified themselves first. It is very important to purify ourselves first; then we can purify others.

Our last word is consecrated. This means "to be set apart," or sanctified. We need to be set apart from the world and set apart unto God in order to do His will. Consecration also means to be holy. In Leviticus 20:7, God tells us, "Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God."

P. Tadros