Ophel Dwelling and Inner Stewardship

Neville's Inner Vision

Beloved, Nehemiah names the Nethinims as those set apart for service in the temple and says they dwell in Ophel. Ziha and Gispa, the overseers, symbolize the inner authorities you have quietly placed over your mental workers. This is a study of state of consciousness, not geography: Ophel is the field where imagination tends the temple, where thoughts become form. The Nethinims are the daily acts of service—attention, care, restraint, and routine—that keep the inward sanctuary clean and ready for worship. When you permit Ziha and Gispa to oversee them, you acknowledge that your I AM—your present awareness—rules the order of your inner life. The Presence of God is not distant; it is the steady recognition that the inner servants respond to your assuming and feeling it real. In this light, true worship arises from the disciplined governance of your inner faculties, and work, vocation, and stewardship become expressions of the I AM within.