Inner Jerusalem: Nehemiah 11:3

Neville's Inner Vision

To Neville, this verse is a map of the inner city. The 'chiefs of the province' are the dominant states of consciousness that hold sway within the I AM. Jerusalem stands as the seat of awareness where God is present; in the cities of Judah, each state dwells in its own city, performing its function without colliding with others. Israel represents the waking, alive sense of self; the priests are the spiritual faculties that minister to awareness; the Levites are service-minded agents who carry out the work of attention; the Nethinims are the purified or set-apart thoughts kept holy by discipline; the children of Solomon's servants symbolize generational habits and memories that serve the whole when rightly ordered. Unity arises as each part knows its rightful place and contributes to the whole city. This is not a social ledger but a mental architecture: when your inner city is orderly, God is present as the I AM, and your outward life reflects that harmony.