That Which Gets Remembered Forever

Scripture: Beside them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not lift a finger to help their supervisors. Nehemiah 3:5

Observation: This chapter is a list of all the people who repaired Jerusalem's wall and where they worked. In the midst is this ... one people group - the Tekoites from a neighboring town - are named, however it is explicitly stated that their "nobles" did absolutely nothing. The common people helped, but the town's leaders did not in any way contribute to the work.

For eternity, this fact is now memorialized. The Tekoites themselves are honored. They are called out again in verse 27, meaning they were generally willing to help wherever they needed, as these two locations are almost opposite each other and therefore of no significance to their city. However, the Tekoite nobles are forever shamed as people who absolutely did nothing to serve God. This was clearly a point of contention for Nehemiah, as in this chapter he does not call out anyone else this way. This chapter is all about giving credit to those serving God, except for this one explicit statement. Forever, the Tekoite nobles are the people who wouldn't serve God.

Application: What activity of mine will be remembered forever? Okay, probably nothing ... no one is writing a historical record of my work that will last thousands of years. But if they were, would my refusal to act be the thing that is written about? Or would my faithful service be documented? There are hundreds of people in this chapter for whom the latter is the case, but one group for whom the former happened.

My lesson - besides 'don't tick off Nehemiah' - is this: When the time comes to do God's work, show up and do it. There are plenty of times to rest, but when God needs something done is not that time. I am sure there were hardships and challenges with building the wall, but hundreds of people who were not trained as stone masons pitched in. All the "nobles" had to do was show up and lend a hand. They could have walked around with water, or swept up rubble. They didn't need to kill themselves, but they didn't lift a finger. When it is time to do God's work, I can lift a finger and do it. And I need to every time.

Prayer: Lord, may I serve you this week and this month through labor and sacrifice. I will show up and work. May our efforts with the Christmas lights be to your honor and glory, serving your purposes, by creating the environment for love to reach others. Amen.