This is one of those chapters that I'm tempted to breeze through. Lists of people. Yesterday, however, our minister shared that it is one of his favorites. Why? Look at the list of people, most of them not builders by trade, but they each pitched in.
Nehemiah 3:1 - The high priest - building.
Nehemiah 3:2 - men of Jericho (Jericho?) - building.
Nehemiah 3:5 - The nobles - NOT building. I wonder why? Did they think it foolish or was the labor beneath them? Nehemiah doesn't dwell on it, rather concentrates on those who were building.
Nehemiah 3:7 - Gibonites and Meronothites - building.
Nehemiah 3:8 - Goldsmiths & perfumers - building.
Nehemiah 3:9 - District rulers - building.
Nehemiah 3:10 - Building and repairing what was near their homes.
Nehemiah 3:12 - More rulers, and daughters (Go daughters!) - building.
Nehemiah 3:13 - Inhabitants of Zanoah - building.
Nehemiah 3:14 - More rulers - building.
Nehemiah 3:15 - More rulers - building.
Nehemiah 3:16 - More rulers - building. Guess those nobles above were the exception, not the rule.
Nehemiah 3:17 - Levites - building.
Nehemiah 3:19 - More rulers - building.
Nehemiah 3:22 - Priests - building.
Nehemiah 3:23-24 - Building and repairing what was near their homes.
Nehemiah 3:26 - Temple servants - building.
Nehemiah 3:27 - Tekoites - building.
Nehemiah 3:28 - Priests - building and repairing what was near their homes.
Nehemiah 3:29-30 - Building and repairing what was near their homes.
Nehemiah 3:32 - Goldsmiths and merchants - building.
What a picture of everyone chipping in where they could. Common and noble built, each doing a part, some small some large. Some traveling to ehlp, some building right where they were.
Isn't that what God's church should be? But the question is, am I building? I think I easily fall back and rely on what has already been built. I know that I'm most content when I am building.
How about you, what are you building?
