Shoulder to Shoulder on the Wall

At first glance, Nehemiah 3 looks like a chapter to skim: a long list of unfamiliar names and gates. But read it slowly and a picture emerges that should move us. Eliashib the high priest builds next to the men of Jericho. Goldsmiths and perfumers — artisans with no construction experience — repair fortifications. Shallum rebuilds “he and his daughters” (v. 12). Rulers stoop to manual labor beside servants.

The wall went up because nobody’s section was too small to matter and nobody’s status was too high to serve. Each family repaired the stretch nearest their own house — the work in front of them, not the work they might have preferred. And the chapter is honest about the exception: the nobles of Tekoa “put not their necks to the work of their Lord” (v. 5). Their absence is recorded right beside everyone else’s faithfulness.

God’s work today is built the same way: ordinary people, side by side, each taking the section nearest them — a family, a neighbor, a Sabbath School class, a daily chapter of Scripture.

Today’s question: What is the section of wall nearest your house — and is your name on it?