Invisible shield

Uzziel was a goldsmith by trade but he, too, worked on the wall. Rephaiah, the mayor of half of Jerusalem was next down the wall from them. Shallum and his daughters repaired the next section. He was the mayor of the other half of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 3: 8, 9, 12

I admit I’m often guilty of speed reading through certain parts of the Old Testament. So and so begat so and so who was the father of so and so. I can cover a lot of ground in a hurry when I come to some of those passages.

But if you slow down a little you’ll run across some real gems.  

In today’s passage, Nehemiah and his fellow countrymen have been released from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. I’m intrigued by the fact that everyone from the top down rolled up their sleeves and went to work. There may be lessons we can teach our family.

Here was a goldsmith, a guy accustomed to spending his days in a jewelry store selling diamond rings and Rolex watches. He packs his lunch bucket, puts on a hardhat and goes to work with the blue collar guys. And the two mayors of Jerusalem working side by side, sun up to sun down.

Now I don’t know why Jerusalem had two mayors but if we had two here in Honolulu, they wouldn’t work side by side. They would not want to share the same photo op.

Even the girls got into the act. They weren’t afraid of getting a little dirt under their fingernails, or breaking a nail, for that matter.

Work goes faster when everyone pitches in. It’s a lesson I’ve tried to teach my children. I learned it from my mom and dad.

My parents never gave me an allowance per se but they would reward me for doing chores. Helping in the yard, drying dishes, keeping my room orderly. The more I did, the more change I had jingling in my pockets.

Children need spending money but instead of just giving an allowance, why not tie it to certain tasks. You may not want to call them chores – it has sort of a negative connotation. Call them financial opportunities. “Son, I have a financial opportunity for you. I need the car washed.” Wouldn’t you rather pay your boy than to drive it through a car wash?

I love verse 23 farther down in the chapter – the visual imagery kills me. Nehemiah and his fellow workers were under constant danger of attack and he makes a statement that paints such a vivid word picture.

“During this period, none of us – I, nor my brothers, nor the servants, nor the guards who were with me – ever took off our clothes. And we carried our weapons with us at all times.”

Dude, you don’t need your weapons. The enemy isn’t coming near ’til you grab a shower! Trust me on this one!