Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Look Outside The Box! (Nehemiah 3:6-12)





6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7 And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province Beyond the River. 8 Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9      Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

THE STUDY:

          What we are going to see in these 7 verses (6-12) is how God used a vast variety of people to accomplish his will. We read in verse 6 about Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah. Joiada is the fourth high priest after the Babylonian Exile. Not a lot of information concerning Meshullan.
          We read in verse 7 that next to them was Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite. A person from the town of Gibeon was not allowed to marry a Jew and the town of Meronoth which may have come from Jehdeiah. He was the herdsman of the royal asses in the time of David and Solomon (1 Chr. 27:30) and he received this name.[1]
          The list of names goes on but I want to point out the occupations of the individuals: Priest, leaders, government officials, goldsmiths, perfumers, and rulers of districts. All took part in this undertaking.  
         
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….


  • We walk away this morning with the understanding of two things: 1) With God, all things are possible no matter how big the project. 2) God can and will use any and every one he chooses.


APPLICATION:

What I find interesting when addressing a project or problem is how people will try to pick and choose that certain (15%-20%) group of people to assist them. We fail to look outside that 20% and see that there are others who may be able to do as good if not a better job than those within the 20%.
What causes people to do this? First, it may just be that they know these people and their abilities and so they know the project will get done. Secondly though, they may find it difficult to work with certain one from this 80% group. I can understand the first reason but I am not sure the second reason is acceptable. What we tend to resort to in a crisis situation is what we know. We fail to get to know the others 80% and so we miss out on the potential to do bigger and better things. Don’t resort to being comfortable when it comes to dealing with people. Get to know them and allow them to take part so that you can accomplish more than you could have imagined.
Today, you have an opportunity to do something phenomenal, don’t miss out on it because you chose to be comfortable opposed to looking outside the box to that group of people who have the potential to help you take things to a whole new level.  

Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod

[1] Easton, M. G. (1996). Easton’s Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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