“Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.” Nehemiah 11:1-2
There are list people and there are not list people. I am a list lover. For me, lists are short, concise, succinct, and allow me to track my progress quickly and efficiently. There is a sweet feeling for me in checking off those tasks one by one. If you spend daily time with God in His Word, you will quickly realize that God is a list maker as well. Genealogies abound, naming of people groups are readily found, and lists of exact numbers of peoples exist throughout the pages of His Word. God likes lists.
Today in Nehemiah chapter 11 we find yet another list, a very specific and interesting one. You see, by this point, the good prophet Ezra has rebuilt the temple of God in Jerusalem and the good servant Nehemiah has finished the walls of Jerusalem, protecting it against its many enemies. So, all that is left is to populate the city again. But guess what? People really don’t want to live there. When the people fled the city after it’s destruction by the Babylonians, they set up new homes in the suburbs. They now have wide open spaces, plenty of land to farm, a yard for their kids to play in, and plenty of room to park their travel trailers and side by side ATV’s. Life is good, why would they want to mess up a good thing and move back into the confines and uncertainty of big city living? You see, moving back into the city meant leaving all of their stuff. Moving back into the city meant giving up their land. Moving back into the city meant giving up their extended family, neighbors, and friends. At the base level, moving back into Jerusalem meant giving up your comfort and convenience in life. Two things that even today derail and delay more Godly servants than you can count. But there were a few that instead of being selected in the casting of lots lottery system, stepped forward and volunteered. They didn’t wait to be told to serve God, they saw the opportunity and leaped at it. Pioneers of serving God. And we’re told that the people blessed those that volunteered.
Friends, the list of these pioneer’s names in Nehemiah 11 might seem as distant as dinosaurs to you, but have you ever thought about the fact that God isn’t done making His lists? He is far from finished as a list maker. He is watching this world and He is watching every life in it. For those that have called upon Christ as their Savior, their heart and life now belong to Him. And He will choose to use that life to see His kingdom furthered. The question is, how will you respond to His request? Will you be chosen in a lottery system or will you step forward and blaze the trail of a volunteering pioneer of God? Are you willing to give up your comfort and convenience for the kingdom of God? Whether it be serving in your community in a Christian capacity, serving others at your local church, or moving to serve in another area, the cause of Christ will cost you some level of your comfort and convenience. I pray that as God makes His request known to you, that you will spring into action and seize the opportunity to do whatever He asks of you. God is still making lists; I pray that your name will be one that volunteers to serve Almighty God in whatever He asks of you.
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” John 12:26
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