And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. Nehemiah 11:2
Somebody has to stay and mind the store! That’s an old saying we’ve all heard. It refers to those who stay close to home to look after the day-to-day activities and the ordinary things while others are off having the adventures and doing the exciting things. Minding the store has a mundane tone to it; the words boring and dull come to mind. But somebody has to do it. Take our text today, in which some folks were being thanked for being willing to stay and mind the store in Jerusalem. The city was almost deserted, but it needed occupants. While the rest of the nation was out rebuilding farms and developing various projects and chasing away the intruders, Jerusalem was not nearly as exciting a place to be. But somebody had to be there.
Without occupants, Jerusalem was likely to become the target for enemies. Somebody had to live there and provide a base for the activities of the capital. Somebody had to be available for guard duties and patrols. Somebody had to provide the services needed for the temple and its people. Somebody had to attend regular daily sacrifices and other events associated with the temple worship. As unexciting as it seemed, the role of being a dweller at Jerusalem was a critical function, and some folks were willing to volunteer. There are many functions associated with God’s Assembly these days that might fall into the same category as a dweller in Jerusalem, and those who serve in these functions are as deserving of thanks as the folks in our text.
It’s not very exciting or challenging to sweep the floors at the Hall, or to organize the chairs for the next meeting, or to pick up trash that might have landed ln the lawn outside the Hall. There is an unexciting commitment required by those who faithfully watch to make sure error and apathy don’t creep into God’s Assembly, and by those who diligently bear each of the saints to the Lord in prayer daily. A dweller at Jerusalem didn’t see all of the battles or attend the groundbreaking ceremonies for big projects. So too in God’s Assembly there are those who miss out on a few things because they have to mind the store. They should not miss out on our thanks, and they will not miss out on God’s reward.
If the Israelites were glad to bless the dwellers in Jerusalem, we should today bless those who are minding the store in God’s Assembly. -Jim MacIntosh