And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. Nehemiah 11:2
You have heard the old saying about somebody having to mind the store. It’s an expression that indicates that somebody has to stick by their duty even if something more interesting is going on elsewhere. And that is what was happening in Jerusalem. The city required an adequate number of men to remain in the city to provide guard duty and other services while the rest of the population left for rural areas to plant crops or moved to other cities to take advantage of opportunities there. The previous verse indicates that the plan required a tenth of the people to remain in Jerusalem. That would be enough to give the city a viable population. But there wasn’t much exciting or new about staying in Jerusalem for those who wished to explore or seek new horizons. But some people recognized the need and volunteered to stay. And those faithful folks were recognized for their dedication, just as we need to recognize those folks today who faithfully serve the Lord where they are.
For some, staying in Jerusalem could be boring. The work would be routine and monotonous by times, with little incentive to put much emphasis or enthusiasm into it. That is, unless the people understood why it was so important to be in Jerusalem. Unless there was sufficient population in the city, the temple and all of its activities could easily be threatened by enemies. That would destroy the worship of God among the people, because the focus of all of their devotions was the temple and the ordinances performed there. The testimony for God in those days depended on faithfulness by a few. The testimony for God today also depends on a faithful few. Every Assembly has them, the folks who can be depended on to always be at meetings even when more exciting things are going on elsewhere. Assembly overseers know the weight of always being available, always being prepared for every meeting, always on hand at every opportunity when needed by the Lord’s people. Many times, there is very little thanks for the faithful few, but when the thanks does come, it is very precious. The Lord also appreciates the faithful few, and He appreciates those who thank them.
Just as the presence of the temple in Jerusalem was precious to God, so is the presence of His son in the midst of the Assembly. If we value what God values, we will also value the presence of the Lord Jesus in the company of His saints. And we won’t mind being among the faithful few. -Jim MacIntosh