“After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.”
Nehemiah is leading a restoration project to re-build the
wall around Jerusalem. There is great opposition, and his team is under attack.
They all have the honor of having their names recorded in
God’s holy Word, but one stands out…His name is Baruch. …. He is the only one
who worked “zealously” … If I had to guess, I would bet Baruch’s zeal was
evident because he did his work with joy.
The joy of The Lord is our strength, and Baruch enthusiastically built
his section and helped his neighbor, with godly zeal.
Our world is full of sinical armchair quarterbacks who
constantly complain and point out the flaws of others, but I bet Baruch was the
type that just grabbed some tools and helped his neighbor work.
Each day there is ample opportunity for me to make myself
look better by pointing out the mistakes of others - but what if instead, I worked
with zeal to help my neighbor succeed. What if I allowed love for others to
drive my passion and instead of assigning blame for a problem, I helped solve
it?
This is such a great passage for today because each man did
his part and, in the end, a massive work is accomplished.
We face an overwhelming task today. There are so many problems in our country it
is easier to just stand back and complain. But if enough of us picked up some
tools and repaired just the problem in front of us, our country would move
forward. And if enough of us were like
Baruch and joyously did a little extra – America could be restored.
Of course, it is easier to simply blame the other side for
the problem but if we do that tomorrow will be the same as today.
I am not sure what part of the wall I am supposed to build
today but I intend to do it with enough joy, and passion that people can tell I
love them and am zealous for the Lord. If I do it right, some might be
persuaded to stop complaining and start working. And only then will tomorrow be
better than today.
“A zealous Savior ought to have zealous disciples.” - J. C. Ryle
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