Pitching In


The book of 2nd Chronicles ends with the fall of Jerusalem.  

All of the articles from the temple which had been built by King Solomon (son of David of David and Goliath fame) had been removed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the temple was set on fire.  The walls of the city were torn down, and the people were taken into what would be a 70 year captivity which had all been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah.

But in Ezra Chapter 1, the Lord moves King Cyrus - King of Persia (Iran) to decree the following:

"The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah  Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.  And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem." - Ezra 1:2-4

"Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god." - Ezra 1:8

Then in the book of Nehemiah we are told about the groups of people who come together to rebuild. One by one and side by side Nehemiah accounts for the many people who came together to pitch in and help, because - as my wonderful father used to say: "Many hands make light work."

It is easy these days to turn a blind eye to the needs of those all around us, but if we look at the world through His eyes, I am certain we will see places where we can pitch in and lighten the load for someone else.

Maybe as fall settles in, it will be helping your elderly neighbor rake their yard.  Maybe it will be committing to work at the local food pantry (if you're in my area Open Door Ministries in Canton is a good one).  Perhaps it will be offering to tutor a young child who is not yet reading at grade level (stepuptutoring.org). Or maybe it will be something as simple as offering to hold a door.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Today, let us look for opportunities to help one another.



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