And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.
In the rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall the common Tekoites repaired their section, but their few nobles would not submit their necks to join in the work of their Lord, while the priests and the great majority of princes and rulers nobly did their duty, and the names and work of the faithful builders stand honorably remembered. The refusal is recorded as the act of only a small group standing apart from their own townsmen and from the united effort around them.
Their aloofness carried little weight and exerted little influence, for the people in general labored together with patriotism and zeal and cheerful energy, arranged in companies each under its responsible leaders. The sloth of those nobles stands branded with shame and is preserved as a warning to all future generations. In every religious movement there are such persons who cannot deny that the cause is God's and yet hold themselves aloof and refuse to help it, withholding service from God while laboring energetically for their own interests.
Every neglected opportunity to serve God is entered without omission or mistake in the record kept on high, together with the motives behind men's actions, and out of that record they will be judged. Every humble deed of faith and love is likewise held in everlasting remembrance. The whole account of rebuilding the walls is an image of spiritual repair, in which parents and ministers must build up again what has been neglected in their households and strengthen the home as a defense for the people.
In the rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall the common Tekoites repaired their section, but their few nobles would not submit their necks to join in the work of their Lord, while the priests and the great majority of princes and rulers nobly did their duty, and the names and work of the faithful builders stand honorably remembered. The refusal is recorded as the act of only a small group standing apart from their own townsmen and from the united effort around them.
Their aloofness carried little weight and exerted little influence, for the people in general labored together with patriotism and zeal and cheerful energy, arranged in companies each under its responsible leaders. The sloth of those nobles stands branded with shame and is preserved as a warning to all future generations. In every religious movement there are such persons who cannot deny that the cause is God's and yet hold themselves aloof and refuse to help it, withholding service from God while laboring energetically for their own interests.
Every neglected opportunity to serve God is entered without omission or mistake in the record kept on high, together with the motives behind men's actions, and out of that record they will be judged. Every humble deed of faith and love is likewise held in everlasting remembrance. The whole account of rebuilding the walls is an image of spiritual repair, in which parents and ministers must build up again what has been neglected in their households and strengthen the home as a defense for the people.