Nehemiah 1-3

It took me about 10 minutes to read through this passage. God had burdened Neheniah with the task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. The exile punishment was over, and Nehemiah was the cupbearer of the king of Persia. God had not only given Nehemiah the passion for the task God had also given him the ability to lead the people in the effort, and the favor of the king. Nehemiah was sucessful in motivating many people to work on the wall and the gates. Two of them were obviously not builders; Uzziel and Hananiah. The first was a goldsmith and the second a perfumer. They were not skilled in the tasks of gate construction and wall building. But they placed themselves under the supervision of Joiada as the worked to rebuild the Jeshanah gate for the city. And when they finished the gate they worked on the wall as well. The goldsmith and perfumer were clearly outside of their areas of expertise, but the allowed God to use them in the important task that he had placed on Nehemiah's heart. God may call us to do the same type of thing; lay down our primary gift for a short time. That way we can work under the leadership of another who has a God given passion to fulfill. The child of God will readily take up this task.
Stuart