Their duty was to help

because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God, - 1 Chronicles 23v28

I am not a handyman. I make a mess of DIY. I am however, a good helper. I can hand someone the tools or hold the end of a plank or run to the truck for a piece of equipment or make a cuppa tea.

Our society tends to view the role of helper as not quite as important as the one doing the work. When I did sheet metal work we had a ‘lead man’ and a ‘helper’ on each crew. The lead man, because of his experience, was of course paid more, but both part of the crew were vital. Most work was shared and required two men. A lead man without a helper was not really worth much.

Here in the work of the Temple everyone had a job to do. Those mentioned in this passage, some of the Levites, were called to ‘help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord.’

Can you imagine the work of the Temple if there were no helpers? Nothing would ever be accomplished it everyone had to be the lead man.

Can you imagine our work for the Lord if no one is willing to be a helper? Being a helper surely implies service.

At the end of the day we are all helpers. That is our task to help out in the service of the Lord. In reality there is only one Lead Man.

But on a human scale not everyone is called to be a leader. Many of us are called to be helpers in the work.

Being a helper is nothing to be ashamed of. Without helpers nothing would ever get done. If our job is to hold the other end of the plank let’s do that to the very best of our ability. Let’s be the best plank holder we can be!