Exhortation Station

It seems laziness is becoming increasingly popular in our society.  The importance of hard work is being emphasized less and less.  Hard work is, more and more, being viewed as a drudgery, while entertainment is being seen as the source of fulfillment and happiness.

As Yah’s people, we are not immune to this growing trend.  The “hard work is bad” mindset is very easy to fall into.  I know it has crept into my heart at times, and I must continually remind myself to resist it.  In Part I of this post, I’d like to examine some passages from the Old Testament on the subject of work.  In Part II, I’ll dig a little deeper and add some New Testament passages.

Let’s start at the beginning.  Genesis 2:15 — “Then YHWH Elohim took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”  The Hebrew word used here for “cultivate” is Strong’s #H5647 — “abad,” which means to work, serve, till, etc.  This word is used 288 times in the Scriptures and is the same word translated “labor” in Exodus 20:9 (“Six days you shall labor and do all your work…”).  We see that right from the beginning Yahweh gave man something to do.  In Genesis 1:28, Yah told Adam and Eve to “fill the earth, and subdue it.”  Yahweh has always desired that man do something with His creation.

Let’s think about this for a minute.  If, in Yahweh’s economy, perfection is achieved when no one has to do any work, then why do we see Yahweh giving Adam work to do in a world that was, at the time, perfect and sinless?  To me, these early chapters of Genesis reveal that Yahweh’s intent has never been that work would be seen as something “bad.” On the contrary, one of the key ways Yahweh blesses us is through blessing our work.  Deuteronomy 16:15 says, referring to the Feast of Tabernacles, “Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to YHWH your Elohim in the place which YHWH chooses, because YHWH your Elohim will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.”  

Let’s skip to the book of Nehemiah and read some verses that discuss the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah 2:17,18 — “Then I [Nehemiah] said to them, ‘You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.’ ¹⁸ I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, ‘Let us arise and build.’ So they put their hands to the good work.”  Nehemiah 4:6 — “So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”  Nehemiah 6:16 — “When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our Elohim.”

Building the walls of Jerusalem was no easy task.  If you read the entirety of chapter 4, you’ll see that Nehemiah’s crew faced much opposition from their enemies.  Because of the men of Israel’s perseverance, they got to reap the reward we read about in chapter 6 verse 16 (see above).  What if they had said “no thanks; not for us!” when duty called?

Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your works to YHWH and your plans will be established.”  It is a mistaken mindset that seeks to compartmentalize our lives into “work life” versus “spiritual life,” as if the two are at odds with one another.  Our Father in Heaven desires to have a hand in everything we do.  He desires that we commit all things unto Him, including our work. 

Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.”  Though work cannot in and of itself bring ultimate fulfillment in life, it is part of Yah’s design that working diligently and cheerfully brings a soul-satisfying sense of fullness and accomplishment.

Yahweh calls His people to be a light to the nations.  If we are not decisive about where we stand regarding the character quality of diligence, we are missing out on a key way in which we can be that light.  Let us be a people that defies the trend toward laziness and complacency.  As in Nehemiah 4:6, let us be a people with a mind to work!