60 Seconds -Orderliness

When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to fulfill the call of God, he first got organized before beginning his work. In Nehemiah 2:13 – 14, we read how he went down through the southern part of Jerusalem and back up the west side to the western gate. When he came to the King’s Pool, he found so much rubbish that he had to dismount from his horse to view the situation thoroughly.

Twice, we read how he “inspected” the damage (vv.13, 15). The Hebrew word for inspect means “to look into something very carefully.” It’s a medical word for probing a wound to see the extent of the damage. He did this to make a careful investigation of the facts, so as to develop a master plan of organization.

God is a God of order, and expects the same of His people. Exodus 13:18, speaking of Israel leaving Egypt, “So the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.” “Orderly ranks” speaks of a well-organized army. When Christ was preparing to perform the miracle of loaves and fishes, we read, “So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and fifties” (Mark 6:40). The Greek word for “ranks” means “a row to indicate an arrangement.”

Larry Burkett wrote, “In the Bible, disorganization is referred to as slothfulness, and the book of Proverbs warns us about disorganization at least two dozen times. I particularly like Proverbs 10:4, which says, ‘He who deals with a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes one rich.” This verse does not justify overworking to the detriment of all else, but it does clearly state an important biblical principle: Laziness is a sin.”

In Numbers, chapters 2 and 3, we discover that Israel not only marched in an orderly manner, but also camped in an organized way around the tabernacle. The twelve tribes were each to pitch by their own standard, and were arranged in four groups of three tribes each, one group being north, another south, another east, and the other west of the tabernacle. The organization of the camp around the tabernacle confirms the fact that God wanted to be in the midst of His people (Exodus 25:8).

“The presence of faith does not mean an absence of organization.”