“These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.” (1Chronicles 4:23)
The first chapters of 1 Chronicles are genealogies, from Adam to Abraham, then the genealogy of David, the descendants of David, then the descendants of Judah in chapter 4. Jokim is no doubt the proper name of some famous man or family that descended from Shelah a descendant of Judah. The men of Chozeba (verse 22) includes the posterity of Shelah who was born in Chozeba. These and those conquered in Chozeba had humbling work. “And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things.” (1Chronicles 4:22)
They were potters. Pottery making was essential in Bible times. Pottery was widely used for various uses. The potters usually lived outside the city because of the smoke, the dangers of the fire and proximity to the raw materials. And they were also landscapers working “among the plants and hedges...” In those days, one continued in the work of the family. There was no such thing as going from potter to jeweler for example. They honed their skill from generation to generation.
But the following phrase surprises us. “...there they dwelt with the king for his work.” These potters and landscapers didn’t work outside the city. They not only worked for the king but lived with him. Can we learn something and apply it to our lives in the now? Here are these humble workers of pottery and landscaping, working in the fire and heat of their kilns and in the ground among the plants and hedges, but they lived with the king. The symbolism for us is immense. Who are we, but people who have been rescued from the miry clay, from the pit of hell, from troubled and dark lives, raised to live with the King of kings!
There should be no pride of life in us although we do live with the king. Our work is humbling, working with those stained with sin, loving those whose lives are run by the enemy of God and whose destination is destruction. We are touched by the very flames that surround them, by the filth of the flesh and world system and the darkness they grope in. We live with the king and are given our daily bread, our needs met, and our lives fulfilled. Yet every day, our King requires our hearts to reach out to the lost, to share the grace of our lives with those perishing so we can snatch them out of the flames with the power of God’s Word and free them from bondage. Every day the King requires that we symbolically work in the fire and heat of the kilns and go down and dig among the plants and hedges.
This lesson is a cry for evangelism. We are so content to live with the King. And although we live with the King, He is requiring that we work not only for Him but with Him. He has work for us. Before Jesus ascended back to heaven He gave us a commandment, a commission. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
This is clearly a commandment. It’s for everyone who lives with the King, not only pastors, evangelists or teachers. Are you fearful of what people may think? We know where they live, but we live with the King. Are you fearful of rejection? We know their darkness, but we live with the King. Are you fearful of persecution? We know their destination, but we live with the King. No matter how filthy, how dangerous or how difficult the work, we will return to live with the King in His light, in His peace, in His love and in His mercy and grace.
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