Codes for Christian Living

Pick the Right Person for the Right Job

Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs.
—NEHEMIAH 3:28–29

Picking the right person for the right job is an essential element in the art of delegation. A lot of walls have never been rebuilt because some leader somewhere picked the wrong person for the right job or the right person for the wrong job.

Nehemiah had a knack for picking the right people for the right job. For example, we find him placing people to work along the wall near their own homes. We read, “Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite of their house” (Nehemiah 3:23). Then we read, “Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house” (3:28). Nehemiah was smart enough to know that if he assigned the workers close to their own homes, they would take more ownership in the project and more of a personal interest in the detail of the work. Where there appeared to be no one living near certain parts of the wall, Nehemiah would station workers from the outlying towns, like Tekoa and Jericho, who came to assist.

Some had the task of removing all the rubbish. Others were busy cutting stones. Some stacked debris to the side, while others laid stones in place along the wall. There was a specific job and a specific place for every person to use his or her own personal gifts and abilities. This principle played out all the way up and down and around the wall of Jerusalem.

One might think the priests would bow out of the rebuilding work in light of their own many temple duties. But to their credit, they each took their place along the wall. And it is interesting to observe where Nehemiah placed them. Their job was to make repairs to the “Sheep Gate” (3:1). This gate would have been of utmost importance to them since it was the very gate through which all the people would enter bringing their sacrifices to the temple for worship.

In chapter 2 of Nehemiah, we see that “the hand of God” was upon them. Now, in chapter 3, we see God working through the hands of the people. They had “set their hands to this good work” (2:18).

Content drawn from The Nehemiah Code: It's Never Too Late for a New Beginning.