Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters.
- Nehemiah 3:12

The age in which Nehemiah’s story took place was a difficult age for women. They often found themselves treated like property. Society and social convention significantly restricted the ways they could contribute to God’s work. Their contributions were often forgotten. But not here.

Shallum carried a lot of responsibility in Jerusalem. People in the city would have known his name and recognized his face. They would have shown him respect and listened to him when he spoke. And he would have been expected to exemplify good citizenship and social propriety.

What a sight it must have been to see old Shallum and his daughters at work on the wall! They would have gotten their hands dirty mixing mud to put between the rocks. Their backs would have ached at the end of a long day of lifting and carrying. Sweat would have poured off of them all.

Those daughters of Shallum, those strong women, worked as hard as all of the rest of the men. And their work was noted both by Nehemiah and by God.

The Bible is full of these encouraging glimpses of women making significant contributions to advance God’s good work in the world. The story of Exodus begins with Moses’ life being saved four times by women. Abigail keeps David from committing an angry, mafia-style murder. Jesus’ itinerant ministry depended on a group of women to keep the work afloat. In a society that looked with skepticism on the capability of women to contribute in meaningful ways, the Lord includes women time and time again.

This same principle is true for everyone that society places on the margins. God does his best work on the edges of society. And it’s almost always the people who have the least who make the biggest impact.

Take some time today to thank God for using women like the daughters of Shallum to advance his great, good work. And take some time to pray for those who find themselves on the edges of society: ask God to bless them and, through them, to bless the world.