The Ballestero Blog

The Good News About Rubbish

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Definition

Rub·bish – ˈrəbiSH/

Vocabulary.com

Noun: rubbish – waste material; refuse or litter. Material that is considered unimportant or valueless.

Adjective: rubbish – very bad; worthless or useless.

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Everyone knows what rubbish is and what it looks like. I am sure that a definition accompanied by a photo is unnecessary.

Who in the world would ever give rubbish a second look? Why would someone waste his or her time trying to find good in what has been demolished?

Besides, rubbish always has an unpleasant odor about it that makes those close feel unclean.

• Men call it rubbish when they have gotten all the valve the can extract from an object.
• They call it rubbish when it has been damaged beyond their comfort zone.
• They call it rubbish when it looks hopeless and spent.

Let Me Tell You An Unknown Bible Story About Rubbish.

Israel had been held in captivity for 70 years. When they returned to their beloved city of Jerusalem, their hearts were crushed with despair. The walls had been broken down and most of the city burned. They had to rebuild the walls immediately. Nehemiah’s burden led the workers. The enemies and critics of Israel watched and spouted their negative opinions.

Neh. 4:2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

The enemy had taken every thing of value. All that was left for Israel to rebuild the glorious walls of Jerusalem were heaps of burnt stones. They dug in the rubbish looking for damaged goods that they could restore.

Even the enemy recognized their dilemma and the futility of the idea. Yet that is exactly what happened in Jerusalem.

Workmen picked up the burnt and tarnished stones out of the rubbish heap, one by one. They no doubt did their best to wipe the stains of the fire and dirt away. Maybe they even washed them, I don’t know. One by one they cleansed each stone and applied new mortar and placed them into the wall.

The Wall Of Jerusalem Was Repaired Using Damaged Goods.

Neh. 4:7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

Neh. 6:15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.

Neh. 12:43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

A God Moment!

When they finished rebuilding the walls, a God ‘thing’ happened. God made them to get so happy that the noise of their joy was heard a long ways away.

The walls of Jerusalem that still stand today, were rebuilt with damaged goods. Burnt stones from the rubbish heaps now fit perfectly in place in the wall.

When you look at the walls today and take pictures of its grandeur, do you ever stop and think, “That was built with damaged goods”? I didn’t think so.

What then do you think the Body of Christ is made up of? If you’re honest, you will have to say that God knows how to use, where to put, and how to preserve damaged goods.

Does God Ever Use Rubbish? You Better Believe It! Every Day!

Don’t Be Too Quick To Give Up On People.

The Good News About Rubbish Is That God Can Still Use It For His Glory.