“Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens. And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.” Nehemiah 3:11-12
We’re familiar with the story of Nehemiah and how he spearheaded the task of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. While the task was great, fraught with peril, often opposed, and requiring many hands—a few of those hands belonged to women, the daughters of Shallum.
Little is known of these industrious women. Their names are never mentioned. Nevertheless, the service rendered by these remarkable women remains immortalized in Scripture,
“… [Shallum] and his daughters made repairs.”
As I read the book of Nehemiah, it’s easy for me to imagine the work of these women. Growing up in a family of all girls, my sisters and I often worked alongside our father. We were known in the neighborhood as the Richardson girls. My two elder sisters were often referred to as merely the twins.
This is the proverbial plight of the pastor’s wife, that nameless woman who serves alongside her husband. However, like the daughters of Shallum, pastors’ wives are remarkable women. Not only do we serve alongside our husbands, we serve alongside our heavenly Father in the business of rebuilding. We are women called by God to bless, build up, edify, encourage, fortify, and strengthen the body of Christ.
We live in a broken world. Broken hearts and broken homes litter the landscape with the rubble of countless ragged relationships. That which was once held sacred has become a barren wasteland, much like the Jerusalem of Nehemiah’s day.
Here’s another Scripture to consider, “Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In” (Isa. 58:12).
The daughters of Shallum left a powerful precedent for pastors’ wives. Like never before, we must commit to being women of the Word—dutiful daughters who work alongside our heavenly Father, who aren’t afraid to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty as we help to rebuild, raise up, repair, and restore.