The Lowest of Jobs

        Probably every generation has its own list of unfavorable jobs. There was one job in the U.S. Navy that was so bad that it was sometimes reserved as a punishment of some navy regulation. It was the job of cleaning out the bottom of the ship which contained what was termed as "bilge water." Bilge water has been defined as "Bilge water is not exactly water but a mixture of variety of substances. Its a mixture of fresh water, sea water, oil, sludge, chemicals and various other fluids." It was customary to gather up the bilge water and throw it off of the "fantail" or the rear end of the ship into the ocean. Someone always had to be assigned the task of getting rid of the bilge water as it would not drain away of its own accord. While in the Navy, we had a man who was being punished for violating some regulation and who was assigned the task of cleaning out the bilge water. He removed the water into a bucket and then headed up to the main deck only instead of going to the fantail of the ship decided to throw it off of the starboard side of the ship which also had the Admiral's Barge secured to the ship. Hence the morning brought the picture of the Admiral's barge covered in bilge water which then resulted in more punishment for the young sailor. In the end, we would say that someone indeed had to do the job and it was one of the worst ones to do. There was just no easy way of getting rid of the bilge water. Luke 2:8 says, "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." 

        One of the worst jobs in the time of the birth of the the Lord Jesus Christ was that of a shepherd. We might assume that being a shepherd was a glorious profession due to the fame of such shepherds as David. It was not the case. I have been told that shepherds in those days were considered to be one of the lowest occupations on earth and that shepherds were not even able to do many things tha the average citizen could do in their lives. Now, think for a moment about the scene in the above passage. We know the familiar words of the above passage and how it is going to lead into the most important announcement ever. Notice that it is not set in the city of Jerusalem nor in the palace nor in the place of some Roman leader. It wasn't set in the place of the home of the chief rabbi nor in the glorious temple constructed by Herod. The announcement of the greatest event was to a group of shepherds who were tending to their sheep. God often does the unexpected. You can never guess what God is going to do in regard to any problem or event. Those things that you might expect to be impossible or even unlikely take place when and where you least expect it to happen. We always need to be aware of God's unexpected methods. He often uses unusual people and unusual methods to accomplish His will. He may even use you when you may least expect it. How will God use you today and how may He use some unusual event to accomplish something great in the world today? Praise God today that He uses people like you and me.