'There they dwelt with the king for his work.'--1 CHRON. iv. 23.
In these dry lists of names which abound in Chronicles, we now and
then come across points of interest, oases in the desert, which need
but to be pondered sympathetically to yield interesting suggestions.
Here for example, buried in a dreary genealogical table, is a little
touch which repays meditating on. Among the members of the tribe of
Judah were a hereditary caste of potters who lived in 'Netaim and
Gederah,' if we adhere to the Revised Version's text, or 'among
plantations and hedges' if we prefer the margin. But they are also
described as dwelling 'with the king.' That can only mean on the royal
estates, for the king himself resided in Jerusalem. He, however, held
large domains in the territory of Judah, on some of which these
ceramic artists were settled down and followed their calling. They
were kept on the royal estates and kept in comfort, not needing to
till, but fed and cared for, that they might be free to mould, out of
common clay, forms of beauty and 'vessels meet for the master's use.'
Surely we may read into the brief statement of the text a meaning of
which the writer of it never dreamt, and see in the description of
these forgotten artisans, a symbol of our Christian relations to our
Lord and of our life's work.