Chapter 4 - A Temple But No Walls
There
was much rejoicing among the Jews in 536 B.C. Cyrus, King of Persia,
had signed a decree permitting and encouraging the Jews to return from
Babylon to Palestine (Ezra 1:1-4). This was all in wonderful
fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophesy that after seventy years God would
restore His people to their land (Jer. 25:11, 12). The first Jews had
been carried away captive in 606 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar.
A
minority of the Jews in Babylon left the comforts and security of that
land to return to the devastated land of their forefathers. They came
back to crumbling walls, to ghost towns wrapped in the quietness of
death, to fields grown with weeds and prowled by wild beasts. They came
with a pioneer spirit and with a fierce determination to build for God.
Jehovah would yet have a place for His Name.
They first built an
altar and worshipped Jehovah the God of Israel on their native soil
(Ezra 3:1-3). What a glorious day that was! They then began to build
the temple, each giving what he could. The foundation was laid with
much shouting and, yes, some weeping (Ezra 3:11-13). Restoration always
brings tears to the eyes of those who remember former glory.
There
was opposition and the work ceased (Ezra 4:24). For sixteen long years
the work lay deserted, a monument to Satan's activity and success. Then
two fiery prophets arose, Haggai and Zechariah, and these stirred up
the people (Ezra 5:1-2). The Jews set their teeth and built. Four years
later in 516 B.C. the temple was finished (Ezra 6:15). There was a
glorious consecration and the restoration of the temple service. God's
work can be done when His people are determined to do His will.
Years
later (about 445 B.C.) Nehemiah heard in Persia that Jerusalem's wall
"is broken down and the gates thereof are burned with fire" (Neh. 1:3).
God's people had a temple but the walls of the city were broken down.
Nehemiah was completely upset. He wrote, "I sat down and wept and
mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven"
(Neh. 1:4). Why all this distress of soul? The temple was there;
Jehovah was being worshipped.
Nehemiah wisely realized that a
city with no walls would mean in time there would be no temple. With no
protecting walls the enemy could soon batter down the temple. Nehemiah
did not rest until, under his leadership, Jerusalem's walls and gates
reached toward the sky once again, guarding God's people and the
sanctuary of God (Neh. 6:15).
There is a lesson to be learned
here for believers today. It is not enough for a local church to have
the Lord's supper, the breaking of bread. If there are no walls to
guard the sanctuary, in time there will be no worship.
These walls were not to keep out godly Jews, but to protect from the enemy. Jerusalem was to be a haven for believers.
What are some of the "walls" a local church must retain to keep out the attacks of the enemy?
One
of these walls might be called "Teaching." Without a sturdy wall of
teaching to guard the assembly Satan will soon introduce false doctrine
and false professors. The Word of God must be opened and taught; the
truths of the Bible explained and made simple. The Lord Jesus said,
"Sanctify (set apart) them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John
17:17). Good Bible teaching is a bulwark of separation from the world
and Satan's attacks (Acts 2:42).
Another wall might be called
"Prayer." Surely an assembly without fervent prayer is in terrible
danger. It is like a city with one wall razed to the ground. It lies
defenseless before the enemy's onslaughts. Believers are exhorted,
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints" (Eph. 6:18). The early church "continued steadfastly... in
prayers (Acts 2:42). Is your assembly prayer meeting fervent, earnest,
genuine, whole-hearted?
One wall might be called "Purity." This
wall joins to the wall of "Teaching." Good teaching produces godly,
pure Christians (I Tim. 4:16). There is no substitute for purity of
life in the testimony of a group of believers. This wall must be
maintained regardless of cost. Sometimes church discipline can be
heart-rending, but God's honor is at stake (I Cor. 5). Any breakdown of
this wall invites Satan's slandering attacks. "Keep thyself pure" (I
Tim. 5:22).
Another wall might be called "Love." It too is an
outcome of teaching and Christian growth. Without this wall an assembly
is not only vulnerable to attacks from without but it is likely to know
dissension within. In fact, it will even lack the distinctive
characteristic of God's people.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:35).
This
is a wall that often falls into disrepair. It requires constant
maintenance and care (Eph. 4:2, 3), perhaps even more so than the other
walls. A little unkindness, a little grudge, a little bitterness, can
cause it to begin crumbling.
Keep yourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).
Should
we make one more application? Without gates a city will soon cease to
exist. Without the "Gate of Evangelism" no group of believers will long
flourish. Without a love for souls, without earnest witnessing, tract
work, street work, or other evangelistic effort, an assembly will
slowly and surely die out.
Go... and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee (Mark 5:19).
How are the walls and gates of your assembly?