April 5, 2009
Scripture
Ephesians 2:11-18 *“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.** *For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
Hymn 82 – Ere God had built the mountains
Prayer
We have been talking about God’s plan for the future. This will be our last lesson on this topic, and we’ll look at a few things about the eternal state. We’ll be reading Revelation 22, but if you would like to read a few more verses about eternity, look at I Corinthians 15:24 & 25, Ephesians 3:21, II Peter 3:13, and Revelation 21:1 – 8.
Read Revelation 22:1 – 21. I’d like to make a few comments about some of these verses.
Vv. 3 – 5
This book is an interesting sequel to the book of Ezra. When Ezra returned, he was shocked by the sin that he found; he wept and took part in the responsibility, and helped the people return to the Lord. We find that same brokenness over the position of God’s people in Nehemiah. But we can learn even more about this pattern, as well as how it is applicable to us, if we look at the succession of leadership in returned Israel.
Leader Project Background
Zerubbabel Altar Nobility Haggai & Zechariah Temple Prophets Ezra Repentance Priest / Scribe Nehemiah Wall Cupbearer
There seems to be a declination in the positions of the leaders. Isn’t this similar to our situation? A few centuries ago, there were strong leaders, like Luther and Zwingli; powerful men of the Reformation who resurrected the truths of salvation. Then there were those like Darby who, while not so imposing, uncovered the truths of the ground of gathering. Still later, there were those who … Today, the leaders are common people, those with day jobs like Nehemiah, but also with Nehemiah’s heart for the people of God.
It’s obvious what Nehemiah’s goal in this book is: he wants to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. For over 150 years, the walls had been piles of rubble. Jerusalem, the city where God had put His name, where the altar of the Lord was, had no protection. Why were the walls so important? The walls were to stop enemies from getting in. However, there would obviously be gates, which they could go in and out. This is very applicable to our situation today. As this chart explains, there are four circles of people in the world. We are in the inner circle, and we must keep a wall of separation between ourselves and the other circles. This doesn’t mean we should never associate with other people; as we said, Nehemiah’s wall had gates; we should be concerned for those in each of the other circles. What it does mean is that we need to keep the purity of the Lord’s table. We must not allow compromise, or our wall will crumble.
Note that Nehemiah is the last historic book of the Old Testament; it immediately precedes the 400 years of silence before Christ. When you get to the gospels, you find a very few who are still real, going on in the way they should be. This is because declension is so contagious; what we see here in Ezra and Nehemiah sets the stage for that: the remnant of a remnant. Again, we are in so similar a position.
It’s interesting to note that Nehemiah prays 10 times in this book. He doesn’t have a Bible, or the Holy Spirit, and yet He is a man of prayer and action. May we be the same way, considering how much more we have!
In Ezra, we are not given the names of those who built the altar and the temple. However, this book clearly tells us who built what in the walls of Jerusalem. It was a grass roots effort; many families were involved. We may not be of the caliber that Zerubabbel, Haggai, and Zechariah were, but we can protect the place where the Lord has set His name.
Hymn 256, little flock – Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him — emphasis on v. 4
Prayer