Building God’s Kingdom Message by Pastor Derek Chittick, Eglise évangélique Civray 86000
Introduction
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are set in a time of make or break crisis for the people of God.
After the foreshadowing of the Kingdom of God which took place during the reigns of David and
Solomon, the nation of Israel was split into two separate kingdoms – Judah in the south continuing
to be ruled by the descendants of David, and Israel in the north being ruled by a succession of kings
and dynasties of short duration.
Neither of the kingdoms ever recovered the glory, power and
influence of Solomon’s days, and both kingdoms degenerated spiritually in a progressive way due to
the initial introduction of idolatry and foreign gods under Solomon.
This was fostered in Judah by
several of the kings, though resisted by others. It was compounded in Israel by the establishing of a
calf-worship cult as a political move by its first king, Jeroboam.
In spite of the ministry of prophets such as Elijah, Amos and Jeremiah, proclaiming the impending
judgement of the Lord on the rebellious kingdoms, and calling both Israel and Judah to repentance,
and in spite of the efforts of good Kings Hezekiah and Josiah in Judah, the people refused to listen.
The judgement of God fell, and first Israel in 722 B.C. then Judah in 56 B.C. were taken into exile so
that the land could “enjoy its Sabbath rests.” (2 Chronicles 31; 21)
The possibility of such a situation arising had been written into the covenant blessings and curses
given in Deuteronomy 27 and 28 and recognised by the Israelites in the ceremony enacted on Ebal
and Gerazim at the birth of Israel’s nationhood (Joshua 8; 30 – 35).
In a way, such a removal was
written into the constitution of Israel as the kingdom under God’s rule, and the faithlessness of Israel
was the trigger that then brought about the fulfilment of the curse. In that situation, the prophets
were the guardians of the Covenant, proclaiming the intention of the Lord to bring into force the
constitution that He had laid down for Israel.
Indeed, Moses himself had prophesied these events
even before the people had entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 31; 24 – 29).
However, the prophets were also the agents of the Lord to proclaim His message of hope beyond
the seemingly ultimate disaster.
Jeremiah, one of the foremost in announcing the forthcoming
judgement, was also one of the most specific in announcing the new dawn after the darkness:
“’This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of
Babylon for seventy years. But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon
and his nation.... for their guilt,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 25; 11, 12)
Isaiah, speaking years before Jeremiah, is even more specific:
“This is what the Lord says, - your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: ‘I am the Lord who has
made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself..... who
says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say in Jerusalem, ‘Let
be rebuilt,’ and of the Temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’”’” (Isaiah 44; 24, 28. See also Isaiah 45)
Godly people among the exiles fortified their faith with these promises, so that we find Daniel using
Jeremiah’s prophecy to fuel his intercessions for the return of God’s people to the land (Daniel 9; 1 3), and in due course the first wave of exiles returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of
Zerubbabel (a descendant of David) and Jeshua (see Ezra 1 and 2).
Imagine the excitement and anticipation of these folk as they first of all gathered together for the
journey to Judah, then set out and finally arrived in Jerusalem! Not only were they being allowed to
return to their homeland, they were also being allowed to rebuild the Temple - destroyed by the
Babylonians along with the rest of Jerusalem.
For some of them, those who remembered the original
Temple, laying the new foundation stone brought to the surface all their hurts and hopes:
“When the builders laid the foundation of the Temple of the Lord.... all the people gave a great
shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of
the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former Temple, wept aloud when
they saw the foundation of the Temple being laid, while others shouted out for joy. No-one could
distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so
much noise. And the sound was heard far away.” (Ezra 3; 10 – 15)
In spite of this initial enthusiasm, work on the new Temple languished for a while, until the ministry
of the prophets Zechariah, Haggai and possibly Malachi stirred the people into repentance and
renewed zeal.
Desire for material prosperity and comfort had taken pre-eminence in the peoples’
minds over the work and call of the Lord. (In how many pastors’ hearts does that stir a chord of
recognition?)
Even after the completion of the Temple, however, the people didn’t seem able to move into the full
enjoyment of their renewed establishment in them Promised Land. The Temple was built, but the
rest of the city was in ruins, and the walls were still broken down.
Opposition to the building
programme had already halted the work on the Temple for a time (see Ezra 5 and 6), but after a new
influx of returning exiles under Ezra (Ezra 7 and 8) opposition to any further work of rebuilding was
so great that nothing more could be done. This is the situation at the beginning of the Book of
Nehemiah.
The dream of a rebuilt Jerusalem as the capital of a re-established nation under the
protection of the Lord, and where His glory would dwell among the people, had died. The glory had
departed, the enemies were all around, and they were too strong for the small remnant living in
Judah.
That same sense of frustration, disappointment and defensiveness is all too common in the church
of Jesus Christ in the Western world today. In many places, the triumphalism of the mid to late 80s
of the Twentieth Century has given way to a growing lethargy.
The excitement of the expectation of
the establishment of the Kingdom of God in a new, vital form has been tested in the fire of
opposition so that much of the froth has evaporated. Fresh forms of life in the Spirit of God have in
some places been fossilised into set forms of liturgy.
In some areas of doctrine, traditionally Biblical
Evangelicals have modified Scripture teaching in the light of trends in modern thought, and much of
the defense of these doctrines has been undertaken in the flesh rather than in the Spirit.
Was the dream of building the Kingdom of God in our day just a passing fancy, or do Jesus’ emphasis
on the Kingdom and His teaching on its imminent arrival have any relevance for the church today?
How do we go about building God’s Kingdom in the here and now, in the face of the rising tide of secularism and unbelief within as well as outside the church?
I believe that the Book of Nehemiah has answers to these and other important questions that bear
on the life and growth of the Kingdom of God, and trust that through seeing how the Lord moved in
Nehemiah’s day to transform a seemingly impossible situation into one of establishment and
growth, we will be encouraged to believe that the Lord can do it in our time too.
Not only that, but
let us also have the courage to apply what we learn from Nehemiah by putting God’s Word into
action in our own situations and seeing how the Lord moves in response. We may well be surprised!
