GLORY THE END OF THE WORK OF OUR HANDS
[p. 454] GLORY THE END OF THE WORK OF OUR HANDS
Ezra 5: 1 - 5; Ezra 6:6 - 12; Ezra 6:14; Haggai 2: 1 - 9; Zechariah 4: 6 - 9
I have in mind to show, by the Lord’s help, that the present operations of God, the present service of Christ, and the gifts of the Spirit are all making for a final and glorious end, and that the saints here may be more assured as to the present outlook, and more assured as to the results of “the work of our hands”, that our “labour is not in vain in the Lord”.
These books from which I have read are calculated to help to the end I have in mind. They lead up to the thought I have expressed, that the end is sure and glorious; an eternal weight of glory indeed is spoken of as the portion of those who look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. Infinite glory for God is in anticipation also. He is to be glorified in the assembly, in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations of the age of ages, that is, for eternity.
I wish to show that all this glory is brought within our range of intelligence, indeed, that from the outset God had in His mind a residence for it. This was indicated in the incoming of the glory to the tabernacle in the wilderness, and subsequently to the temple, its final residence; both types pointing to the assembly, a word which we never tire of, a word which, indeed, has a meaning which is peculiar to itself in the minds of intelligent believers in Christ. It is not intelligible to the unregenerate, for it is a treasury word, a word belonging peculiarly to the vocabulary of the spiritual, and in no sense does it convey so much as when we say it is the dwelling-place of God and of His glory.
So much is it the residence of God’s glory, that it is said of the assembly, viewed as the heavenly city, that it comes down from God out of heaven, having the glory
[p. 455] of God. That is not a provisional matter. What we have now is provisional, what they had in the wilderness was, but what we get in Revelation 21 is final. There is no thought of that city ever being deprived of the great honour of being the residence of the glory. And when we remember, dear brethren, that we ourselves are part of that great city, the thought comes with greater force, and it is so intended in these last days, for it is “the latter glory” of the house, which is greater than the former; it transcends all that preceded it, and it is now being completed; the investiture of the assembly with the glory is now in progress.
These are great thoughts and one would lay them on the minds of the brethren at the outset, and then seek to show how they are reached from our side. I have read from Ezra, specially to bring forward the importance of the prophetic ministry; that is stressed in Ezra 5. The prophets of God prophesied, but they worked with the builders as well, they were practical men. I may have to tax your memories, but I hope everyone here has read this book of Ezra; it is a very priestly book; it links on with Chronicles and through Chronicles with the beginning of God’s ways and operations on the earth, that is, it begins with Adam, for the first book of Chronicles begins thus. The second book links on with this book of Ezra, the closing paragraph being almost identical with the opening paragraph of this book, so we have a golden chain of testimony running right through.
In chapter 4 we get recovered saints, and when I say recovered saints, I include those of our own times, for one does not refer to Scripture as mere history; it should not be read except as bearing on the person who reads it, and those who hear it. That is the way to understand Scripture. These recovered saints were exclusive according to Ezra 4, and there is a difference between exclusiveness, right in itself, and a prophetic condition amongst us. In chapter 4 the adversaries of Judah and [p. 456] Benjamin propose to join with them in the work, but Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high priest, and the fathers of Judah and Benjamin said. No! This is an exclusive matter.
We must not be afraid of the word exclusive, because it is a very good word, one to be treasured, having its own significance in the minds of the spiritual. This chapter brings out that the brethren, as restored, were exclusive, they were exclusive in the sense that they would not accept unhallowed support. They would not have anything to do with any associations or fellowships that were not divinely accredited. That is a most important item in our position.
Exclusiveness in itself is a negative thought, and what you find in this fourth chapter is that the adversaries continued to harass the saints, and were successful in their efforts, showing that exclusiveness by itself is not sufficient; and so much did the enemy succeed that the work of God actually ceased. The adversaries wrote a letter to the king, saying everything bad they could about the people of God. If we are merely negative and people speak thus of us, they are pretty sure to incite successful opposition. We must have more than exclusiveness if we are to be effective in our service; there must be a positive side to the position or the enemy will have an advantage, and hence what you find here is that the work ceased. The enemy was successful in his great effort to blacken the people of God, by relating what the history of Jerusalem had been, what a rebellious city it had been, and how damaging to the kings, and so on: a long tale of accusation, with the result that the king was persuaded to authorise the adversaries of the people of God to prevent the work by force and power, which they did immediately.
Now, chapter 5 is over against this; it is a prophetic chapter, and that is why I read it, because the Lord, I believe, is encouraging us in regard to this kind of ministry. Prophecy brings God in, as I shall show [p. 457] presently, from Haggai and Zechariah. What we see is the kind of ministry that was given and how effective it was. What we call meetings for ministry may often come very short of ministry that would set in motion the people of God. The intent of prophetic ministry is to set the people of God in spiritual motion. Someone will say, God is not moving, but then perhaps you are not moving and yet work to be done is by your hand; you cannot expect God to move if you do not move, if it is your responsibility to do so. If you should do something, do not say God is not doing it; God is saying you are not doing it. If the thing has to be done, do it. Do not talk sentimentally about waiting on God. Piety is most essential with us, but what we call piety may be merely judaism, and hence we need the word of exhortation, as here, when the prophetic word stirred up the leaders, and they began to move, the prophets of God helping them. The prophets of God do not start the work, they prophesy, and the responsible persons begin to do something, then the prophets of God work with them.
Resulting from this movement the whole of the machinery of government is now turned in their favour. It is an important matter, at the present time in this country, that if we are moving with God, if the prophetic ministry is current amongst us, and is affecting us, then God is moving, not only helping us, but moving in those who are in the position of public government. It is all under Him, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he will”. And what you find in this chapter is that prophetic ministry has its place, and the work is resumed. The adversary is not inactive, he would do something again. “But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews”, (verse 5). It does not say that in chapter 4, not that it was not true then, for He ever watches over His people; but God’s eye specially regards what is beautiful, and what could be more attractive to Him at that time, than this movement of His people in resuming the [p. 458] building of His house, with the prophets of God helping them? The prophets were practical men, and the work proceeded. What could be more delightful in such circumstances to the eye of God than that? There is more than exclusive conditions, there is prophetic ministry and responsible activity resulting from it and God honoured this. The facts speak for themselves. The work went on.
Now in chapter 5 there is another letter. This time the letter is couched in different language. It is not exactly traducive, it is somewhat fair and respectful to the Jews, enquiring of the king, and raising the whole question of the legality of what they were doing, a most important matter, and affording great advantage to the work of God. Every spiritual man is ready for the whole matter of the legality of our position to be raised. Every young christian here should understand that the position we are on is divinely accredited. You may not understand the word ‘legal’ in the sense in which I have been using it; it is a question of what is divinely accredited — what is authorised in the Scriptures. Here a letter was written to Darius to inquire as to whether the Jews had authority for what they were doing. The letter said this building was going on, and that they were prospered in it; very different from the tone and wording of the other letter — not that it was exactly meant to be friendly, but it was under the eye of God, and God would hinder the pen from writing anything that would permit the enemy to succeed. God is all-powerful, and we can understand that, in order that His work should not be damaged by it. He caused this letter in chapter 5 to be different. It stated the actual facts of the case. The account of the matter from the lips of the elders is sent to the king — manifestly a great advantage to them. Now the question is, Are they authorised to continue this work? Is this a legal thing? Or are these men acting presumptuously?
This is an important matter, dear brethren, as bearing on the present time, and every spiritual man welcomes [p. 459] the challenge as to the authority for what those returned from Babylon are doing today. Let others come with their questions. It is very fine to follow the history of the Lord in the gospels, especially when questioning time comes. The Lord, indeed, in Isaiah challenges anyone to come forward and contend with Him (chapter 50: 8), and we can count on Him now; the matter is His, and He will stand by His people, and make everything work in our favour — even the powers that rule the world, as is manifest in what is before us. This letter raised the issue of the legality of this position and this work of the saints, and the answer is overwhelmingly in their favour. It is magnificent.
Read down chapter 6 and you will see how magnificently God turned the government, the powers that then were, in favour of His people. At times the enemy succeeds in turning public conditions against the saints, but God will not fail us as we turn to Him. But we must recognise His rights, if need be suffering for a little while (1 Peter 5: 10). The prophets had spoken to these builders in the name of God, that the work should proceed. They understood that the authority of God entered into it and hence they had no question as to the rightness of the work that they were engaged in, but the matter is to be established publicly, and if the authorities seem to be against us, let us suffer a little. God honours suffering in this sense, He is on that line Himself; all that He is morally entered into the sufferings of Christ. God approaching man was on the line of suffering, and He looks for correspondence with this in His people. He speaks of those who make a covenant with Him by sacrifice (Psalm 50: 5). These men, as actuated by the prophetic word, go on with the work. God is looking on them, but He is doing more than that, He is looking on the government, on Darius, for He can control him and the writer of the letter, and He does so. When the letter comes to Darius, he makes a search which reveals that the position at Jerusalem has full royal sanction,
[p. 460] that no one has the right to question it. Even if we suffer, we are justified if the position is established as legal.
Chapter 6 says, “Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls ... in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace ... a roll, and therein was a record thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem”, and so forth. That is to say, the decree of Cyrus was preserved, it was there. How significant of God’s care, that it was preserved all those years! Many a time, perhaps, it had been pushed aside as nothing, but there it was, under “the eye of our God”, and Darius the king is, himself, in perfect sympathy with all this. To whom is all this to be attributed? To God. So today, we can reckon on God affecting those in authority. Why not? It is the time in which the world is held in reconciliation, a time in which God is favourable to men.
God has directed us to pray for all who are in authority, and it is to be expected that, if they make a decree that is contrary to the testimony, and we suffer, God will come in. He will have to say to them, and perhaps we shall find that it was done in ignorance. Then the obvious thing, dear brethren, is to suffer. It is a day of small things in every sense, so that a little suffering has its place, and God honours it. These verses in chapter 6 show that the work of building the house of God went on. “Let the work of this house of God alone”, Darius says; that is, let these brethren alone. The eye of our God is upon us as we move according to His will, and if He be for us, who against us? God is pleased with His people, and here says, through Darius, Let them alone, and, of course, they were let alone, for who could withstand God? This is a very fine position, and it serves what I have in mind. It indicates how we are to proceed to the end of this wonderful dispensation as workers with God, and to reach the end that He has in mind, that is His glory. It is worth going in for, but the way to it is [p. 461] plainly marked out. It is not an armchair matter, it is a suffering matter, but the sufferings are linked with the glory.
When you come to Haggai, you have something of what these prophets were saying in their prophetic ministry, and we do well, if we seek to carry on a similar service, to observe the intelligence, the applicability of the messengers and their messages to the moment. Haggai’s is a message. Zechariah, in his book, goes far beyond what was current at that time, but then we have not all that he prophesied. He also prophesied to meet weak current conditions, as did Haggai. Haggai’s book is a very short one, but it tells us that the results of his service were remarkable and immediate. God would encourage us in prophetic ministry, that — in every emergency some word may come to clear the vision, clear our perspective, so that the saints may proceed in the work of God. Hence we have the date of the message, as you will observe, the second year of Darius, the sixth month and the first day of the month; the year, the month, and the day; and then when it became effective, in the four-and-twentieth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius (chapter 1: 15).
One would dwell a little upon this in view of these meetings that we are engaged in, and all meetings like them, that we may expect results, something from God. We talk about what is ministered and say, It was a good word. Very rightly spoken, if it is the truth, but then the next thing is, how long will it take to affect the brethren, how long before it brings them round to the mind of God? That you appraise the ministry is right, but then what about you? How long will it take you to come round to what God is saying to you? That is the next thing, because ministry is not merely to please our ears. The intent of it is to move us; whatever the end God has immediately in mind, it is to move us to that end; and hence everyone here is put under obligation by what I am saying, to inquire before God, as to how long [p. 462] it will take him or her to come round to the point indicated in what is ministered. That is your obligation.
Some of you may have come here tonight to hear a certain person speak, thinking of the person, it may be, but God seizes the opportunity and puts obligation upon you, and you cannot escape it. It will be disaster if you turn it aside and make it a mere matter of attending a meeting and going home again. It is a question now of each one accepting what God has said to him and of determining that the result in him shall, by the Lord’s help, be immediate.
Haggai tells us that it took twenty-three days for his message to take effect, and it was an excellent effect. It says in the thirteenth verse of the first chapter, “Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord”. That is not said in Ezra, it is said here, “And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, ... and the spirit of Joshua ... and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God”, and then you have the date. What a fine result that was! I am here tonight, I may say, simply with this end in view: to affect the saints toward God. God was working here with the message which came by the Lord’s messenger, stirring up the spirits of the people. He is the Father of spirits, He is stirring up His people to go to the work; here the result was perfect and immediate.
Chapter 2 gives another date and another message, and this message includes what I have been saying, that an appeal is made now as to what the glory of the first house was, extending back to Solomon’s time; as compared with what existed then, the latter house was very little; but the message goes on to say, “The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit, remain among you”. That is a wonderful word in remnant times. We are directed back to what God covenanted at the time the people came out of [p. 463] Egypt and to the fact that as His Spirit was amongst them then, so He is now; also that the word God covenanted at Horeb remained with them. That is how the matter stands as to ourselves, dear brethren, and as we are moved we begin to look into what God has covenanted, not simply what He has spoken, but what He has covenanted. He has committed Himself to certain things, and if we are really exercised we shall begin in our prayers to mention these things to God, to call upon Him and remind Him of these things. In speaking of reminding Jehovah, I would allude to a word in Isaiah: “ye that put Jehovah in remembrance, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth”, Isaiah 62: 6, 7. Think of God writing that in regard of Himself! He loves us to come forward with promises He has made, to plead them in our prayers, and then count upon Him to fulfil them — for every promise is Yea and Amen in Christ — and He would also encourage us to rely on His Spirit amongst us.
Some of you here, perhaps, have never realised that. You have heard of the Spirit of God, but never realised the great fact that He is amongst christians. The Lord says of Him, “he abides with you, and shall be in you”. What a great fact this is! God would awaken us to these things: the terms of the new covenant (for that is the one we have part in), and the great fact and blessing of the presence of the Spirit of God. He is here with us, we have proved it these two or three days; that the Spirit of God is with us. We want you all to come into it; if you have not realised it, this word is for you, that the covenanted word and the Spirit are with us and remain with us. So that we have the means of proceeding with the work.
Then the prophet, the messenger of God, goes on to say, “For thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all [p. 464] nations, and the desire of all nations shall come”. At the present time the nations are in danger of being shaken, but they are being kept, thank God; and it is very largely on account of the prayers of the saints, I believe, that God is holding back forces of evil, so that this wonderful work we are engaged in may proceed. He will shake the nations and the desire of the nations will come, too; there will be the desire of the nations as we read of here, and it says, “I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former”. What an incentive!
We have been speaking about glory as emancipating us from the world; as attractive and setting us free in the presence of God, it is given here as an incentive to go on. We are told that the latter glory of the house is to exceed the former, and that is what we are going on to. To this end I have stressed this thought of the prophetic ministry, as that which governs the position initially, and then the need of readiness on the part of the saints to move, and as we move, there is glory after glory opening up to our minds, as incentives to go forward unfalteringly until the consummation.
In Zechariah we have the day of small things recognised. They are small, but nevertheless no one is to despise them, and the prophet sees in these “two sons of oil” what denotes the unlimited supply of spiritual power to go on with. The word is addressed to Zerubbabel who represents the responsible element and, of course, we are all responsible. When authority is failing in every direction and lawlessness lifting up its head with such power, the Spirit of God is asserting government — in a small way, of course, but it exists as a testimony. Zerubbabel, the governor, represents it here. He is typical of the Lord being content to be with us in this day of small things; with us to govern us, and as things are right and orderly amongst us the work of God proceeds.
[p. 465] Zerubbabel, who laid the foundation, shall put on the top-stone. What a great thing, dear brethren, to be in the time of putting on the top-stone! Some may say they would like to have been at the laying of the foundation in apostolic times, and what a time it was! One would have liked to be there, but in a certain sense there is something even transcending in being at the putting on of the top-stone.
One would earnestly seek to energise the interest and sympathy of the brethren in this most important matter. The top-stone is about to be put on, and it is to be put on in keeping with the whole dispensation; it is by the hands of Zerubbabel; He who laid the foundation puts on the top-stone. “He shall bring forth the headstone with shoutings: Grace, grace unto it!”
That is what I had in mind, and it is, as I said, to encourage the brethren to proceed on these lines, for we are on sure ground. The legal position is established inwardly and outwardly. Let people come and challenge the position the saints are on; the more they do it, the more its legality is established, so we are on a sure footing. It is the sure foundation of God.
Let us put on the whole armour of God and go forward, and we shall reach the end, we shall see this great sight, the top-stone put on the assembly as being the residence of the glory for ever and ever, glory for us and glory to God throughout all generations of the age of ages.