Forsaking God's House

by R. Darke, Victoria B.C. | Category: General | Dec 1968

"... and we will not forsake the house of our God" (Nehemiah 10.39).

When Nehemiah came to Jerusalem and found the walls of the city broken down and the gates burned with fire, and only a few of God's people left, he might well have thrown up his hands in despair and left the work for someone else to do. But he did not. Strengthened by prayer and a godly determination to labour for the Lord, Nehemiah not only revived the spirits of an apparently defeated people by words of encouragement, but inspired them to rise up and build for God. This is what men of God are expected to do. How easy it is to give up, resign, leave the work for someone else; to be like Ephraim and turn back in the day of battle, or like Demas, who left Paul in the lurch because fields further away appeared greener!

The bold, determined pledge not to forsake the house of God was made by a man who had known more than his share of adversity, criticism, and personal attacks, but he stood like a rock through it all. Nehemiah means "the consolation of Jehovah", and this is what he proved to be when God's people had their backs to the wall. Laughed to scorn, maligned, ridiculed, despised, and reproached, Nehemiah could easily have resigned and returned to the quiet isolation of Shushan; but instead he took up the challenge to be a restorer of God's people and house, and he revealed himself to be God's man in time of crisis.

Today the Lord is looking for men and women who are not easily discouraged when the tide runs strongly against them. We must realize, as Paul did, that the house of God is the adversary's main target. He knows that he cannot triumph over the Body of Christ, for the Lord has decreed that "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it". But he can succeed against the churches of God, and his attempts to do so will not cease until the Lord comes. We must not be ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2.11); we must not encourage his work through our own folly, our unwise actions and attitudes, our unkind words, our lack of zeal, or tendency to depression or discouragement. We must, as in Nehemiah's day, work together with trowel and sword on the wall, or below the wall clearing away the rubble. Criticisms will be made of us because we are few in number, and some will also say that it is presumption for such a weak people to claim to be the house of God. But Nehemiah experienced the same thing. "What do these feeble Jews?" asked Sanballat, mockingly; "... will they fortify... sacrifice ... will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish?" (4.2,3). Did Nehemiah walk away from the work because of such criticism? No, he committed the whole matter to the Lord in prayer, and got on with the job. "Hear, 0 our God," he cried, "for we are despised ... so we built the wall ... for the people had a mind to work" (4.4,6). Conspiracies and threats of war followed, but Nehemiah prayed and worked on. "We made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch ... day and night

(verse 9). So the work proceeded and they built the wall and restored the gates, labouring by day and guarding by night. It was a full-time job. What dedication! What a love for God and His house! No sacrifice was too great, and no wonder the claim was triumphantly made, "Our God shall fight for us" (verse 20).

Surely we can see here a lesson that we have to learn in this generation, that the house is the Lord's, the battle is the Lord's, and the ability to prosper is the Lord's! The arm of flesh must fail; humans fail, and so will humanly inspired programmes; but God never fails, and neither does His love. We did not put ourselves into the Fellowship of His Son, we were called by God into it (1 Corinthians 1.9), and God does not call us out to join some other movement. We go out of our own accord, or we are put out for a scriptural reason. It is God's intention that those called should remain in His house from the moment they are built in as living stones (1 Peter 2.5). Our constant prayer should be, "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life...." (Psalm

27.4).

Those who pledged themselves with Nehemiah not to forsake the house of God brought for the divine dwelling - place a heave offering - a present of corn, wine and oil. Might this indicate to us today that if we have a true appreciation of the Lord Jesus as our food (corn) and joy (wine), and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (oil), we will be contented, happy, Spirit-led Christians, eager to work in God's house, and with absolutely no thought of forsaking it? May God give us the strength and courage to stand and not be easily moved. During one crisis Nehemiah said,

"... Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord ... and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, and your wives ... " (4.14). Let this be also true of us.

R. Darke, Victoria B.C. | Dec 1968
General