Introduction Introduction Slide As we sum up this series entitled…rebuilding the Community of God…we have tried to answer the contemporary questions…or challenges we face today by look back and reading into what it meant for the community of God which had been in exile… And…in a sense…we accept that we are in exile today…because we are a Heavenly community…planted here on earth…and I accept that we may still have lots of questions…over what that rebuilt community should look like… Will God send revival…when we get it all right? Is that what it is about?...or…is it about returning to old ways? If so…why then did Jesus so radically depart from the standard interpretations in His day? …Should our interpretation not be subject to that scrutiny also? Examples of current areas of criticism I have encountered…and I think Neil touched on some of them last week are… Women’s positions in the church Keeping Sunday Holy How we bear witness/be missional…proclamation versus social engagement…and a wide spectrum across such things… How we…as Heavenly citizens…live in the world…consumption of alcohol, attendance of worldly places such as cinemas, theatres etc… Even…the LGBTQ debate…
These and many other things…have divided opinion amongst Christians…and of course we should expect to be diverse in our beliefs… However…is it about everyone agreeing on a strict new code…or is it about working together across the spectrum…what…will lead to a truly rededicated community of God? What is Being Rebuilt? Slide - 2 So here…in chapter 12…we have an account of a ceremony…where the wall of Jerusalem is dedicated…after a period of rebuilding…so we could get the impression that this is all about the material things… A temple for sacrifice…which was rebuilt and dedicated back in Ezra… The walls…which Sanballat & Tobiah…said would not even withstand the weight of a fox… What was so important about these walls? Well…living in a place of such hostility the walls were important for protection…but more than that…they marked the place which contained the Temple…which contained the inner sanctuary…which is where God was present… And that…I want to suggest…is central…not only to the whole Ezra/Nehemiah and exile story…but to the whole story of the Jewish people… …and of course, into the New Testament…we find that presence of God in Jesus…who supersedes the Temple and the need for worship…
All of that comes later in history…but essentially…what God has been doing…from the time that humans were ejected from Eden…until he returns as depicted in Revelation… Is make peace…is to dwell among people…that is why John said…Jesus pitched His tent…or tabernacle…among us… And…in the Hebrew language…the ancient people had a word for that prsence… Slide - 3 Shalom…in Hebrew…it’s a very wide encompassing word…which basically means to be at peace and rest…with God… As I recently heard it put recently…Shalom…’is the way things ought to be’… Its what we are invited to in our relationship with God…through Jesus…rest and peace with God…are things in our lives…as they ought to be… There may be trouble and tribulations of all kinds…but…are we at peace with God…for that is the way that it ought to be… So…these people…knew that it was possible to be at peace with God…for He had invited them into His rebuilding project…and they had witnessed or descended from those who had witnessed the original…in all of its magnificence… However…if the actual building itself was important…then God would have preserved it…but it just had a purpose as a place where this all encompassing peace…righteousness…justice…both spiritually and physically…resided and flowed from… The prophet Amos…warned about false worship…
…however…we are much stronger…and in keeping with God’s plans and purposes…when we love one another and work together…that is…when we are gathered as His community… It’s that Shalom...which we seek to build in the here and now…that’s what…to be rebuilt…to be constantly rebuilding…means… Therefore… Slide - 4 Our Chief End… I guess there will be some here today who are old enough to remember the days of having to remember and recite parts of the Westminster shorter catechism…which said…that our chief aim is to glorify God…and to enjoy Him forever…that was the main purpose for human existence… Total submission to God…on the human part…should involve worship…which is more than prayers…songs…hearing God’s word and making offerings… According to William Temple…”adoration…is the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable, and therefore…the chief remedy for that which is our original sin and the source of actual sin”… Total submission…in adoration of God…is the chief remedy for sin… Its about where we are centred… The Israelites centred themselves on God…afresh…In verses 27-30…they dedicated the wall…and they rededicated themselves…described here as purification…
For sure…it is good for us to be thankful in our worship and to express ourselves fully in whatever way we do it… But…what is important here is this…we can be blessed with all kinds of human talent…and we can also be surrounded by human weakness… Therefore…the best musicians and singers…don’t make the best worship…and the poorest musicians and singers…that is…technically speaking…don’t make the worst worship act… What we have here…according to John Goldingay is the coming together of human effort and divine enabling…and he goes on to say…we can work very hard at building and keeping watch…yet not succeed unless God is involved… Slide - 7 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain… And of course…the same applies to us and anything we build… Quantity…and quality…are measures of the heart…we can be big hearted…and give our best…because we recognise that chief aim…that which we were created for… To Glorify God…and enjoy Him forever… Conclusion Slide - 8 Finally…in saying that…it is perhaps worthwhile pointing out that the seeming perfection of chapter 12 is short lived…for in chapter 13 Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem…having gone back to Babylon…