This is December 2, 1973, in Richmond, Virginia. The ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Cohen.
I would like to read from the Book of Nehemiah—just the first chapter.
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men out of Judah;
and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, that were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach:
the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days;
and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
and said, I beseech Thee, O Lord, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love Him and keep His commandments:
let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel Thy servants,
while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee; yea, I and my father’s house have sinned.
We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses.
Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:
but if ye return unto Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause My name to dwell there.
Now these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power, and by Thy strong hand.
O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant, and to the prayer of Thy servants, who delight to fear Thy name;
and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Because of the unfaithfulness of the children of Israel, God allowed them to be taken captive to Babylon. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, and the people were carried beyond the River Euphrates.
But after seventy years, according to what God had promised them through Jeremiah—even before this happened, when it was coming—God prophesied through Jeremiah that they would be in the land of captivity for seventy years. After the seventy years were fulfilled, God would look upon them and bring them back to Jerusalem.
We know that when King Cyrus came to the throne, he made a proclamation, saying that whosoever of the people of God might return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
A Gentile king—a Persian king. The Babylonian Empire had already been conquered by Medo-Persia, and Cyrus was the second king in the Persian Empire. He was a king who did not know God, and yet he could issue such a decree to fulfill God’s promise through His prophet Jeremiah.
Of course, we should not forget that in the Persian court, very close to the king, there was a man: Daniel. Daniel was taken captive in his early days, and he remained in captivity. By God’s sovereignty, he was made prime minister, not only in the days of the Babylonian Empire, but also under King Darius.
So evidently Daniel was very close to the Persian court. Most likely, it was through Daniel that King Cyrus was informed of another prophecy, given by Isaiah several hundred years before.
In the Book of Isaiah, God prophesied concerning Cyrus. He named him by name:
Cyrus, thou art My chosen servant.
Even though thou dost not know Me, yet I know thee.
I will open the nations unto thee.
Thou shalt conquer the nations,
and thou shalt do My will.
Thou shalt rebuild My temple.
That is in Isaiah 44 and Isaiah 45. So evidently Daniel must have shared this prophecy of Isaiah with King Cyrus. Sure enough, all the nations were conquered by him. Even though he did not know God, when he was told that several hundred years before God had already prophesied about him and named his name, he could not help but try to be God’s servant.
So most likely because of this, he wanted to do God’s will, to show his gratitude and appreciation. Thus the decree went forth.
Indeed, this proclamation was not really coming from King Cyrus. King Cyrus was just an instrument in God’s hand. This decree came from heaven, from God: “Come out of Babylon. Return to Jerusalem, and rebuild the temple.”
But unfortunately, only a remnant responded to God’s call and returned. The rest of the children of Israel were so content with their lives in the land of captivity that they had no desire to go back to Jerusalem.
They had built their houses. They had established their businesses. They prospered in the foreign land. They lived comfortably. They had their synagogues. They did not care to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple for God.
Only a remnant returned. By the grace of God, they rebuilt the temple, though it took quite a number of years.
Now, brothers and sisters, we mention this history because Old Testament history is given to us for our admonition. God does not give us the history of Israel merely for our interest, as interesting reading. This history is given to us because God has something to say to us today.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
Most commentators agree that Christianity today is in Babylonian captivity. God’s people today are in captivity. But by God’s grace and mercy, there is a call to God’s people, and the call is: “Come out of Babylon. Return to Jerusalem. Rebuild the house.”
What is Babylon? Yesterday at lunchtime, I was in Columbus, Ohio, and a few brothers and I went out for lunch together in order to talk. This was one of the things we talked about: What is Babylon?
Babylon comes from the word Babel, and Babel means confusion. Babylon represents the world. The world is a great confusion; the whole world system is confusion.
Babylon also represents the religious world. The children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt, which represents the world as such. On the one hand, Egypt was the granary of the world—rich, with everything you need, everything that can satisfy the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
But on the other hand, there was the tyranny of slavery—not even the hope to live. That is quite the world, yes. By the grace of God, He has delivered us out of the world as such. Thank God, we are delivered out of the world.
But many of the children of Israel went into Babylon—out of the world and back to the world, but not Egypt: Babylon. Babylon in Scripture represents the religious world.
God’s people today are in captivity, not only to the world as such, but even to the religious world. What a confusion—the complexity and confusion that God’s people are in today.
And God’s word to His people is, “Come out of that.” But not merely come out; that is negative. “Return to Jerusalem.” What is Jerusalem?
Jerusalem is the city of peace. Salem means peace; Jeru means city—the city of peace.
In the Book of James, we find that the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable. So I feel that Jerusalem represents the principle of the simplicity that is in Christ. Oh, how simple, how pure, how peaceful!
God wants us to come out of the complexity and confusion that is in the world, even in the religious world. God wants us to return to the simplicity, that purity, which is in Christ.
You know, this is what Paul desired for the believers in Corinth. Paul said:
I have espoused you to Christ,
and I am fearful for you,
that you may be deceived from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Brothers and sisters, this is God’s call to us today: return to the simplicity that is in Christ. We are to return, not for our own sake, but for God’s sake.
The children of Israel were comfortable in the land of captivity. They not only prospered physically and materially, but they had invented this great institution, the system of synagogues. They could worship God. They were religious.
Even though it was not perfect or satisfying—because without the temple there could be no sacrifice, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission, obviously there is no salvation—they had enough religious activity to appease their consciences.
If God’s people wanted to live for themselves, they could live on in Babylon all their lives. To return to Jerusalem was to return to a city that lay in ruins. There was nothing there.
Only those people who wanted to live for God would return. Why must the temple be rebuilt? That there might be a place where God’s name was set.
Do you know, during this period in Old Testament history, God is never called the God of heaven and earth? During that period, as you read the Bible, you find God called the God of heaven, but never the God of heaven and earth. He had lost the earth.
The heavens are God’s, that is true. The earth is His also. The heavens and the earth belong to Him. But during that period, when the children of God were in captivity, God had no testimony for Himself on the earth.
Who were the vessels of His testimony on the earth? The children of Israel. The nations did not know Him. It was the children of Israel who testified to His name. It was the temple where His name was set. Jerusalem was the place He chose to set His name.
But now the children of Israel were in captivity, the city lay in ruins, and the temple was destroyed. God had no name, no honor, no testimony on earth. He was the God of heaven, but not the God of heaven and earth.
But a remnant was willing to leave everything behind. They were willing to go back to nothing because they wanted to rebuild the temple. They wanted to honor God’s name. They wanted to sacrifice to God, worship God, serve Him, and satisfy Him. That was the only motive to return.
Dear brothers and sisters, God’s people today are in captivity. The testimony of Jesus is almost unknown. God’s call is, “Come out of the complexity and perplexity of the world. Return to the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Gather together unto His name:
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.
Gather to worship Him, to offer spiritual sacrifices to Him, and to serve Him, that the Lord Jesus may have a name on this earth.
Thank God, this remnant returned, and in great difficulty the temple was rebuilt. But this was not enough. That is my burden tonight. What I have said is just an introduction.
The return of the children of Israel to Jerusalem for the restoration of the testimony of God included not only the rebuilding of the temple; it also included the rebuilding of the city and the rebuilding of the wall.
In other words, the restoration was not complete with the building of the temple. It was to be completed when the wall was rebuilt and the city was rebuilt. Then the restoration would be complete.
If you read history, you know that from the first return of the remnant under Zerubbabel until the time that Nehemiah rebuilt the wall and set the city in order took about one hundred years.
Until the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt and the city was set in order, the restoration had only begun; it had not been completed. During that period there was the danger that even what had been done would be completely destroyed.
Before we go on, I would like to point out what is meant by the rebuilding of the temple and what is meant by the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.
The rebuilding of the temple, in one sense, represents the recovery of the life of God’s people with God. The temple is the house of God, and in the temple their relationship with God was restored.
Thus, in the rebuilding of the temple, there was the recovery of the life of God’s people with God. How our relationship with God needs to be recovered—not only individually, but corporately.
Sometimes our personal relationship with God needs to be recovered. But there is something bigger than your personal life with God: the corporate life of the church, the corporate life of God’s people with God.
How we can be God’s house, being built together as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. It is more than just a personal restoration. There needs to be a corporate expression that our life with God may be recovered.
Of course, this must be done first. But together with that, there is another recovery that must be made. If you do not have that further restoration, the first restoration may again end up in nothing.
That was the rebuilding of the wall. Without the wall, the temple was exposed to the attacks of the enemy.
What is represented by the restoration of the wall of Jerusalem? I personally feel that, as the rebuilding of the temple represents the restoration of the life of God’s people with God, the rebuilding of the wall of the city of Jerusalem is the recovery of the life of God’s people with one another.
A city is the congregation of a number of people joined together as one unit. That is a city. This being joined together as one is represented by the wall that surrounds the city.
Dear brothers and sisters, I do believe that in these last days God is very much interested and concerned that His people should be restored to Him together, and restored to one another.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity.
I think that is represented by the rebuilding of the wall: not only a corporate life with God, but a corporate life with one another—the body life. That is the wall.
When God first created man, He planted a garden—a beautiful garden. It must have been beautiful. You may have visited many beautiful gardens, but I do not think any can be compared with the Garden of Eden.
All the trees were good to look at and good for food. God put man in the garden to tend it and to guard it—to guard it.
Sometimes I wonder, why did not God build a wall around that garden? If God had built a wall around the garden, then Satan would never have had a chance to slip in and deceive Eve.
No, a beautiful garden without a wall. No wall: the enemy came in and destroyed man and the garden. Why no wall? Because God told man, “Guard it. You are the wall.”
God can plant a garden, but God cannot build the wall by Himself. Why? Because He builds the wall with man. But man did not cooperate with God. Man was careless, not watchful, and the result was that not only did man fall, but the garden was lost.
But read the last two chapters of the Bible: the holy city, the New Jerusalem. Oh, when you see the holy city, the New Jerusalem, brothers and sisters, what do you see? You see the wall. That is the first thing that attracts you.
The holy city, the New Jerusalem, is a garden. It is a garden city, because the tree of life is everywhere. But this garden city has a wall, and the wall is very high—very high.
The wall is built on twelve foundations, and the wall is made of jasper, shining as the glory of God. Think of that.
What is jasper? In Revelation 4, you find that when John saw in a vision the glory of God upon the throne, He looked like jasper. That is the glory of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, how is that wall made and built? Those who have received the life of Christ in them, those who yield themselves to Christ, those who allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives—to incorporate and organize Christ in them.
As the Holy Spirit patiently works Christ in us, in us, in us, you find the wall begins to rise. It is your knowledge of Christ—living knowledge, experimental knowledge.
It is your allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to you. As Christ is revealed to you, He is incorporated within you. This becomes the wall of the holy city.
Why? A wall is separation. A wall excludes all that are outside the city, and includes all who are within the city. It is separation.
Dear brothers and sisters, where is the separation of God’s people from the world today? You cannot distinguish the world and the church today. Where is the wall?
But how do you build the wall? By laying down rules and regulations, saying that if you are Christians, do not go here, do not go there, do not do this, do not do that, do not wear this, do not wear that?
Even if you do not do this or that, do not go here or there, and do not wear this or that, you may think you are out of the world. But you will discover one day that the world is in you. It does not work.
Where is the separation? The separation is the living knowledge of Christ. The more you know Christ, the more you are separated from the world. Oh, that our wall would reach to heaven.
The wall represents separation, because separation is protection. It keeps intact all that is behind the wall.
Dear brothers and sisters, the more separated from the world we are, the more united we will be in Christ. Separation is a condition for unity.
That may sound strange; it may sound contradictory. But separation from one another does not bring unity. Separation from the world brings us into one.
The reason why God’s people are so divided is because they are not separated from the world. There is too much world. Oh, if only the world would be excluded and only Christ remained—is Christ divided?
Because of the wall, those people who live behind the wall are one. They are one. They find His name by the wall. They are walled in together, that they may dwell together in unity.
Oh, how the lives of God’s people need to be separated from the world, that we may be united in Christ as one. That is the wall.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Well, here in this country you do not see a walled city anywhere. I think I have not seen any. But back in China, before you came to a city, the first thing you saw was the wall.
I always remember that my home is in Shanghai. There is no more wall in Shanghai. But I studied in Soochow, and every time I traveled by train going to school, the first thing that attracted my attention was the wall. I saw the wall, and I knew I had arrived.
The wall also represents a public testimony. It is true that the testimony of Jesus is based on our life with God. If our life with God is right, then the testimony of Jesus is established. That is true.
But the testimony of Jesus to the world must be more than that. God’s people must dwell together in unity.
You remember our Lord Jesus in John 17:
That they may be one, even as We are one;
that they may be perfected into one;
that the world may know that Thou didst send Me.
Why does the testimony of Jesus suffer today? Why can the world not see the Lord Jesus? Because God’s people are not one. God’s people are divided. God’s people are in the world, and the world is in God’s people. There is no separation.
Because of that, there is no wall. And as long as there is no wall, there is no public testimony.
Dear brothers and sisters, for this reason the recovery must not only be the rebuilding of the temple, but it must also be the rebuilding of the wall.
Our life with God must be restored as a people. Again, I underline it: not only individually. Some people may have a very sweet fellowship and life with God individually, but is there a corporate expression?
You may be a very living stone, but are you built with other living stones to be a house? Our life with God must be recovered, and then our life with one another must be recovered.
I do believe that in these days God is exercising the hearts of His people in these two areas: the temple and the wall.
All right, let us go back to Nehemiah. As you open the Book of Nehemiah, so far as time is concerned, it is almost eighty or ninety years after the first return—around seventy-five or eighty years after the first return of the remnant under Zerubbabel.
Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king. Today we may think a cupbearer is a waiter. A waiter is nobody. But in those days, the cupbearer was one of the highest officials in the court.
Why? Because those kings were tyrants, and tyrants were always afraid that people would murder them. Before they drank from the cup, the cupbearer would drink first and then hand it to the king.
There had to be such closeness between the cupbearer and the king. The cupbearer was the confidant of the king, a close friend of the king. The king, as it were, trusted him with his life, and the cupbearer was willing to give up his life for the king. If there was poison, he died for the king.
So there had to be such an intimate relationship between the king and the cupbearer—a trusted friend, a personal friend of the king. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king.
The Persian court at that time was the highest court in the world, because it was the time of the Persian Empire. To be in the Persian court and occupy such a high position, almost next to the king, meant that Nehemiah lived a life of comfort and luxury. There was no want.
But his heart was in Jerusalem. If he were free to go back, he would have been in Jerusalem. How can I prove it? Because his brother Hanani was in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah could not go to Jerusalem because he was the cupbearer. He was not free to go. He had to get permission from the king. But his heart was there.
He was like Daniel. Even though Daniel was in Babylon, yet his heart was in Jerusalem. Every day he opened his window toward Jerusalem and prayed three times a day.
Dear brothers and sisters, where is your heart? You may be providentially placed somewhere else, but where is your heart?
To be where God wants you to be, to be where you should be, to be in Jerusalem for the testimony of God—this is the place where every true Israelite must be.
Nehemiah could not go, but his heart was there. He was concerned with the condition of the remnant.
His brother Hanani and some others came back from Jerusalem for a visit, and they brought the news to Nehemiah. Nehemiah was anxious to hear the news: What happened to those who remained in Jerusalem?
You remember, the temple had already been built for fifty or fifty-five years. But evidently they were in great affliction and reproach because the city lay in ruins. There was no wall. The gates were burned. There was no protection.
They were surrounded by enemies. Even though there was a temple, it was exposed. Because of that, many who had returned probably had gone back to Babylon.
If you are careful, you might say, “Those who escaped and remained.” Probably many who had gone to Jerusalem to be where God wanted them to be found it so difficult and became so discouraged that they packed up and returned to Babylon.
But thank God there were still some hanging on. Difficulties, much affliction, and reproach—but they hung on. They surrounded the temple. They refused to go away. They had no place else to go.
Where else could they go? But they were in great difficulty, much affliction and reproach, with no protection. They could be annihilated at any moment.
When Nehemiah heard this, he sat down and wept. He prayed. He fasted for days and nights. He was so concerned.
He was in the Persian court, well protected, a favorite of the king; but he did not forget his brethren. His heart was there.
Like Moses, when he had grown up, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He would rather suffer with his brethren. He esteemed the reproach of Christ as more precious than all the riches of Egypt because he saw the unseen.
Brothers and sisters, this was Nehemiah. He did not put himself in a different position. His heart was one with those who were suffering. He confessed the sins of all Israel. He pleaded with God.
As he pleaded with God, God’s call came to him: “Go back. Rebuild.”
Brothers and sisters, what is your concern today? Is it because you can live comfortably that you do not care for those who want to maintain the testimony of Jesus in such difficulty, much affliction, and reproach—on the verge of annihilation?
Do you give yourself to prayer? Do you plead with God on their behalf? If you do, I believe the burden of the Lord will come upon you: “Go back. Rebuild the wall.”
The life of God’s people together needs to be rebuilt.
Nehemiah received a burden from the Lord, so he prayed, “Lord, let me find favor in the sight of that man.” That man was the king. The king was but a man.
Nehemiah knew that God had called him to go back and rebuild the wall, but perhaps he did not move on his own. He waited upon God. A few months passed.
You know, sometimes we feel that we have received some mission from God, and immediately we move out. Ah, if we know God, do not do that.
He waited upon God patiently, every day, every day. The burden grew heavier. Maybe after a few months, if you do not have faith, you will wonder whether you will ever go.
During all those months, as he served the cup before the king, he had to put on a joyful face. His heart was crying, but he had to smile. He tried.
A few months passed, and one day, as he lifted the cup to the king, the king noticed that his face was sad. The king said, “Why? There must be something that troubles you.”
Nehemiah was afraid. No one could appear before the king with a sad face, especially the cupbearer. If the cupbearer appeared before the king with a sad face, the king might immediately become suspicious and say, “What are you thinking?” It was a capital crime.
But Nehemiah could not help it. After a few months, he just could not hide it. So he lifted up his heart to God before he answered the king, and God gave him the opportunity.
He said, “How can I be glad when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchers, lies in ruins?” The king said, “What dost thou request?” Nehemiah said, “Let me go back to rebuild the city and rebuild the wall.”
The good hand of the Lord was upon him. The king said, “How long will you be away?” Then he let him go.
Dear brothers and sisters, how we need to wait upon the Lord. If we wait upon the Lord, He will open a way for us to rebuild the unity.
The king, in secular history, was Artaxerxes Longimanus. In the twentieth year of his reign, he gave a decree to Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem.
Dear brothers and sisters, so far as Nehemiah was concerned, he was only concerned with the immediate need of the remnant. That was his concern: to go back and rebuild the city. That was all.
But do you know? Without Nehemiah realizing it, this was the beginning of a much greater plan of God concerning His people.
If you read Daniel 9, you know that in the first year of King Darius, Daniel learned from the Book of Jeremiah that the seventy years were about to be fulfilled. Darius had been on the throne only two years. After two more years, King Cyrus would come to the throne, and the seventy years would be fulfilled.
When Daniel read from the Book of Jeremiah that only two years were left for the seventy years, what did he do? Did he sit back and say, “Lord, only two years”? No. He actively cooperated with God.
He gave himself to prayer that God’s promise should be fulfilled. As he was praying toward the evening oblation, God sent Gabriel to him. Let us read from Daniel 9:23:
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth,
and I am come to tell thee;
for thou art greatly beloved:
therefore consider the matter,
and understand the vision.
Now remember, Daniel was concerned only with the return of the children of Israel to Jerusalem—the fulfillment of the seventy-year promise. But when God gave him the vision, God gave him a vision of the entire plan of God for the full and final restoration of the nation of Israel.
Not only would they go back, but God would cleanse them from their sins, bring in everlasting righteousness, and seal up vision and prophecy. In other words, God would bring the nation of Israel to its final and full restoration.
He said, “Seventy weeks.” The word weeks in the original means sevens. Therefore, the translators used “seventy weeks,” but in the original it is seventy sevens.
Seventy sevens are apportioned out upon thy people and upon thy holy city. God cut out seventy sevens from time to do something for His people and for the holy city.
What was He going to do?
To finish the transgression,
to make an end of sins,
to make atonement for iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most holy.
This is more than just the return of the remnant to Jerusalem after seventy years. It is the full restoration of the nation of Israel at the return of Christ.
Know therefore and understand: from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens.
When did the seventy sevens begin in history? It began with the word to restore and build Jerusalem. The decree of King Cyrus was only to rebuild the temple, not to rebuild Jerusalem. But the decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah was to rebuild the city.
So God’s divine plan with Israel began with that decree. From that time to the coming of Messiah were seven sevens and sixty-two sevens. In history, it is exactly so—exactly so.
Of course, in computation we have to allow some margin, because even when we say year number one, people argue that Christ was actually born in 4 BC, and that there was a mistake in the computation. We have to allow for these things.
But from the beginning of the decree to rebuild the wall and rebuild the city, until the coming of Messiah, Christ, there were seven sevens and sixty-two sevens. These sevens are seven years.
Some people say that from the decree given to rebuild the wall to Malachi, there were seven sevens—forty-nine years. From Malachi to Christ, sixty-two sevens.
Then suddenly Messiah was cut off—crucified. One seven was left. But between the sixty-nine sevens and the last seven there was a period unknown to the Old Testament prophets, because this is the mystery of the church.
But one day the last seven will come. Brothers and sisters, you know this is a tremendous thing.
What Nehemiah knew was something in God’s mind far beyond what he ever asked or thought. God answered him with something exceedingly abundantly beyond all that he could ever ask for. Is not that our God?
Dear brothers and sisters, I often wonder: if we are faithful in the little that we know, you do not know how much God may be working.
Thank God for the willingness and fruitfulness of those who give their lives. Brothers and sisters, may God raise up many Nehemiahs.
Lord, for Thy sake, raise up many Nehemiahs—people whose hearts are in Jerusalem with the suffering remnant; people who are willing to offer themselves for the rebuilding of the wall, to bring Thy people together, that Thy people may dwell in unity.
O Lord, hear our cry. Hear the cry of many whose hearts are toward Thee, and answer, in Thy great loving name, the Lord Jesus. Amen.