Monday evening, December 3, 1973
Richmond, Virginia
Ministry given through Brother Stephen Cohen.
And it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the castle, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.
And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut and bar the doors: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.
And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in their cities, all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
And Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
And he read therein before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God.
For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the heave-offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
And the princes of the people dwelt in Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the other cities.
And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem.
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.
And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
We have been fellowshipping for the past two sessions on the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. We mentioned that not only must our life with God be restored to its rightful place, but our life one with another must also be restored.
These two sides are typified by the rebuilding of the temple and the rebuilding of the wall. For people to dwell together behind a wall, for people to live together in a city, is a picture of brethren dwelling together in unity. And that will become a real testimony to the world.
The first six chapters in the book of Nehemiah deal with the building of the wall. We find that the wall was finished in fifty-two days. It was not an easy thing to rebuild the wall, because while they were rebuilding it, attacks came from every side—not only from enemies without, but even from the people within.
Nehemiah was under pressure, assaults, and accusations of all kinds. Even false prophets prophesied against Nehemiah. Yet Nehemiah knew what God was doing, and the hand of the Lord was with the people. So, in fifty-two days, the wall was finished.
Strange to say, after the wall was finished, Nehemiah did not dedicate the wall immediately to God. We would think that, if a wall is finished, suddenly the next thing would be dedication. But no. The wall was finished, and yet there were more works to be done within the wall, or unto the wall.
In a sense, the wall is an outward, public testimony. But whether the public testimony can stand or not—how firm, how good that testimony is—really depends upon the life within the wall. In other words, the life behind the wall is the strength of the wall.
If the life within the wall is weak, sooner or later that wall will be broken again. We already find this in the first place: the wall in Jerusalem lay in ruins, completely destroyed. Why? Once the wall was there, but it was completely destroyed because the people who dwelt within had been unfaithful.
Unless the life within the wall is strengthened, the testimony of the wall will not continue. You know, sometimes in a time of revival, in a time of great awakening, in a time of refreshing, or even in a time of oppression and persecution, God’s people may be brought together and stand up as one. Strange to say, you see a unity there.
But unless this is established, strengthened, and rooted, it does not last long.
So, brothers and sisters, after the wall was completed, Nehemiah knew that the life within the wall must be strengthened. Unless life within the wall was strengthened, the wall that was rebuilt might not continue.
As a matter of fact, probably Nehemiah spent more time strengthening the life within the wall than building the wall. It took him only fifty-two days to rebuild the wall, but probably it took him much longer to strengthen the life within the wall. And how true it is today.
We need to be joined together. We need to be united together as one. We need to be built up together as a wall with no breach. Brothers and sisters, this is not just for a time of revival or refreshing.
I think I mentioned this before, but for the sake of illustration, I may use it again. Once a year, Christians from all over the world, during the second week of July, go to a small town in England. The town’s name is Keswick.
Christians from all over the world gather there for the Keswick Convention. They have the best speakers you could get in any generation, and people from all over the world are there. There is a large tent put up for a great meeting, and behind the platform is the sign, “All one in Christ.”
People come from all kinds of backgrounds. But when they get together, when they sing together, when they listen to the Word together, you do get a feeling that they are all one people. Thank God for that.
But do you know, when you step out of the tent and walk along the streets, there is a booth here and a booth there. Every booth represents a denomination, represents a sect, and every booth is selling denominational literature. As you go along the street, you are just being told that you have the wall inside the tent, but outside the tent there are all the breaches.
In a time of revival, God’s people can really be joined together as one; and again, I say, under persecution too. But that does not last. So, for this testimony of the unity of God’s people to be really lasting, something more must be done. The life within the wall must be strengthened.
So Nehemiah spent time on all that. You know what he did? He did a number of things.
Number one: he appointed doorkeepers.
It is a wall, but brothers and sisters, if the whole place is walled in without any doors, you know what happens? There is separation, yes, but the separation is so exclusive that there is no door to it. It is a prison. It is a dead city. No coming out and no going in. There will be no increase.
Thank God, you have not only the wall, but you have the gates. The wall stands for separation, but the door stands for coming in and coming out. In other words, the doors represent communication.
The wall represents separation, but the door represents communication. The Lord Jesus said, “You are not of the world.” That is separation. But after we are separated from the world, the Lord said, “As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you” into the world.
There is not only wall, but there are doors. You can come out from the city to reach out to the world in order to bring them in. Communication. And people who desire to come in are always welcome. There is no exclusiveness in the fellowship. Thank God for that.
You know, God’s people sometimes can be so separated that they have absolutely no communication whatsoever with people in the world, and even with other people of God. They just become as a prison. And if this should happen, it is a dead city.
We need to be separated, and yet we must have communication. We must have communication with the world, not in the sense of partaking in their sins, but in the sense of winning them to Christ, that they may become our brothers and sisters for the increase of the city.
We need to be open to all God’s people and welcome them. Then they come in and strengthen the life of the city. There must be open fellowship.
But remember, you do not only have openings; there are gates, doors, with bars and locks. Sometimes you may have openings, but there is no gate, no door, no lock, no bar. In other words, there are all openings, but it is always open day and night—no control whatsoever.
No, there are openings, but there are doors. In other words, our communication with the world is under control.
The doorkeepers were appointed. Before the sun went down, they closed the door and locked it. They did not open the doors until the sun was hot. In other words, communication and fellowship are only in the light. You cannot have communication in darkness.
You know, sometimes we think that we must be so careful lest we be contaminated, so there is no door. At other times, we are so open that there is no lock. And the Bible says, “Evil communications corrupt good manners.”
There should be communication. There should be fellowship. But everything must be in the light, never in darkness. Here you find Nehemiah set up doorkeepers to see that all communications were in broad daylight, that nothing went on in darkness. That was to keep the unity and strength of the city.
Suppose you have the doors wide open and without locks. Suppose people can come in day and night. It will dilute the life of the city. It will corrupt the life of the city. As the Bible says, “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
Brothers and sisters, sometimes we think we should be so open, we should be so loving, that there is no control and no discipline in the church. But to maintain the life of the city, to maintain the life of God’s people as a testimony, discipline is needed.
God will raise up people taking spiritual responsibility to see that the doors are closed when the sun goes down—people with discernment, people with courage, people with integrity, people who will stand with the Lord.
Sometimes they will be accused of being narrow, strict, or unloving. But, brothers and sisters, God will raise up doorkeepers, for the doors of the wall are very necessary.
More than that, you find that aside from the doorkeepers, who see that the doors are locked and opened at the proper time, during the night every family appointed one to guard that section of the wall over against his house. Why? The enemy might climb over the wall.
In the shadow of darkness, they might climb over the wall and come in to disturb the peace of the city. That is to say, every brother and every sister in the church has his or her responsibility.
Not only does God raise up some, such as elders and responsible brothers, who in a sense guard the doors, but every brother and sister is responsible. We are responsible for one another, to see that there is no evil in our fellowship and communication.
What a responsibility. Unless we know discipline, unless we know responsibility, our life together as one unit is not really built.
But very strangely, at the time Nehemiah appointed these doorkeepers, he also appointed some other people. He appointed Levites and singers. Now, we would say, of course, you need doorkeepers for the wall; that is true. But why did he appoint the Levites and the singers at the same time?
Our life towards the world needs doorkeepers, but our life before the Lord needs the Levites and the singers. That is the life within the city.
We are being built together into one body that we may present spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. That is priestly service. We are to offer praises and worship to God. This is the singers.
When you read Ephesians or Colossians, you find: be filled with the Spirit, and sing to the Lord with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, admonishing and teaching one another, singing with your heart, and giving thanks to the Lord in all things.
Worship is going on behind the wall. God’s people are worshiping people. Unless we know how to worship Him, unless we know how to serve Him as the priesthood, the life of the city is empty.
Sometimes people can be very vigilant in guarding the doors, but they are not very diligent in praising and serving the Lord. These two things must be balanced. So that is the first thing in strengthening the life within the wall.
Then the second thing is the seventh month. All the children of Israel gathered together as one man. And you know what they did? They asked Ezra the scribe to read the book of the law.
Ezra was a scribe. He was one who was well versed in the law. He studied the law, and it was his burden to return to Jerusalem to teach the people the law. He himself kept the law, and he wanted to teach the people to keep the law. That was his burden in coming back to Jerusalem.
But that was on his part. Now you find that the initiative came from the people. Instead of Ezra gathering them together and saying, “Now listen, I am going to read the law to you. I am going to teach you the law,” the people came together and asked Ezra, “Read the book to us. We want to hear it.”
For the strengthening of the life of God’s people together, there must be a love for the Word of God. You may have a revival. You may have a refreshing. You may have quite an uplifting. But if you are not strengthened with a love for the Word of God, that will soon pass.
Here you find the people had a great love for the Word of God. They asked for it. You do not need to force the Word upon them; they asked for it.
So they all gathered together in that open space at the Water Gate. Ezra read the Word to them. And you know what reverence they had for the Word of God: when Ezra opened the book of the law, all the people stood up.
Men and women, and those who could understand, listened attentively from morning till midday. They were not tired of the Word of God. They were not only listening, but they understood and responded.
When they heard the Word, they wept. They saw that they had disobeyed God, that they had sinned against God, and they repented before God. Finally, you find that they made a covenant with God that they would keep His Word.
Oh, brothers and sisters, for the life of the city—for the life of God’s people together—to be really strengthened, there must be love for God’s Word. There must be the reading of God’s Word, attentive listening to God’s Word, the keeping of God’s Word, and a covenant with God according to His Word.
When you find these things happening, you know the life of the city, the life of God’s people together, is being strengthened. You have substance now.
That is the second thing. Then came the third. They made ordinances for themselves that everyone would give a third of a shekel yearly to the house of the Lord, to provide for all the sacrifices and offerings. Furthermore, they made an ordinance for themselves that they were to bring to the house the wood offering.
These are ordinances that you do not find in the Mosaic law. In the Mosaic law, there were many ordinances: how the children of Israel must bring the tithe to God, how they must bring the firstfruits to God, and so forth.
But here you find the people loved God so much, loved His house so much, that over and beyond what God had commanded, they commanded themselves voluntarily.
Ah, brothers and sisters, what an attitude that was. How often we are afraid of God’s commandments, and we say, “It is line upon line, here a little and there a little, and it adds up to too much.” But here you find these people loved God so much. They said, “Has God commanded us all things? Let us add something more to it.”
God did not command them to give a third of a shekel yearly, each person. They made that ordinance themselves. It is true that in the temple you need wood so that the fire on the altar will not go out. But the Lord never told us how this wood should be prepared. Here they made a wood offering. They would bring the wood there so the fire would not go out.
Brothers and sisters, what love for God and for His house—voluntarily.
You know, oftentimes, just to use an illustration, people talk with me and say, “Brother, should we give tithe to the Lord, like the children of Israel? Should we give one tenth of all our income?” And then some people say, “This one tenth—should it be after tax or before tax?”
Ah, brothers and sisters, even with the children of Israel, if you read the Mosaic law, you can see that aside from tithes they had offerings. So it comes up to two tenths, not just one tenth, under the law.
And what should happen to us? It is not the matter of material things I am talking about. I am talking about the spirit. Oh, that we should love Him so much that there is no bargaining spirit there.
If the Lord should enable us to give more of ourselves and everything to Him, it is our honor, our privilege, and our glory. He deserves it. Now that is the attitude we should take. It is not a matter of amount—not at all. It is in the spirit.
Do we love Him? Do we love His house? And if we do, we do not count. Here you find the spirit of the people there. They really loved the Lord, and they really gave themselves to the Lord. Brothers and sisters, the wall was really strengthened.
That is what happened behind the wall. It is our life together, the reality of our life together, the reality of our love for Him and our love for His house, that really strengthens the testimony of Jesus.
Number four: the city was big, and the wall was built, but the inhabitants in the city were few.
In order to increase the life of the city, all the nobles decided they would move to the city and live there. Then some people volunteered: “We will move to the city and live there.” In order to increase the dwellers of the city, they increased the life of the city. Then they cast lots, and one of ten would move to the city.
As people in the city increased, the life of the city also increased. That is the way they did it. What if you have a city, a walled city, and no people living there? It is an empty city.
You know, brothers and sisters, what does this represent? To move into the city and live there was a great honor, because there was the temple. But at that time, to move to the city to live was a hardship—not only a hardship, but a very dangerous thing. Why? Because Jerusalem was the target of the enemy. You did not know when the enemy would attack.
But for the love of God and for the strengthening of the city, the rulers set a good example. They moved. Then there were volunteers, and then the casting of lots.
Brothers and sisters, do you like to live in the city? Or would you rather live outside the city, come to the city once in a while, and then go back to your own village?
Many believers—and now I am speaking metaphorically, figuratively speaking; I do not mean that you all should move together and live in one house or so forth. I am not advocating that. It is in a spiritual sense.
How many of God’s people would like to maintain their independence? They like to have their own lives, and then they come in occasionally for a visit. Fine, fine. And after a short visit, they go back.
In other words, they are never really built up together with their brothers and sisters. They maintain a loosely related position.
Are you willing to move into the city and be together, bound together, built up together? You know how much is involved.
Oh, if we live at a distance, we can afford to be very kind to each other. But if we are in the same city, behind the same wall, we rub against each other, and sometimes it is difficult.
We would rather be a visitor than a dweller. And you know, everywhere you go, you have lots of visitors.
Sometimes, you know, my heart is grieved. I am not speaking of here, but everywhere I go, sometimes I see lots of people come, and yet they are visitors, not dwellers.
When you have a conference, when you have a speaker, they all come. But when the conference is over, when the speaker is gone, they are gone too—each to his own place.
God’s people are not dwellers in the city of Jerusalem. God’s people are not built together, knit together, and built up together.
We need some people to set the example. They are not afraid to live together in the city, to be built up together. They are willing to bear the cost.
We need volunteers—not merely those who see the testimony of the Lord Jesus, but those who are willing to move to the city and live there with their brothers and sisters.
Of course, today we do not cast lots. That is the Old Testament. They cast lots and believed that God would choose the right one. In the New Testament, it is the Holy Spirit within us who leads us. As we are led by the Spirit, let us move into the city, behind the wall, and be built up together in life together.
Naturally, that strengthens the life of the city. So you have content now. If you just build a wall and there is nobody inside, or what is inside is very weak and empty, everything is superficial—just an outward appearance. There is no substance. It will not last long.
Therefore, you have to strengthen the life within the wall, to give substance to the wall. Then the wall will really represent something.
So Nehemiah spent quite some time doing all these things. Dear brothers and sisters, how we need to be built up together. It takes time. Do not be discouraged. Be patient. With patience and faith, we inherit the promises of God.
And then, after all these things were done, Nehemiah dedicated the wall to God.
You know, brothers and sisters, this wall was not built just for the protection of God’s people. This wall was built for the glory of God, for the testimony of God. For after everything was done, it was dedicated to God.
“Lord, You have done it, and it is for You.” Nothing was for themselves. And that should be our attitude. That is how everything is done. Remember, it is for His glory. It is for the testimony of Jesus, not for our testimony, as it were.
No. It is all for God, and all glory be to God. The wall and everything are for His glory.
I believe this is the right attitude. So, dear brothers and sisters, if by the grace of God the life of God’s people together is built, remember, there is nothing to boast of. Everything is dedicated to the testimony of Jesus, that He may be seen, may be heard, and may be believed.
So I do hope that in our fellowship on this book of Nehemiah, brothers and sisters, I do not know what to say. I only feel that there is within me a desire that God’s people may really be built up together for the testimony of Jesus and for the glory of God.
Oh, Lord, restore our life with Thy people and with one another as a people.
We pray that we may not only have an outward testimony, but that there may be an inward reality of our lives together before Thee.
Lord, strengthen, establish, and build; and it is all for Thy glory. We ask in Thy name. Amen.