MPC 19th March 2006.March 19 - Ezra 4-6 - "Building the House of God"
Phil Campbell MPC 19th March 2006.
Four weeks ago, on Saturday February 18th, the Good Weekend Magazine published a fascinating article. It was called Mr Biggins Goes to Church. The tagline at the top puts it this way. Nonbeliever Jonathan Biggins forsakes four sunday morning sleep-ins to find out who's preaching what...
And off he goes. The first Sunday, Morning Prayer at Sydney's St Andrews Cathedral. Which Jonathan Biggins calls "out of touch" and elitist. Maybe he's right.
Next Sunday it's off to the Hillsong Church, which he says is built like a Gold Coast convention centre. Hordes of Christians making their way in, stopping for a caramel latte at Gloria Jeans in the lobby. And inside, where the volume pumps up and the crowd of several thousand gets in the groove to sing 20 minutes of worship songs. "Personally," says Jonathan Biggins, "I'd rather give birth to a chair than listen to much of this vapid soft rock with lyrics that could have been written by a machine." And his conclusion? Great business model. But he says, totally consumerist. "Ask not what you can do for Christ. But what Christ can do for you."
Maybe he's right.
Sunday number 3 is St Mary's Cathedral for the Catholic version of church. Where he talks about the arcane rituals, the daily sacrifices, the secret societies and the political intrigue. And closes with a description of the church warden who busies himself self-importantly with the collection bag. Who'd want to go there?
Week four, it's the Merewether Central Uniting church. With a congregation of 19 old age pensioners, including 80 year old lay preacher Cliff. And an elderly organist whose attempts to play the final hymn he says meet with varying degrees of success.
Four Sundays. Four churches. No winners. With no apparent effort, Jonathan Biggins pokes holes in every church he visits. To the point where it's hard to find a single redeeming feature.
That might actually be your experience as you're sitting here today. And you're wishing like anything you could be somewhere else. Bunnings, maybe. Or mowing the lawn.
Reading Jonathan Biggins, it's easy to sympathise with what he's saying. In fact, it's such an easy game to critique this thing we call church... that it's almost impossible to take on board my next statement. That building his church... is the most important thing God is doing in the world. Let me say it again so you know it's not a mistake. Building his church... is the most important thing God is doing in the world.
I mean, it seems crazy, doesn't it? Considering the church looks so pathetic. It seems crazy, doesn't it, that God would even be interested? It seems crazy that God wouldn't be better off sorting out the problems in Iraq, or fixing global warming.
And yet the pages of the New Testament are full of the fact that God's biggest intention is to build his church. Not a building of sandstone or bricks. But a building made up of people on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
And ultimately, to stand in the way of that, to oppose it, to laugh at it and call it pathetic, to work at stopping it or destroying it... means you're opposing God himself. Which is a dangerous thing.
We're going to come back to think about the building made of people a little later. But before that we're going to take a time warp back to the ancient days of Old Testament Israel. When the Israelites are busy rebuilding a building made of stones. The temple. Which we're going to see that the New Testament later on uses as a symbol. As kind of an analogy for the real building made up of people.
In Israel in the time of Ezra, in Israel from 539 to 423 BC, the temple was the symbol of God's presence with his people. The temple was the place that said, the God of the universe has pitched his tent in the middle of these Israelites.
Trouble was, as we've seen the last few weeks, the temple is in ruins. It's been trashed by the Babylonian invaders. Reduced to rubble. And now the returned exiles of Israel are starting again. Rebuilding, stone by stone, trying to reconstruct the good old days. In the hope that when they rebuild the building... the glory days will return as well.
If you've been here the last few weeks and you've been following the story of Ezra, you've got to realize in one way it's never really been a story about a building. It's more a story about the hearts of the people. But in another way, for anyone who wants to stand in the way of what this temple building symbolises, they're playing with fire.
As we'll see today.
We're going to be covering Ezra chapters 4 to 6. And if you're a history buff or a public servant, if you feel at home with the dusty smell of archives, you'll love it.
Especially if you take a look at chapter 6 verse 2. Public servants will be on familiar territory here.
"A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it: Memorandum."
I mean, it's incredible, isn't it? Red tape and memorandums have been around for over 2,500 years. They say cockroaches would be the only thing to survive a nuclear disaster. I reckon public servants would as well.
If you step back a bit and look at what's going on in Ezra chapter 4 to 6, it's actually a string of public service memoranda flying backwards and forwards. And extracts from the archives. Of the royal records of the Mede and Persian empire. Painstakingly preserved. Together with a first hand account of the political intrigues going on in the background. And it's all to do with opposition to the rebuilding of this temple. In Jerusalem.
It's more complicated than the wheat board enquiry. But in a sense, better documented. Full of who said what and when. They're documents spanning I think, around 100 years. Summed up pretty neatly if you look back at the start of chapter 4.
Take a look at chapter 4 verse 1. Here's step 1. Opposition by stealth. Enemies who pretend to be friends. They come to governor Zerubbabel with an offer too good to be true.
Read what it says:
When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, "Let us help you build, because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."
I mean, you know straight away it's a crock of lies. Tempting maybe. But these guys aren't worshipping the God of Israel at all. And never have been. And all they want to do is help build it in a way that's a shonky as possible.
And verse 3, Governor Zerubbabel and Jeshua the priest see right through them. They say no. They say, "You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us."
Which as we saw, King Cyrus of Persia actually did.
And so it's on to phase two. Active discouragement. Opposition. Verbal abuse. Protest blockades. Chaining themselves to trees. Jeering the workers as they tried to build their temple. Laughing at it. Threatening letters in the mail. Verse 4 says "Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building." And they hire political lobbyists. Just like on the West Wing. "They hired counselors," says verse 5, "to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia down to the reign of Darius king of Persia." And even beyond. These guys are relentless.
From verse 6, into the reign of Xerxes. 486BC. They lodge an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Into the reign of Artaxerxes, 22 years later. Verse 7 and 8; a new generation of opponents of Israel. Writing letters to the new king. Not so much about the temple. As the whole project. Rebuilding Jerusalem. And the city walls.
And you've got a sample, word for word, in verse 11. Stirring up trouble. Verse 12,
The king should know that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.
If they do that, they'll stop paying taxes!
And the king's reply. Verse 17 to 21. With the stern words in verse21, "Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order."
And verse 23,
As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes is read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they go immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compel them by force to stop.
To down tools on the rebuilding of the city and it's walls.
Which is exactly how it is with the temple project as well. Verse 24. It says, "thus, in the same way, because of exactly the same sort of opposition, the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia."
Which is detailed in chapter 5. Chapter 4 is a summary of 100 years of opposition to the rebuilding of the city. Chapter 5 is a closer look. At opposition to the temple.
They've offered their subversive help. They've tried intimidation. Now in chapter 5 they're going to try to bind them up in red tape. Which is a wonderfully Presbyterian way of stopping things as well.
Chapter 5 verse 1 and 2, you've got the prophets Haggai and Zechariah urging them on. And the work on the temple is up and running.
Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
You might like to read what they're saying - their words are preserved a bit later in the Old Testament. They're saying, get on with the job. And don't be deflected.
Because for the time they're living in, building this temple of timber and stone is the work of God. Might not look like much. But the hand of God is behind it. Verse 1 says Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. And verse 5 says it again. "The eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews; and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received."
Verse 3, Tattenai and Shetha Bozenai are saying, who authorised you to rebuild this temple? Give us your names. So we can report you. And they're saying, do what you like. We're going to keep going.
So in verse 6, there's a letter sent to King Darius. From Tattenai and Shetha Bozenai who are trying to stop the work on the temple. You can read their letter from verses 7 to 17. They say in verse 8,
The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.
And these Israelites, they're saying, verse 13, that king Cyrus your predecessor said it was okay to rebuild. And gave them back all the gold stuff the Babylonians took from them before. So verse 17, we're wondering if you'd mind searching the archives. And see if King Cyrus did issue a decree like that. To rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. And let us know what to do.
Hoping, of course, that there's no such decree. Or if there is, it's been lost in the mists of time.
But the start of chapter 6, Darius orders a search. And they find a scroll in Ec-ba-tana. The memorandum filed away by a faithful public servant of a previous generation. Reproduced for us from chapter 6 verse 3 to 5. Where the previous King Cyrus gave the instruction let the temple be rebuilt. And so Darius the new king rules the same way.
And verse 6, tells Tattenai and Shethar Bozenai to pull their heads in. And stay away. Verse 7, King Darius says to them "don't interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site."
More than that. Pay their expenses. Give them animals to sacrifice. In fact, if you look at verse 11, you'll see the King goes even further. If anyone messes with God's house... we'll pull a beam from his own house. And skewer him on it. Which is a very stern way of saying, don't mess with the house God is building. Read his decree. Verse 11 and 12. I mean, you wouldn't dream of seeing whether the king really meant it, would you... he says,
Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble. May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
So because King Darius says so, everyone falls into line. And the elders of the Jews, verse 14, continue to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah. And they finish building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. And the temple is complete, verse 15, on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. And they dedicate the house of God with joy. And much celebration.
And they slaughter the Passover lamb. And verse 21, they eat it. Together with anyone else who wants to separate themselves from their Gentile neighbors to seek the Lord, the God of Israel.
And they're full of joy... because the Lord filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel. And he knows better than to get in the way of the house God is building. The great symbolic reminder, the great announcement of the fact that the God of the universe has pitched his tent in the middle of his people.
It may not have looked like much. But that's what it stands for.
Now with that in mind... and particularly that final decree of King Darius ringing in our ears... I want to step forward in time.
Mess with the house of God, and you and your house will be brought undone.
It's important when you're reading the Old Testament, the first half of the bible, that you make sure you see what the new testament says as well. Because things have changed. Changed because Jesus has come. The temple was the symbol of God pitching his tent with his people. For a few years 2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was the reality of that. God with his people in person. In the flesh. And then after that, God pouring out his spirit. So his presence isn't anymore symbolised by a building. But internalised in his people.
And so the thing that God is building, the project that we're working on, the mark of his presence isn't in a building of stone any more. But a building made of people. Which is what we've come to call the church.
But in an interesting way, the same principle applies. It might be easy to pour scorn on the church. It might be easy to laugh at what God's building in the world; it might even be tempting for some people to do their best to get in the way of it.
But ultimately, God wins. Ultimately, it's God's project. And he'll keep at it.
In his letter to the church in the city of Corinth in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the apostle Paul has a warning every bit as strong as the decree of Darius. That says, whatever you do, don't mess with what God is building. Or you'll come off second best.
Turn over and take a look. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. .
Here's a church where Jonathan Biggins could have had a field day. His article would say something like, "as soon as I walked in the door, somebody tried to sign me up for their faction. I mean, at least the nineteen pensioners at Merewether Uniting Church got on with one another. But these Corinthians. They're at one another non stop. And there's one who says he's in the Paul party and another one follows Apollos. They say they're spiritual. But the fact is, you can see from the way they go on they're not spiritual at all. They're divided."
Which is pretty much what the apostle Paul is saying about them too. In the first few verses of 1 Corinthians 3. He says, you're just baby Christians. Still bottle fed. Not even on solids. You are still worldly, verse 3, because there's jealousy and quarelling among you. For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
Factions are ripping apart the church. And the sad part is, they're not seeing how serious it is. That by their petty rivalries, they're tearing down what God is building.
Which is exactly what Paul says in verse 16. "Don't you know that you yourselves - "and it's the plural form of you in the original Greek - "Don't you know that you lot are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you?"
And here's the warning. Same as Darius. But talking about a very different thing. The old temple build of stones was just a symbol; now he's building with people. But the consequences are the same. Verse 17. "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred... and you are that temple."
Interesting, you'll often hear people talk about church buildings as if they're kind of like the Old Testament Temple. Take your hat off when you go in. Speak in a hushed tone of voice. And whatever you do, don't go up to the front holy bit and touch the sacred furniture.
The New Testament never says that. Because the time of holy buildings is long gone. God's temple God is interested in is us. His people built together stone by stone.
And whatever you do, says Paul, don't oppose what God is building. Or bring division. Because in the words of King Darius from so long ago, if anyone destroys what God's building... God will destroy him.
Friends, can I urge you this morning to take this incredibly seriously. Because like I said at the start, it's so easy to undervalue the project that is so dear to God's heart. Of building together a people who are moved by his spirit to grow together in love.
It's so easy to be dismissive. And casual. So that whether you're at church week by week depends on the weather, or if you're feeling like going to Bunnings to buy a new drill instead. What better thing is there to be building, than building up one another. Where are your priorities? If you read what Paul's saying here in 1 Corinthians 3 sometime, the way you build, the way you invest in what God is building is the one thing that's going to last. And that you'll be measured by. Not your marks at Uni. Not your career. And certainly not your bank balance.
And a particular warning. Because I know it's easy to be dissatisfied. And I know that it's easy for dissatisfaction to grow into a sort of a discontent that wants to be heard. And I know that sort of discontent can find friends. And can grow so easily into divisiveness. You know, I reckon it's fantastic that our church family here has been so free of that sort of division and factionalism. But that doesn't mean we can be complacent.
Jonathan Biggins' article generated quite a few letters to the editor. Including one that said this. "Jonathan Biggins' church visits are akin to a pub crawl, yet his judgements are so unlimited. Where's the humility, or the sustained investigation. Where's the getting to know the church members, or for that matter even speaking to just one?" The letter says, "I suggest an extended visit... that might help Biggins experience a Christian community founded in Christ's sacrificial love."
Which nails it, I reckon. Because that's what we're building. And believe it or not, that's the most important thing God is doing in the world.