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Scripture Reading: Ezra 7—9; Neh. 1—2
According to the books of the recovery, the history is like this: First, the return of the captivity was begun. In the return there were two leaders: the governor, Zerubbabel, representing the kingship, and the high priest, Joshua, representing the priesthood. Zerubbabel and Joshua returned with people to recover the temple. Ezra arrived more than fifty years later with a group of returned captives to enrich the recovery. Ten or eleven years after Ezra came, Nehemiah came to build up the city and protect the temple. Between Zerubbabel and Ezra’s time, the recovery of the temple ceased for about fifteen years, and Haggai and Zechariah were raised up to encourage the people to continue the work.
Throughout this history of the recovery, six names stand out: Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Zerubbabel was the governor of the province of Judah, representing the kingship, and Joshua was the high priest, representing the priesthood. It was under these two ministries that the recovery of God was begun. But the ministry of the prophethood was also required, and this came through Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai was used to stir up the spirit of the people to continue the work on the building of the temple. He told them that if they would finish the building, they would bring in the Desire of all the nations, who is Christ. Zechariah followed Haggai to tell the recovered ones more about Christ. This is really the proper prophecy. It must start with stirring up the spirit of the people, and it must end with Christ. The stirring up of the spirit of the people only requires two chapters, while all the things of Christ require fourteen chapters. The book of Zechariah is really wonderful; he mentions so much about Christ in God’s recovery. He is the shoot to produce, He is the foundation stone with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, so prevailing for the recovery of God’s building, and He is the topstone with the full grace of God. He is the King with the kingship, the Priest with the priesthood, and eventually the Builder. This is Christ in God’s recovery as found in the book of Zechariah. Even today in God’s recovery we need such a prophecy to recover all the aspects of Christ.
But Ezra was still needed to enrich and strengthen the recovery. By the time Ezra returned, everything was recovered, but there was the need of strengthening and enrichment. The remnant of the people who returned was still small; the number needed to be increased, so Ezra brought back a good number. Today we really need more Ezras. The number we have today in the Lord’s recovery is still too small; we need some Ezras to come back from Babylon to strengthen the recovery in number. So many priests, leaders, Levites, singers, and gatekeepers are still there in Babylon. They must be for the Lord’s recovery. They may have been born in Babylon, but they were not born for Babylon. They were saved in the denominations, but they were not saved for the denominations; they were saved for the Lord and His recovery. We must pray that the Lord will raise up some Ezras. We need more Ezras today. Ezra strengthened the recovery by bringing with him a good number of returned captives.
Today in Los Angeles many things have been recovered, yet still the number is too small. How many thousands of the Lord’s people there must be in this city, and we have less than one thousand. If we compare it with all the Lord’s children in this city, we are still a small number. Yes, we have returned, but the returned number is still too small. We need to pray that the Lord will raise up some Ezras to bring back a larger number. On one hand, we are satisfied, but on the other hand, we are not. We need more Ezras to come back.
When we read the book of Ezra, we see that he did not say much about himself. He only mentioned that in a certain year Ezra, who was the son of the priest, came back. We are not told how he was raised up, but we know that it was the Lord’s doing. The Lord raised up Ezra to strengthen and enrich His recovery. So Ezra gave us a record of the silver, the gold, the vessels, and the bowls that he brought back to the temple of God. This is not a small thing, for these are the riches of Christ returned from the captivity.
Sometimes people ask, “Don’t you think that in the denominations there is something of the Lord?” I tell them that even in the Roman Catholic Church there are many things of the Lord. There is much silver, much gold, and many vessels in Babylon, but these things should not remain in Babylon. They must be brought back to Jerusalem. All the things of Christ must be recovered from Babylon. In the denominations there is considerable work of the Lord, yet all the people of God and all the works of the Lord are not for the denominations; they are for the local churches. All the children of Israel in Babylon, even those born there, were not for Babylon but for Jerusalem. All the work the Lord accomplished in Babylon was not for Babylon but for Jerusalem. We must pray that an increasing number of the Lord’s children will be brought back to the local churches, and we must pray that all the experiences of Christ will be returned to the local churches. All the silver, all the gold, and all the vessels belong to the temple in Jerusalem.
I have never criticized the gospel work of anyone, for I realize that many have brought people to the Lord. In a sense, I like to hear of works that are so prevailing for the Lord. But on the other hand, I am not really happy until I see all these works brought into the local churches.
Ezra was one who brought many people into the recovery to strengthen it and many vessels of gold and silver to enrich it. The recovery today needs to be strengthened with numbers and enriched with the riches of Christ. To have the silver and gold is good, but to have it in Babylon is wrong. When the silver and gold are brought back to the house of God at Jerusalem, it is not only good but also right. I like to see people pray-reading, but I am not so happy to see them pray-reading in the denominations. Not long ago, the Stream Publishers received a letter from a pastor telling how he appreciated the pray-reading. He asked us to send him many copies of The Stream in order that all the members of his church could learn to pray-read. I was happy, but in a sense I was not so happy, because that was something in the denominations. I am happy that people enjoy pray-reading, but I am not happy that the silver and gold remain in Babylon. It is not so good, but it is better than nothing; so we sent them all the copies to help them get the silver and gold. But all this must be brought back to the local churches. How we need the Ezras today to strengthen the numbers and to enrich the recovery with the silver and gold from Babylon.
Ezra was a priest, a descendant of Aaron, and he was also a scribe. The scribe in the Old Testament equals the teacher in the New Testament. But there is a difference between the prophet and the scribe or teacher. The prophet is one who speaks directly from God, and the teacher is one who teaches the things spoken by the prophet. We know, for example, that Moses was a prophet, because he spoke something directly from God. But a scribe is a teacher who teaches the things spoken by Moses.
Haggai and Zechariah were prophets because they spoke directly from God. What was spoken by Haggai was new; it was never revealed to anyone else. Zechariah’s message is even more marvelous. He said that Christ is the shoot, the foundation stone with seven eyes, and the topstone. Did Moses say this? No, Zechariah was the first to say it. Zechariah was not a teacher but a prophet, speaking from God’s instant, present, up-to-date inspiration. Ezra spoke nothing new. What he spoke had been already spoken by Moses. He was a scribe and a teacher. But according to the principle in God’s recovery, we do not need an old teacher, but a priestly teacher. Ezra was also a priest.
A priest is one who is mingled with the Lord, saturated with the Lord, feeding upon the Lord, and breathing Him in all day long. Whatever he speaks is just the Lord Himself. This is exactly what the teachers in the Lord’s recovery must be. Ezra was this kind of person. He proclaimed a fast, and he fasted; he was simply one with the Lord by contacting the Lord continually. He was not a letter-scribe, but a priestly scribe.
In the local church we are afraid of objective teachers. Some people have a certain amount of knowledge, and they like to teach what they know, but they themselves are not that kind of person. The Lord’s recovery today does not need this kind of teacher. We need Ezra, the priestly scribe, the priestly teacher. This is the teacher who contacts God constantly and instantly, who is saturated with God and one with God. Ezra was very much with the Lord. He was in a position to ask the king for an army to protect him while returning to Jerusalem, but he did not do it. He put his trust in the Lord. This is the kind of person who is qualified to be a teacher in the Lord’s recovery. Even if you have the physical means to help you, you must not take it. You must put your trust in the Lord. We do not need objective teachers in the recovery of the Lord’s building. Just the knowledge of the teachings will not help. We need the life; we need the priesthood to be mingled with the teaching. We need the priestly scribes like Ezra. Mere knowledge does not build; it kills. It is the priestly teacher who builds. This is the kind of person who can strengthen the recovery with an increase of numbers and enrich it with the rich experiences of Christ. Praise the Lord there are such Ezras, and I have full assurance that the Lord is going to bring in more and more Ezras—those who are one with God, saturated with God, filled with God, and skillful in the Word of God. These persons are the right ones to bring in a good number of returned captives and to bring more riches of Christ into the recovery of the Lord.
Ezra not only strengthened and enriched the recovery; he also purified it. Before he arrived, there was a mixture. Some of the Israelites had married heathen wives, and children were born of this mixture. This is a type that we should not apply literally but spiritually. The recovery is the holy seed. Anything we receive that is not holy is a mixture. In some places where there were recoveries in the past, a mixture existed. The recovery is holy, but some of the things taken in are not so holy. Therefore, there is a mixture, and Ezras are needed to purify. Ezra was the one who purified the recovery. In the local churches we must be so pure, so simple, with no mixture. The problem is that many of us who have come back from Babylon have brought our background with us. Our background creates the mixture. In the Lord’s recovery there is the need of purification to separate the holy seed from anything that is heathen. Do not bring into the local churches the things that you did in the denominations, no matter how good they are. That is the bringing in of heathen wives. This does not mean that we are proud, but that we must let go of our background. We all must learn to give up the things of our background, regardless of how good they are. We must be so pure that the holy seed will never be mingled with anything heathen.
When the recovery is holy, we will see the Lord’s blessing. In some places the reason the blessing was frustrated was the mixture caused by the background. We have been condemned many times for not inviting others to speak in our meetings. We are not proud, but we are really careful. If we invite outside speakers to come, they will bring in “heathen wives.” In the past we tried this, but it only caused trouble. So we have learned the lesson. This does not mean that we are narrow, but that the recovery is so pure, so single, and so holy. We do need the Ezras to do a purifying work. The Lord does not like any kind of mixture. In the Lord’s creation all things are “according to their kind.” If it is an apple, it must be from an apple tree; if it is a peach, it must be from a peach tree. We must be simple and according to our kind. We need to be pure, strict, simple, and according to our kind. If we are the denominations, we should just be the denominations. If we are the free groups, we should just be the free groups. We should not say that we are anything else. If we are the local church, we should just be the local church. We must be so simple, so single, so pure, and so genuine according to our kind. We must be absolute. The Lord never honors any kind of a mixture. It must be according to its kind.
Ezra’s work was to strengthen, enrich, and purify. He not only purified the people after the building up of the temple, but he purified them again for the building up of the city. In both Ezra and Nehemiah, there was the purification: one was after the building of the temple, and the other was after the building up of the city. In all the steps of the Lord’s recovery, there is the need of purification.
We have seen the work of Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra. Is not this good enough? There is the return, the recovery of the building, the strengthening, the enriching, and the purifying. This is good, but it is not sufficient. There is still the need of the work of Nehemiah for the protection. There is the temple but not the city. The temple needs the protection of the city. The temple is the house, and the city is the kingdom. The house of God needs the kingdom of God as the protection. So after Ezra there is the need of Nehemiah. Nehemiah eventually became the governor of Judah. The kingship must be brought in for the kingdom.
We have seen these six persons: Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Zerubbabel represents the kingship, and Joshua the priesthood. Haggai and Zechariah represent the prophets—Haggai to stir up and Zechariah to reveal Christ. Ezra is the priestly scribe to strengthen, enrich, and purify. Nehemiah came in for the protection, which is the submission to divine authority. In the local churches we must have the house of God, and we must also have the city of God, which is the kingdom. The house of God depends mostly upon the priesthood—to contact the Lord, to be saturated with the Lord, and to be one with the Lord. This is the start of the recovery, but there is still the need of the headship, the kingdom, and the divine authority. The church is for the kingdom—that is, the house is for the city. Eventually, the house of God becomes the holy city, the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2-3). In the New Jerusalem there is no temple (v. 22), because the temple has been enlarged into the city. This means that the city and the temple are mingled as one. This is the eternal protection. Simply to have the house is not adequately safe. We need the protection of the kingdom. This is the ministry of Nehemiah, the last governor in the recovery. The first was Zerubbabel, and the last was Nehemiah.
In the Lord’s recovery there is the need of these six persons. One by one they all contributed something that was necessary and vital. I love these recovery books. They have exactly the things that we need today in the Lord’s recovery. We need Zerubbabel, we need Joshua, we need Haggai, we need Zechariah, we need Ezra, and we need Nehemiah. Nehemiah brings in the protection of the city. As long as we do not have the city, we are not safe. We need a certain kind of protection as the outskirts of the house of God. The city is just the outskirts of the temple. With this there is the protection to the Lord’s recovery. Eventually, the house, the temple, will be mingled with the city in the New Jerusalem, providing protection for eternity.
