In the Bible, there\u2019s a whole lot of building going on.<\/p>\n
Noah built an ark for animals and humans to escape the Flood. People in Babylon built a tower toward heaven. Well, they tried. Moses supervised construction of a portable tabernacle in the desert, using skilled, Spirit-filled craftsmen named Bezalel and Aholiab. Some of you may never give a speech or write a book for Jesus, but you are gifted for other kingdom work with your hands \u2014 like those two builders.<\/p>\n
King David dreamed of building a house for God on Mount Zion. The Lord said, \u201cNo, David. I\u2019ll build you a house instead, a spiritual house for the Messiah to inhabit forever.\u201d Then Solomon built the temple of his dad\u2019s dreams in Jerusalem, a wonder of the ancient world until King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it in 586 bc.<\/p>\n
Seventy years later, Nehemiah and the Jews returning from captivity in Babylon set to work rebuilding the fallen walls of Jerusalem, just as they had the ruined temple earlier. The words \u201cJerusalem lies waste . . . Let us rise up and build\u201d sets the stage for Nehemiah\u2019s book (2:17, 18). His determined leadership was vital in restoring a waste place to a livable city. Because \u201cthe people had a mind to work\u201d (4:6), its walls were finished in record time, under hostile circumstances.<\/p>\n
The word waste<\/em> (i.e., desolate<\/em>, defiled<\/em>) that described old Jerusalem in Nehemiah\u2019s time also appears in other Hebrew texts. Isaiah 24 says, \u201cBehold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste . . . The world languishes and fades away . . . The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws . . . Broken the everlasting covenant\u201d (vv. 1, 4, 5).<\/p>\n Isaiah 58:12 is more optimistic: \u201cThose from among you shall build the old waste places . . . And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell in.\u201d In Ezekiel 36:33, 35, 36, the Lord God says, \u201cOn the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. So they will say, \u2018This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden\u2019 .\u00a0.\u00a0. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.\u201d<\/p>\n These latter verses can be linked to the return of the Jews and rebirth of national Israel in the twentieth century. Let\u2019s expand this prophetic application to include God\u2019s people of all nations working to rebuild \u2014 not just Jerusalem and the Holy Land, but all the waste places of our planet. God\u2019s new covenant people \u2014 the meek \u2014 will inherit the earth, according to Christ (Matthew 5:5), but hopefully not in its current semi-wasted condition. In Acts 3:21, Apostle Peter speaks of the \u201ctimes of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.\u201d Compare this with the Isaiah 58 and Ezekiel 36 verses mentioned earlier.<\/p>\n Restoring the earth is not just the job to be done when Christ comes to lead in this millennial work and assure its success. It\u2019s also work for this present age. There\u2019s a lot of earthly restoration to be done here and now. Here are a few of 2020\u2019s waste places where, as Paul says in Romans 8:19-23, the whole creation groans together until now, awaiting redemption of all things \u2014 like our earth and our COVID-threatened bodies:<\/p>\n Hear the word of the Lord through His prophet: \u201cExecute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien [i.e., stranger, refugee] or the poor\u201d (Zechariah 7:9, 10).<\/p>\n Let us labor and pray that the blessings of Abraham may come to all peoples, tribes, tongues, races, and nations \u2014 that the glory of the Lord will be seen in all the earth. This is the full-time business of all God\u2019s people.<\/p>\n It is 100 percent correct and right to affirm that our best efforts now can never fully rebuild waste places and restore the earth \u2014 until Christ returns. On the other hand, to speak and live as if we need not support and join the work of earthly rebuilding until Jesus comes is 100 percent wrong. This earth is our present Jerusalem, the only home for us and our grandchildren for the time being. Too much of it lies in waste: Let us rise up and rebuild! Not because we worship nature or the environment, but because we worship the Creator and want His glory to be seen in all the earth.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve saved the best building for last \u2014 the house that Jesus built: \u201cOn this rock I will build My church\u201d (Matthew 16:18). Paul explained that this holy temple is built upon the apostles and prophets, that Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19, 20), and that we are all co-laborers with God in this work. So let each one take heed how they build: on the rock (1 Corinthians 3:9-11). Only the best materials \u2014 like the precious gold of God\u2019s grace, the precious silver of His truth \u2014 will stand the tests of time and fire as we build the church of God (vv. 9-15).<\/p>\n On one hand, we should prepare ourselves to build. We do this by adding knowledge and by stirring up our spiritual gifts through formal training, such as that available through Artios Christian College. The Greek root word artios<\/em> (i.e., \u201cequipping\u201d or \u201cprepared\u201d) occurs in 2 Timothy 3:17 and Ephesians 4:12, which ends by summarizing the goal of artios<\/em>: \u201cfor the building up of the body of Christ\u201d (NASB).<\/p>\n On the other hand, don\u2019t wait until you are fully equipped and prepared to start building. Ask God to give you a mind to work now, then set your hands to it. Find out what needs to be done for the church and Christ\u2019s kingdom. Rise up and rebuild! Your skills will improve as you labor.<\/p>\n If your local church suffers loss or lies near waste, rise up in harmony and rebuild! Join hands with others in your congregation or community to address common concerns: clean air, pure water, hunger, homelessness, racial and economic justice, right-to-life issues, and more. If those you work with don\u2019t look like you, talk like you, vote like you, or worship like you, that means more opportunity for growth \u2014 including yours!<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of building and rebuilding to do in God\u2019s church and in His world. None of us can do everything, but each of us can do something. What we can do, we ought to do. And what we ought to do, I believe we will do \u2014 if the Spirit of Christ is in us all.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not building for salvation; our Savior has done the saving work at the cross. He did the heavy lifting for us, and it is finished!<\/p>\n So what shall we do while we wait for Christ\u2019s return?<\/p>\n Ask God to give us a mind to work in salvation, like the Jews who were saved from their captivity and rebuilt Jerusalem in record time. Let the redeemed of the Lord rise up and rebuild! Let\u2019s work together till Jesus comes. Then we\u2019ll be gathered home to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the Bible, there\u2019s a whole lot of building going on. Noah built an ark for animals and humans to escape the Flood. People in Babylon built a tower toward heaven. Well, they tried. Moses supervised construction of a portable tabernacle in the desert, using skilled, Spirit-filled craftsmen named Bezalel and Aholiab. Some of you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":287,"featured_media":26846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,1666],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWaste places<\/h2>\n
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Labor and prayer<\/h2>\n
Present preparation<\/h2>\n
Savior and the saved<\/h2>\n