“Thou shalt worship the Lord Thy God…” Matthew 4:10; ” “…Send me unto Judah, that I may build it (the wall).” Nehemiah 2:5
Dear Ones:
There was no altar in the Garden of Eden, for there was no need for a reminder of Who God was, and the work of Christ on the cross to redeem us. But when Adam and Eve sinned, there immediately arose the need to establish two beachheads. By definition, a beachhead is a military term which describes a certain position that must be taken, and kept. The context is that of conflict, and these positions are critical if there is to be victory. What are the two positions that we, descendants from Adam, but believers in Christ, must establish and maintain? They are true worship, and the maintaining of the knowledge of the truth. They are symbolized by two structures, the temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.
In the struggle between good and evil, the killing of Able seemed for a time to be a blow to the knowledge of God’s ways, with regard to how sinful man can approach and be accepted by God. Cain’s descendants were godless, continuing their “own” way of seeking God. Through Seth, the brother of Able, the lineage of those who would live by faith, walk with God, and eventually, erect an altar, would declare again the way to God. The concept of the altar would carry on until the time of the building of the temple. From the building of the Tent of Meeting, or Tabernacle, in the desert when Israel fled Egypt, to the building of Solomon’s temple, then to the second temple, the concept of the true worship of God based on the sacrifice of Christ, was central to all else in man’s relationship with God. Why? It provided for man the knowledge of the truth as to the way to know and walk with God. Jesus, during His temptation, would tell Satan, “…You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” He would also tell the Samaritan woman, “…the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth.” Why does He speak of this matter of worship? Because it is paramount in maintaining a true knowledge of God, essential to a right relationship with Him.
Nehemiah was called of God to rebuild the wall about Jerusalem, after the temple had been built. Why? On the one hand the wall was a protective mechanism against the enemies of Israel and God. Those enemies would have destroyed the temple again. But there was a more insidious danger, for which the wall was a protection. The wall would be a mechanism to determine who would enter the city of Jerusalem. Not only were there unbelievers, but those who had no care for the ways and truths of God, hence, they would buy and sell on the Sabbath. Just this act affected the general populace, and abridged the directive of God concerning Israel and the Sabbath day. It must be noted that the length of the exile was in part determined by the sabbaths that the people of Israel did not honor or respect.
The two beach heads are those true worship in Spirit and truth, and also, the position of faith on the basis of the knowledge of the revealed TRUTH of God. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” If we will be able to serve God, then we must be true worshippers of God in Christ, having taken our stand on the bedrock of His truth, refusing and resisting all that is not true of Christ.
Father, grant us to be effective servants of Thine. Teach us, not only the imperative of worship, but how to worship. Give us to be those who, in essence, take our stand upon the wall of Thy Truth, refusing and resisting all that is not of Thee. Then, we shall be the witnesses that You have called us to be “…for such a time as this.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad