The Living Stones

Responsibility is quite lacking among believers today; we readily remember that God has a covenantal duty toward us, but we would often like to forget that we as believers also have responsibilities toward God. The duties that will be looked at in this little d'rash are those that we have toward God’s will for the body of Messiah and that of our obligation to other believers. Many of us are familiar with the concept of worshipping God, but it is equally important for us to be protectors of His will upon the earth, individually, and more importantly, corporately; resisting the enemy as one holy structure. The multiplied effectiveness of the corporate state is exhibited in Ecclesiastes 4:12 "...a threefold cord is not quickly broken." More specifically, we'll address the need for believers to serve God, and others, through their defense of that which is Holy, and for believers to be repairers of the breach; in order to strengthen, repair, and uphold the defenses of the promise. Isaiah 58:12 speaks of, "...The repairer of the breach...", but what does this term mean, and how can it be applied by believers today? I'm so glad you asked that question! First of all, a breach is a gap in a wall. In this particular verse the breach spoken of is in the encircling defensive walls of the cities of Israel, the stones in a section of the battered walls had either been knocked down or torn down and the most important defensive structure of the cities of God had huge holes in them. In some cases whole sections were missing; from these gaps the enemies of God could attack the cities (the honor) of the land including the city called by scripture the, "joy of the whole earth", Jerusalem. (Psalm 48:2, Lamentations 2:15) Now, in order to be a "repairer of the breach" one needs to find stones to place into the gap so that the wall can be repaired. There are both practical and sacrificial reasons for doing so. The practical reason is to make the city where one lives safer (thereby self-benefiting from the action), and the sacrificial reason is to honor the will of God by protecting the cities of His love in the most evident way possible, by repairing it's unsightly and vulnerable features (thereby bringing benefit to all of it's occupants). Where can the repairer find the necessary stones needed to repair the breach? "Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD." Ezekiel 13:5 The repairer is the stone! The prophet cries: "Ye have not gone up into the gaps..." The LORD expects the individual believers, those who are His servants, to be the stones once missing; by placing oneself into the gap, the breach, (it's the same Hebrew word, 'perets', that is used in both of these previous verses; in Isaiah as 'breach', and in Ezekiel as 'gap'). He wants those who love Him to equally love and protect that which He loves, that which He has willingly shared with us. Bear with me here... "you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." NIV 1 Peter 2:5 Peter equates the believers to "living stones" being built into a spiritual house...... As living stones we are to place ourselves into the breaches of the walls of our God and our people. The children of God, if we wish to be called that, must take upon themselves the nature of their Father in order to be His children; one way this is done is by standing in the gap for others of God, through prayers, in intercessions, seeking His mercies and grace to be upon them; in actions of help, by teaching, learning, strengthening and encouraging; by standing as one with others, protecting the cities (the honor) of our God. Yes, the metaphorical "house" spoken of by the very Jewish apostle, Peter, in the preceding verse was none other than the spiritual version of "Habeit" the House of God, the Holy Temple itself, as he was making the same analogy which was also used by the most Jewish in thought writer, Paul, who wrote to the believers in 1 Corinthians, "your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost". It is the believers who are the living stones, they are the body of Messiah, the (house) Temple of the Holy Ghost, and they are called to repair the breaches in His promises by standing in the gaps of the broken walls found in the lives of the children of God to strengthen righteousness and to enact mercy. Yes, the Holy Temple and the walls of the city are two distinctly different things with different functions, but the living stones are to put in the double duties of worship (in the Temple) and defense (in the wall). Remember, the stones used in the house (the Temple) and the stones used in the walls of the city were the same golden hued Jerusalem stones... Just as we are to be both depositories and habitations of His Spirit for His worship; and equally also the protectors of His Holiness and will, by standing in the gap and repairing the breach of the walls. It's a twofold duty of the living stones; worship AND defense. But there is also another way to repair the breach, one that carries a multiplied effectiveness..... That way is for us to also become wall builders. By our bringing and placing other living stones into the gap. By our encouraging and strengthening other believers to stand for God and His Word in their lives, so that they may be able to sanctify God's name and protect His honor and will themselves; so that they in turn could strengthen others and bring glory to the LORD. That is the way the breaches can become repaired. Have you thought about how a stone wall works, structurally speaking? Each stone carries a certain load and stress in the wall. It strengthens and braces the other stones that are above, below, and next to it by adding it's own strength to theirs, and also by taking some of the load and stress of the other stones unto itself, eventually passing them on down to the foundation. Together these stones can bear great burdens and weights successfully. The neighboring stones rely upon the strength of each other to bear the stresses and burdens that are placed upon them. The load is transferred among the stones, top to bottom, side to side. The possibly fracture producing stresses are past throughout the wall, borne by the many individual stones acting in unison, and in that way each stone, though under pressure, can withstand the weight (sometimes great) placed upon it. These who are living stones, in a similar way, pass the weight, pressures, and burdens down to the bottom of the wall where we find our "foundation in the faith", Messiah Jesus, bearing the full load of all the stones! "for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner [stone], a sure foundation: resting upon a firm foundation". Isaiah 28:16 The foundation may not be visible, but it carries the entire load of each stone in the wall. That was the good news, now for a somber thought from the heart of our God: "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none." Ezekiel 22:30 We seem to be more willing as believers to be living stones in the house of God than we are to stand in the breaches of the walls of His cities. The service of worship seems more comfortable to us. However, God also expects His children to serve as the protectors of His gifts, His family, and His land. The believer is expected to be a living stone in the walls of the cities of our God as well, protecting the holiness of His scriptural promises. When He seeks, may He find us ready, able, willing, and DOING that which He finds acceptable and worthy, standing as living stones in the breaches of the walls so that He wouldn't need to say, "I found none." We must be as living stones of worship, AND as living stones of defense, in both ways serving the LORD. If we just stand where He asks us to be, He will be the one to carry us all.