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Jehovah said that He would bring recovery to the children of Israel—Jer. 30:17; 33:6:
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Jehovah promised to bring the city of Jerusalem recovery and healing—v. 6.
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He said that He would reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth and that He would cleanse them from all their iniquity and forgive all their iniquities, by which they had sinned against Him and transgressed against Him—vv. 6-8.
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Jehovah made the further promise that Jerusalem would be a name of gladness and a praise and a glory to Him before all the nations—v. 9.
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The return of the children of Israel from their captivity typifies the recovery of the church—Ezra 1:3-11; Neh. 2:11, 17:
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When we speak of the recovery of the church, we mean that something was there originally, that it became lost or damaged, and that now there is the need to bring that thing back to its original state—Matt. 16:18; 18:17.
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Because the church has become degraded through the many centuries of its history, it needs to be restored according to God’s original intention—1 Cor. 1:2; 12:27; Rom. 12:4-5; 16:1,4-5; Rev. 1:11; 22:16.
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For the children of Israel to be recovered meant for them to be brought back to Jerusalem from Babylon; the recovery of the church involves a return from the capturing and divisive ground signified by Babylon—Psa. 126:1-4; 133:1.
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The children of Israel went back to Jerusalem, the God-ordained unique ground, with all the vessels of the temple of God, which had been brought to Babylon—2 Chron. 36:18; Ezra 5:14; 6:5:
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Jerusalem was the center for God’s people to worship Him, and this unique center preserved the oneness of the people of God; for this reason it was necessary for God’s people in the Old Testament to be brought back to Jerusalem, the unique ground ordained by God—Deut. 12:11; 16:2; 26:2.
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These vessels, which were of silver and gold, signify the riches of Christ and the various aspects of the experience of Christ—Eph. 3:8.
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Today’s Babylon has not only captured God’s people but also robbed all the riches from God’s temple; now the Lord wants not only to call His faithful people out of Babylon and bring them back to the proper church life but also to recover all the different aspects of Christ, which have been lost—vv. 17-19; Col. 1:15-20; 2:16-17; 3:4.
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The recovery of the church is also typified by the rebuilding of the temple of God, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem—Ezra 1:3; Neh. 2:11, 17; Psa. 26:8; 36:8-9; 46:1, 5; 47:2, 6-8:
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The temple, the place of God’s presence, needed protection; the wall of the city was the defense of the temple.
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In order to understand the relationship between the house and the city in the New Testament, we need to realize that the church is the enlargement of Christ and the increase of Christ—John 3:29-30; Eph. 4:13; Col. 2:19:
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The first step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the house, composed of all the believers put together to be the increase of Christ—Eph. 2:21-22.
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The second step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the city; the church as the house must be enlarged to be the church as the city—Matt. 5:14; Rev. 3:7, 12; 21:9-10.
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The building of the church as the house and the city is the center of God’s eternal purpose—Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:2-3.
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If there is no recovery of God’s people from Babylon the Great to the church life, there will be no way for Christ to carry out His second coming—1:7:
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This is the reason that the Lord, at the end time, is working to have a recovery of the church—v. 11; 3:7-10; 22:16; 1 Cor. 12:27; 1:2.
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This recovery will be a preparation and a base for Christ’s coming again—Rev. 1:7; 3:11; 19:7-9; 22:7, 12, 20.
Morning Nourishment
Jer. 30:17 For I will bring you recovery and will heal you of your wounds, declares Jehovah; because they have called you an outcast, saying, She is Zion, whom no one searches after.33:16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely; and this is the name by which she will be called: Jehovah our righteousness.
The word recover means to obtain again something that has been lost, or to return something to a normal condition. Recovery means the restoration or return to a normal condition after a damage or a loss has been incurred. When we speak of the recovery of the church, we mean that something was there originally, that it became lost or damaged, and that now there is the need to bring that thing back to its original state. Because the church has become degraded through the many centuries of its history, it needs to be restored according to God’s original intention. Concerning the church, our vision should be governed not by the present situation nor by traditional practice but by God’s original intention and standard as revealed in the Scriptures.
The recovery of the church is typified by the return of the children of Israel from their captivity (Ezra 1:3-11)….The entire history of the nation of Israel is a full type, an all-inclusive type, of the church. The nation of Israel began with the exodus….Eventually, the people of Israel crossed the Jordan and entered into Canaan, the good land. After conquering the people and gaining the land, they built the temple….However,…mainly due to the failure of Solomon, the temple was destroyed, and the children of Israel were taken to Babylon as captives. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2447-2449)
Today’s Reading
Spiritually speaking, the church, due to its degradation, has been in captivity. God’s people have been divided, scattered, and carried away from the proper ground of unity to a wrong ground….In a very real sense, the believers today are more scattered than the children of Israel were. Therefore, we need to be recovered. We need not only revival but also recovery.The recovery of the children of Israel was not only from Babylon but back to Jerusalem, the God-ordained unique ground. Jerusalem was the place the Lord had chosen (Deut. 12:5). Jerusalem, therefore, was the center for God’s people to worship Him, and this unique center preserved the unity of the people of God. Without such a center, after the children of Israel had entered the good land, they would have been divided. Foreseeing this problem, God repeated the commandment again and again concerning the place of His choosing (Deut. 12:5, 11, 13-14)….God’s choice became the center of the gathering of His people, and this is the unique ground of unity. For this reason, it was necessary for God’s people in the Old Testament to be brought back to Jerusalem, the unique ground ordained by God.
Today’s Babylon has not only captured God’s people but also robbed all the riches from God’s temple. The vessels, signifying the riches of Christ, have been carried away. This is the reason that in Roman Catholicism and in the Protestant denominations very little is said, if anything, concerning the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8). The believers are not encouraged to eat Christ, to drink Christ, to feast with Christ, to enjoy Christ in full. The reason there is little or no enjoyment of the riches of Christ is that all the vessels in the temple have been carried away by Babylon the Great. Now the Lord wants to recover the experience of the riches of Christ. He wants not only to call His faithful people out of Babylon and back to the proper church life, but also to recover and bring back all the different aspects of Christ which have been lost. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2449, 2451-2453)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 230; Life-study of Ezra, msgs. 2-3; CWWL, 1969, vol. 2, “The Recovery of God’s House and God’s City,” chs. 1-2