Following 1 and 2 Chronicles, we have the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. The book of Ezra is concerned with the return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and the book of Nehemiah is concerned with the repair, the rebuilding, of the city. The book of Esther shows us how the omnipresent and omnipotent God became the hiding God in protecting His captured elect, who were scattered in their captivity.
Apparently God would not do anything for His people, for He is a God who hides Himself (Isa. 45:15). This is why in the book of Esther God is not referred to by any of His divine titles. In this book there is no explicit mention of God; the word God is not even used. Yet this book shows us that God is present in a hidden way, exercising His sovereignty in the wisest manner to preserve His elect. Because of this, His elect under the persecution in their captivity could survive and multiply, in order that one day they might be brought by God to their fathers’ land.
The first group returned under Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, of the royal family. He was appointed the governor of Judah by Cyrus the king. The second group returned under Ezra, a priest and a scribe. As we have pointed out, this return was made possible through the secret preserving care of the hiding God in their captivity.
God let His people be captured and then scattered in their captivity. He also let the holy land be usurped and occupied, and He left the city of Jerusalem to lie waste. Seemingly the omnipotent and omnipresent God was not doing anything for the people of Israel. Actually He was protecting and preserving them in a hidden way.
The situation is the same today regarding the Middle East. The decision concerning Israel does not rest with the politicians and statesmen but with the hidden God. One day the omnipresent and omnipotent God will appear as the Son of Man, who will come back to take possession of the earth. He will place His right foot on the sea and His left on the land (Rev. 10:1-2), indicating that He has come to take possession of the earth and the sea. This One who is coming back to the earth is Jesus Christ, the God-man. When He comes, other God-men—the overcomers—will be with Him.
We need to remember that all the history of the people of Israel is a type, typifying the New Testament believers as God’s elect. Israel, therefore, is a type of the church. The church was established by the Lord as the Head through His apostles in the first century. Yet by the end of the first century the church became degraded. This means that the church was captured.
Even among us, individually, whoever is defeated in the spiritual life has been captured. He will remain in captivity until he repents. Through his repentance he will be brought back. If we are captured, we are captured away from the enjoyment of Christ. But our repentance brings us back to Him, back to the enjoyment of Christ.
Today we are in a situation that is typified by the situation at Ezra’s time. Some of us have come back already, and others are still on the way.
We all need to be clear concerning three situations: the world situation, the situation of Christianity, and our situation in the Lord’s recovery. The worldly empires are the usurpers, and Christianity is our opposer. We in the Lord’s recovery should not consider ourselves as nothing. We know the world situation, we know the situation of Christianity, and we know the hidden God.
I have the full peace that we are in the hand of the omnipresent and omnipotent yet hiding God, who is exercising His wise sovereignty to protect us, keep us, and save us. We do not need to worry about who will oppose us or who will persecute us. We have to believe in this hiding God. He is wise and He is sovereign. He can do everything under His wise sovereignty.