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
The account of the little Dutch boy who heroically stuck his finger in the hole in the dike comes to mind as we consider such a verse. He couldn’t leave the spot for fear of erosion, so he waited the long night through until someone came along in the morning to rescue him from his plight. Many men have performed astounding feats on impulse when the moment so required. Lives were rescued, towns were saved, and enemies defeated because someone filled a role that was needed. Books are written, and monuments erected in honor of those whose benefaction has touched us. These are considered the heroes of history and they are remembered for their staunch bravery and steadfast faithfulness.
But the gaps in life are not always so obvious and the results not always measurable. Solomon informs us of the account of…a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. –Ecc 9:14-15 Though we have many thorough descriptions in the Bible of pious men who stood in the gap for God, there are, no doubt, hordes of others who overcame tremendous odds on a spiritual level yet received no recognition in this life.
The problem lies not so much in that, standing in the gap is beyond our capabilities or finances, but in the reality that often the job bears no title, ordination, or recognition. It is to be filled by volunteers with enough vision and care to sacrifice their own agenda for the sole cause of filling the hole in the hedge. It often does not lie within the realm of the physical, but within the borders of the spiritual. While the poor we have with us always and spiritual nobility will stoop to help them, we must consider that God probably has more in mind here than needing someone to organize bread lines and soup kitchens. He is looking for a man clad in a robe of “purple principles” that won’t be shed when the temperatures get hot.
King Darius signed the fateful degree that was designed to escort Daniel to a luncheon with the lions. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. –Dan 6:10 What a slight thing it would have been for Daniel to close the shutters before he prayed. But Daniel was not filling the gap by his presence in the high governmental position that he held. The gap lay in the dearth of godly witnesses in Babylon. Thus, the hole between heaven and earth was to be fulfilled by prayer at the open window while sacrificing his “seat in the senate.”
The underlying reason that so many gaps exist and there are so few men to fill them is because we often get our personal, earthly vision of circumstances confused with the eternal purposes of God. We are busily occupied with good things and feeling quite useful. Martha was zealously active in filling what she perceived as the imminent gap in the household, while Mary was sitting in the eternal one. It is incredibly easy to get caught up in the activity trap of a busy life. We may give intensive care to efficiently climb to the top of the ladder, only to discover that it is leaning against the wrong wall. Many people are very busy, but not very effective. Many have labored industriously for years in the Lord’s work, only to arrive at the finish line and realize that the things, which mattered most, had eluded them. Some, while giving their lives to serve others, allowed their marriage to suffer, or their children to disrespect them. Others have given “Corban” to their church while neglecting their relationship with their own parents.
The man in the gap must be wise, and wisdom must understand wherein the true gap lies. In this we must be driven by a purposed, biblical vision. Life will afford many opportunities to abandon our course. If we actively seek to live the expectations handed to us by our family, friends, associates, church agendas, and life’s circumstances, we will be driven by people rather than biblical principles. While this may seem legitimate on the surface, we may reap the bitter disappointment of finding ourselves dangling at the end of the wrong rope.
So, what does the gap of God’s concern look like? Some would say that this gap consists where any need arises. The poor we have with us always and certainly herein is an opportunity to do good. But the better part chosen by Mary had nothing to do with helping the poor or feeding the hungry. Likewise, the woman with the precious alabaster box of ointment of spikenard could have sold it and supplied the poor for quite a while with the sum of its value. But the real gap could not be filled by caressing the cripple, but by crowning the Christ. In the Garden of Eden there was no gap, for man walked in perfect harmony with his Creator. It was sin that created the gap and rankled the relationship. Also, there will be no breach at the end of time when the Lamb receives His bride. Until then, we have a large gap that exists because this earth refuses to glorify its Creator. To stand in that gap must be the chief purpose of all who aspire to bear His name.
This calls for a complete transformation in relationship to our God. The atonement of Christ’s blood makes it judicially possible. The comfort of the Holy Spirit makes it emotionally satisfying, but it is in the realm of our surrender and glorification of God that animates the scene. The Prodigal Son is a prime example of a soul who had brought a world of trouble upon himself by forsaking the position that he held as a son of his father. At the bottom of his restoration was nothing more than a re-establishing of the father-son relationship which had existed from his birth.
It appears to me that God is not so much looking for souls with their hands waving in the air shouting, “Here am I send me!” Rather His eyes search for the humble souls who bow their wills before the Almighty and recognize Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. –Revelation 4:11 There is no lack for Sons of Sceva who imagine they are filling an important role in their willingness to broadcast the “Jesus” that they have heard of. In 1997, some 800,000 men arrived at a Promise Keepers rally in Washington D.C in response to the theme of “Standing in the Gap.” These men may have had good intentions of representing God to a nation in swift departure from spiritual underpinnings, but it takes more than just a willing heart. God doesn’t need of a large mass of bodies to stuff into a hole. He is looking for qualified men, and few have been promoted to such a position.
If all God wanted was men to show up at a rally or publicly proclaim their faith on the streets, He, no doubt, could have found many desiring such a good work. But to stand in the gap between God and the world will only be sanctioned by God for those who deserve to be there. It is the universal pride of man that drives man to believe that he must only desire to be useful and then he will be used. In God’s house there are some vessels to honor and some to dishonor, yet to deserve an honorable place is much more difficult than to desire one.
It is very common in our day to receive mail bearing the message, “Get the credit you deserve.” It is no secret that the credit that many deserve is zero credit. But we have all been impacted by the subliminal message that everybody deserves credit. Our society is promoting that all immoral, imprudent, and improvident people deserve the same care as the moral and industrious. If the slothful individual deserves a good wage and the spendthrift deserves financial security, then the Apostle Paul certainly has no right to lay any qualifications upon the widows who should receive support from the church. Neither has he any right to reject any sincere soul who desires the office of a Bishop, just because he does not meet the qualifications. But God noticed a few souls …in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. –Rev 3:4
These are men in the gap. Not because they had energy to burn, but because they had a vision for purity. This was no mere accident, for men who wish to attain to preeminence with God must do it by…
…Purpose
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. –Heb 11:24-27
A true vision for the work of God will come with a price tag. The rich young ruler would have loved to be a ruler in the kingdom of Christ as well as on his estate, but he couldn’t hold both. This principle provided the first hurdle for him and for everyone else who would desire such a noble work. As a young man, Moses made his decision and chose his loyalties. He was prepared to be rejected by Egypt, but he never dreamed he would also be so flippantly discarded by his own people.
It was forty years in the lonely furnace that purged his pride and pruned his prowess. There he graduated from the seminary of silence, equipped and prepared to stand in the gap as the meekest man on the face of the earth. He became an intercessor for men to God. As an advocate of men and of God, he preached and prayed, he walked and wept, he lived and loved his God and his brethren. All this while, he deemed himself inadequate for the position. While the children of Israel were at the very core of his heart, his fear and focus never left his God. When we seek to be respected by men, our purpose is clouded over and our position in the gap forfeited. Many good pastors, parents, and pilgrims have made this mistake and received their script from their wife, their children, their friends, or their church. Perhaps it seems like the loving, caring, and most respectful thing to do. But God requires absolute fidelity and there can be no compromise. What a man “wants to be” is driven by his visionary purpose, but what he “turns out to be” rests upon his…
…Priorities
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; –1Ti 3:1-4 Our purpose forms our destination, but our priorities pave the road to get us there.
Unfortunately, some men are promoted to the ministry by popular opinion, but God chooses his men based upon their priorities and eternal qualifications. Men who are governed by their possessions, passions, or position will be useless to serve for God’s purpose. They love to be called Pastor, Reverend, or Father. They love to be esteemed as zealous, knowledgeable, steadfast, or compassionate. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. –Gal 1:10 ASV
Fortunately, God is not a respecter of persons, and a stone fit for the wall will not be left in the way. The aged, the poor, the maimed, and the halt are all prime candidates for the position of filling the gap. Those with broken dreams, broken bodies, and broken hearts can stand unhindered in the hedge beside Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Daniel, Esther, Ruth and a countless battalion of others. These are all stellar representatives of God to this world. They all have turned their back on frivolity, fame, familiarity, and fortune and have become the heroes of heaven. They stand shoulder to shoulder in the hedge and form the “Embassy of the Eternal.” They loved, while others hated. They gave all, while others received. They were mocked and misunderstood, reviled and ridiculed, weary and weeping.
For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? –2Co 2:15-16 Those whose sole purpose and priorities are governed by God.
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