Is it yet time?
Haggai2: 1-7"On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people."
The people of Judah have just returned to their land after 70 years of exile in Bablyon. The Kingdom of Judah fell to King Nebudchadnezzer some 80 years after the Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian empire. Nebud. sacks Jerusalem and completely destroys the temple. While Judah is in exile the Persian kingdom takes over from the Babylonians, and Cyrus the Persian becomes King. God moves the heart of Cyrus to allow the people of Judah to return to Jerusalem and build the temple (2 Chron. 36:23) The people return and start rebuilding their own houses because they say, "The time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be rebuilt." But God speaks through Haggai to ask them why they are living in paneled houses while His house remains in ruins. And it says that the Lord "stirred" up the spirit of Zerubbabel and Joshua and the remnant who returned to start building the temple.
Does this apply to us? Are we so busy building our own houses that we keep telling ourselves, "The time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be rebuilt." For what does Paul say in Corinthians? "For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
The church has been in exile for a long time. At least, that's what it feels like to me. The Lord is bringing back his remnant. He is stirring the spirits of modern Zerubbabels and Joshuas. But if we believe we are the remnant, we cannot choose to first build our own houses before putting our strength into the task of ushering Gods Kingdom in.
Haggai continues,"Ask them,'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'"
The prophet Zechariah, who is a contemporary of Haggai, and whose prophecies start two months after Haggai's, says, "You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built." (Zech. 8:9)
Imagine the remnant of Judah looking at the ruins of the temple. The task ahead of them must have seemed insurmountable. Overwhelming. Look at the church. "Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?" Look at what the world thinks of us, what we sometimes think of ourselves. "How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?"
Yet we have heard the words spoken by "the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid..." We know the end of the story. God tells the remnant of Judah, "Be strong. Work. For I am with you." In the same way Messiah tells his disciples as he is leaving, 'Go. Disciple others. Teach.' "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Haggai continues: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty.
Zechariah lays out this prophecy in more detail, and through him God tells the people that another day will come when he will "gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it."
Zech 12:3 says, "On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations." In Chapter 14, Zechariah says "Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving north and half moving south."
After the shaking of that last battle, "The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name."
The Lord tells us to build the temple, and despite the fact that it now lies in ruins, to rebuild the temple. For one day, he will return to establish his Kingdom and wipe out every power that seeks to destroy the temple of the Living God.
Are we convinced? Are we still saying, "No. we will build our houses, our temples, first." Or are we rebuilding with a passionate longing, an intense desire, for the promises that we are given in God's word to those who hope in HaShem Adonai, the Name of the Lord.
As for the enemies of Jerusalem, Zechariah says, "Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tounges will rot in their mouths."
And when the wicked have been taken out of the way, "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighthy, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles."
And God will fill his house, his temple, his dwelling place, with his shekinah glory, that the world may know that the Lord Our God, the God of Israel, reigns. But it starts with our willingness, as the remnant, to put aside our quest for glory, and rebuild the temple where God lives.
"Shema Y'israel, Adonai Elohaynu, Adonai Echad. Baruch Shem k'vod malkhuto l'olam vaed."
Hear (Listen) O Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
Is it yet time for the Lord's house to be rebuilt?
posted by Handmaiden @ 1:14 pm
2 Comments:
putting aside our glory...dying to my desires... wow. yes. let me go build the lord's temple. that reminds me that we are one body with one spirit. so like as we function as one spirit, jesus' power is manifest.... all this is something that isn't quite clear in my head...i just thought i'd say it, maybe blog it later, maybe you'll have a response. (eph 2:22 and in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which god lives by his spirit. and eph 4:16 from him the whole body...grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does it's work. eph 4:7 but to each of us grace has been given as christ apportioned it... apportioned so that...eph 3:19 we can be filled to the measure of all the fullness of god and to grasp...and know his love that surpasses knowledge....) wow, did any of that make sense? :)
This is really good! When will we submit to God's work? Very powerful blog! Keep on encouraging us! ~Misty :)
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