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Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Have you ever heard someone say to you: ‘You sure remind me of _____’ and then they name your parent or grandparent. How does it make you feel if you remind people of your ancestors? Is that a compliment or a criticism?
Join me again in Jerusalem, about 2500 years ago, as the mono voice of Haggai the prophet became stereo as Zechariah the prophet joins Haggai in bringing God’s messages to the Jewish exiles working on the Temple mount, clearing away the rubble and rebuilding the Temple of God.
Zechariah 1:1 says: “In the 8th month of the second year of King Darius the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah…’The LORD was very angry with your ancestors. Therefore, tell the people: ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Return to Me and I will return to you’, says the LORD Almighty. Do not be like your ancestors...” (Zechariah 1:1-3) I wonder if you live in the dark shadow of some ancestors? Does it cause you shame? Or are you proud to carry your family name and walk in the shadow of your ancestors? (Ps. 61:5)
God has a long and accurate memory and the rubble on the Temple mount, that these workers were working to remove, was the tangible result of their ancestors’ refusal to hear God’s warnings through His prophets in generations past. Many of these workers had actually been born in exile in Babylon. Their parents had been captives of King Nebuchadnezzar. Thousands of them had been marched from Jerusalem to Babylon in three successive invasions by Nebuchadnezzar which finally ended in the destruction of both Jerusalem and the Temple. (2 Chronicles 36:15-21)
So, Zechariah’s message from God made sense to them and they didn’t want to make the same mistakes several generations of their ancestors had made! As they cleared rubble and began rebuilding the Temple, Zechariah’s message challenged them to look closely at their hearts, their attitudes, their relationships with each other and especially their relationship with God. If they wanted to be different from their ancestors, what needed to change? A time of soul-searching spread across the work site in Jerusalem, thanks to Zechariah!
Zechariah’s first brief message, this call from God to be different from their ancestors, to hear and honor God’s call to return to Him, fits chronologically in between Haggai 2:9 & 10. Less than 30 days after Zechariah’s message, Haggai received another message from God and again he gives us the date: December 18 of 520bc, the second year of King Darius.
Like his previous messages this one was both encouraging that because God cared so much God was speaking wisdom to His people; but also discouraging because God was calling His people to see the history of moral and spiritual failure which had led God to bring judgment on His people.
In the first verses of this message in Haggai 2:10-14 God describes how the moral and spiritual decay God saw taking root in His people, generation after generation, was like a terminal illness permeating every aspect of the culture His people were living in and around Jerusalem.
This one sentence summarizes God’s assessment: “So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the LORD, ‘Whatever they do and whatever they bring in sacrifices is defiled.” (Haggai 2:14)
And so, God explained what He had done: “I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to Me; declares the LORD.” (Haggai 2:17) Oh so sad that despite God’s persistent appeal through His prophets, His people turned further and further away from God. Thus, God removed them and this great city from His Presence, and they spent years in exile. But God’s mercy and grace had arisen once again in His heart and miraculously God enabled thousands of these exiles to return and begin rebuilding Jerusalem and this great place of worship. (Ezra 1)
All was not lost, God had not given up! As a means of encouraging these courageous workers, that God was willing to give this generation a fresh opportunity to live God honoring lives in this place, Haggai continued God’s message with this promise: “From this day on, from this 24th day of the 9th month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid…From this day on I will bless you!” (Haggai 2:18,19) Oh my how those words must have evoked a great celebration from the people! God was drawing a line in the sand of time! God was ready to turn the page with this generation and bless them in their rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem!
And then suddenly, Haggai received a second message from God, on the very same day! This message was much needed for the people wondered WHO would lead them in the massive dual project of clearing away the debris and rebuilding the temple of God? Haggai’s final message from God was clear: “I will take you Zerubbabel and I will make you like My signet ring for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty!” (Haggai 2:20-23)
Zerubbabel, the man God had used to lead this huge caravan of exiles back to Jerusalem was again validated as God’s chosen man to lead this reconstruction of God’s Temple and NOW was the time! Ezra 5:2 captures this moment with these words: “Then Zerubbabel and Joshua set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.”
With renewed vigor the people and their leaders went to work and the Temple mount in Jerusalem became a major construction site, making progress with newfound hope and momentum! This generation was creating a new legacy for their descendants!
Let’s pause and celebrate their newfound motivation and let’s consider our lives and the projects we are investing our lives in accomplishing. Are our descendants delighted with our priorities? Do they understand the WHY behind all you and I are doing with our time, our energies, our very lives? Let’s worship my friends and tomorrow we’ll return here to see what happened next!
Today’s Scripture: Zechariah 1:1-6 & Haggai 2:10-23.
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Zechariah 1:1-6
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Haggai 2:10-23
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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