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Good weekend to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
I wonder if you’ve had the experience of visiting a childhood special place, many years later as an adult? And while perhaps that place had not physically changed, did it seem so much smaller to you, as an adult, than what you remembered? Today let’s rejoin the Temple rebuilding story in Jerusalem 2500 years ago because… that is exactly what happened!
I left you yesterday in Jerusalem with Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest, and a large number of the Jewish exiles, whom God had miraculously brought back from their years of captivity in Babylon. (Ezra 1) They had received a ‘wake-up call’ from God through the prophet Haggai, remember? (Haggai 1) In response to that ‘wake-up call’, Haggai reports that the LORD had stirred their hearts to action: “They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, on the 24th day of the sixth month.” (Haggai 1:14,15)
Haggai makes special note of the date, which we would know as September 21, 520bc, because, as we saw yesterday, it had been only 23 days since Haggai had first brought to Zerubbabel and Joshua God’s powerful ‘wake-up call’ message! (Haggai 1:1)
I doubt we can fully imagine the excitement in Jerusalem as every able-bodied person, young and old, was putting their hands to the work! But wait, do you notice that from time to time the older ones, especially the elderly returned exiles, are not working as much as they are watching and talking and wiping tears from their eyes. What was happening here?
About three weeks later, on October 17th, 520bc, Haggai received another message from God, a peculiar message. Haggai records this moment in Haggai 2:1 “In the second year of King Darius, on the 21st day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, to Joshua the high priest and to the remnant of the people. 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?” (Haggai 2:1-3) Now that is very much what I have felt several times as an adult, when I had the opportunity to go back to places from my childhood several decades later!
God knew. God saw. And God wanted these exiles to know He understood what was happening deep in their souls. Why the tears? Why would the older Jews be feeling remorse and grief as they watched the second Temple being rebuilt? Wouldn’t you think they’d be excited? Was this rebuild smaller than the original Temple?
Oh No! The Temple itself was exactly the same size as the original because the Temple dimensions had been given by God to King David (1 Chronicles 28:11,12,19,20) and this second Temple was being built on the very same foundation as the first Temple. Well then, what caused the grief and tears among the elderly?
Perhaps you remember it had required 7 years (1 Kings 6:38) and more than 100,000 workers to accomplish the first Temple in the days of King Solomon according to 2 Chronicles 2:1,2. You might even remember there was SILENCE at the Temple work site with King Solomon, for it was accomplished with such masterful skill and deep reverence. (1 Kings 6:7) Perhaps you remember the amount of gold and silver used in King Solomon’s Temple was almost immeasurable. (1 Chronicles 29:1-9)
I believe the sadness experienced by the older Jews who had seen the previous Temple in all its splendor was due to several important reasons.
1. First was HOW the work was being done on the second Temple as compared to the first.
This work was being done as quickly as possible, by many fewer people, and without the same level of master craftsmanship as the first Temple. We can assume the work site was noisy! Also, this reconstruction included the clearing of the debris from the destruction of the first Temple.
Every piece of debris removed was a harsh reminder of the judgment of God which had caused the demolition of His Temple 66 years before. Oh, so very different from HOW the first Temple had been constructed.
2. Second was the materials being used.
While there was some timber from Lebanon as well as gold and silver and precious jewels from the people used in this reconstruction, it was very little compared to the vast amount used in the First Temple in Solomon’s day. Thus, the appearance of this second Temple was not nearly as impressive as Solomon’s magnificent Temple.
3. Third was the attitudes of the people in and around Jerusalem.
In Solomon’s day there was great enthusiasm and unity of spirit as everyone throughout ALL Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, was in full support of this great Temple project and willingly brought their contributions day after day. (1 Kings 6 & 1 Chronicles 29)
For this second Temple, however, there were only Jews from two tribes, Judah and Benjamin working, for the other 10 Jewish tribes had, nearly two centuries before, been conquered by the Assyrians. For nearly 20 years there had been great opposition to this Temple rebuild from Samaritan and Gentile peoples who had over the decades moved in and settled what had once been the land of Israel. (2 Kings 17:22-40)
Those opposed to worship of the God of Israel far outnumbered the returned Jewish exiles attempting this Temple rebuild. And thousands of Jews had chosen to remain in Babylon, and other places where they had been exiled, even though freed by King Cyrus to return. Oh, the land and people of Israel in 520bc were so very different from the United Kingdom of Israel in the days of King Solomon.
And so, Haggai’s message to the weary workers and the discouraged aged ones among them, continued with these powerful words of God’s RESPONSE: “Now be strong, Zerubbabel’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua, the high priest. Be strong all you people of the land, 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.” (Haggai 2:4,5)
Now you might be thinking but wait a minute. These Jews working on rebuilding this Temple were NOT the same Hebrew slaves God rescued out of Egyptian slavery with whom God then made a Covenant at Mount Sinai. Those miracles had happened almost 1000 years before!! Was God confused about who He was speaking to?
Oh no my friends, God was using a very important strategy that is vital for us today when we face discouragement. Do you see it?
1. God was declaring that HE is ageless, eternal, all powerful and always present.
Just as HE had done the miraculous work to rescue those Hebrew slaves from Pharaoh’s grasp, so HE was doing a similar miraculous work in bringing these Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem from Babylon, Just as God met with His rescued slaves at Mount Sinai in a covenant relationship, so God wanted to meet with this generation of Jews and reaffirm His covenant with them in a rebuilt Temple.
Now look at your life journey. Do you see how eternal, all powerful, always present God has been working in your life story?
2. God was also declaring that His people were all one long lineage, from the days of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob’s sons all the way through history to that day in 520bc and that generation of Jews, working on this Temple!
Through the generations, God was faithful to His people, and His Covenant promises! God’s love for these Jews, His people in 520bc, was the same love He had for those Hebrew slaves in 1500bc and those Jews in 1000bc with King David. And since the days of Jesus, as His people are now Jews and Gentiles from around the world, do you see it is right up to today, all one, long, continuous story of God with His people?
3. And did you see God declaring that His Spirit remains among His people and therefore they should not fear!?
Isn’t that what Jesus promised His disciples in the upper room (John 14:16,17,26) and again as they anticipated the Spirit’s arrival at Pentecost? (Acts 1:4-8) And isn’t that God’s promise to all of us who’ve trusted Jesus in our day? God’s Spirit is with us, and we should not fear!
So, let’s worship this weekend with this powerful song and let’s celebrate that the very same God who spoke through Haggai to these weary workers, is speaking to you and me today! And I’ll see you right back here on Monday…
Today’s Scripture: Haggai 2:1-5.
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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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