“On the twenty-first 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?
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.’
(Haggai 2:1-5)
A month and a half after the first, a second word came through Haggai. Remember the people had obeyed God’s first word and “came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God…” (Hag 1:14b)
The fact that they had to “come and begin” points out something good for us to remember: Not all of the returning exiles made their homes in Jerusalem. Many were from other cities, and settled in their respective towns.
They had gathered as one man in Jerusalem the second year back to rebuild the altar and reestablish the celebration of their feasts. But after the discouragement and frustration from the peoples around, they settled back in their cities to work on their own homes.
I like this little piece of information. Mostly because often the internal growth and external service God calls us to is just plain inconvenient.
It is hard to change. It stings to confess sin. It takes real effort to forge new patterns and break old cycles.
It takes energy to invest in others. It requires refocusing vision to fix our eyes on what is Unseen. It takes courage to be humble and refuse the shame and blame cycle and to pray and give and forgive and serve and love from the heart.
He may not be asking us to pack our extra tunic and some food for the road, to kiss our families goodbye and head back to Jerusalem to build indefinitely.
But He is asking us something. Otherwise we wouldn’t still be here.
So what is it for you? I don’t know yours. But I know mine. Often we know our own so well that when someone else barely nudges it, it pierces us.
Let’s have courage and obey. He is worth any inconvenience and will take care of our reputation if we simply let go and let Him.
“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?”
Don’t you love Him? He knows us so well. Anyone over the age of 70, maybe even our prophet Haggai himself, had seen the glory of Solomon’s previous temple and knew this one paled in comparison.
Yes, He knows when it’s hard to obey. When it seems as though nothing about your baby steps will ever amount to something glorious. In the next section, God has Haggai give our exiles wonderful new reasons to continue.
But today is all about His Presence.
Obviously a month and a half into their obedience they needed a fresh reminder. And probably another kick-start. After all, we are talking about the Seventh Month again, Tishri. They all “came and began” in the sixth month and then headed right into the most holy month with the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
And we know their celebration of the harvest was meager that year.
So one more reminder. To do the next right thing and leave any glory up to Him. One more courageous call to “Be strong…and work.”
Why?
“For I am with you.
My Spirit remains among you.
Do not fear.”