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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak,
the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord
their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had
sent him. And the people feared the Lord.
Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of
the Lord to the people:
“I am with you,” declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred
up the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the
spirit of Joshua, son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole
remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord
Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.
Haggai 1:12-15
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
Let’s summarize the first two devotions from Haggai,
recalling what we know so far.
First, a remnant of Israelites from the Babylonian
captivity had returned from their seventy year exile, blessed by God with the
opportunity to rebuild their nation, their homes, and their relationship with
Him. The people of God were under the leadership of Zerubbabel who had been
appointed governor over Judah.
Well, we discovered the Israelites had invested a lot of
time in reconstructing their own homes but had procrastinated badly in
rebuilding God’s temple in Jerusalem, a deliberate inaction that drew the ire
of the Lord who was not going to tolerate the sin of complacency.
So how did God respond?
We saw in yesterday’s message that He sought to motivate
the Israelites by calling them to get busy while sending mild punishment in the
way of a drought to get their attention. In other words, if the people of God
were not going to produce His temple, then He wasn’t going to bless them with
the ability to produce a harvest.
Today, as we close our chapter one of this book, we see
how the Israelites responded to God’s motivation. Look again at these words
here:
Then Zerubbabel,
son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant
of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the
prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared
the Lord.
Then Haggai, the Lord’s
messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people:
“I am with you,”
declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of
Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, son of Jozadak, the
high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and
began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the
twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. Haggai
1:12-15
You have to love how the Israelites reacted collectively
to what God was calling them to do. From the governor to the high priest to the
“whole remnant”, obedience was the common thread as they all “obeyed the voice
of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai”. And they did so
out of reverence and respect.
So what prompted such a quick turnaround?
Was it the suffering yield of the drought stricken crops?
Was it the shaming of God?
No, it was none of these. Rather, it was God rallying His
people as their divine, holy cheerleader. He reminded them He was with them and
then stirred up all their spirits, an action which resulted in the Israelites
beginning “work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God”.
It was an amazing turnaround from the general lethargic
attitude the Israelites had about the temple before as it sat in ruins while
they lived comfortably in their nicely constructed homes. But this is what the
Lord has made a history of doing, reviving the fervor of His people when it
wanes by stirring up their spirits to carry out His will and achieve His
purposes.
Is there some area of your spiritual life that needs
rejuvenation?
Recommit yourself to being obedient to the Lord and then
watch Him stir up your spirit in amazing ways to achieve all He desires for you
to do. As He did for the Old Testament Israelites of Haggai’s day, He’ll always
deliver.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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