Ezra 5:2
“So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.”
Not long after returning to Jerusalem, the people became greatly discouraged in the work of the Lord. Things were moving slowly, and they were facing a great deal of opposition from those around them. Soon, the work of the Lord ceased all together. It is worth noting what encouraged the people to resume the work, and finish the task to which God called them. We read simply, “the prophets of God were with them, helping them.” The help was provided in the form of exhortations to the people to continue in the work of God.
From the book of Haggai, we learn these discouraged people neglected the work of the house of God, and their efforts were spent building and remodeling their own homes. It seems they were experiencing the effects of having a divided heart. They had expressed a desire to help further the kingdom of God, only to be sidelined with pursuits of their own. Haggai’s message was simple,
Haggai 1:4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?”
I wonder how often we have found ourselves in the same situation. The difficulty of serving the Lord has caused us to neglect ministry. Perhaps all we need is a solid nudge to get back to work. Whatever we are facing, it is time to get involved in the work of the Lord.
Once the people determined to get back to work, they faced the same struggles which caused them to quit in the first place. The work was still difficult and the opposition great. It was at this point that Zechariah added to Haggai’s message. He declared,
Zechariah 4:6 “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
For years our yard was a mess. A hurricane had leveled trees, and a broken irrigation system caused nothing but the weeds to grow. My approach was to ignore it; I felt the job was just too big. After an extended period of time and gentle nudges from my wife, I finally decided to tackle the project; only to find I lacked the strength to accomplish it on my own. I quickly found I was not really on my own. Upon making a couple phone calls, others came to my aid. They helped remove tree stumps, weeds and unwanted thorn bushes. Too often, we neglect the work of God because it is too much for us to handle; not realizing we are not, in fact, on our own. The Spirit of God will always provide whatever we need, to do whatever He has called us to.
Pastor Jim
Ezra tells the story of the children of Israel returning to Jerusalem, at the end of seventy years of captivity in Babylon. We find that while hundreds of thousands were taken captive, less than fifty thousand returned. I am relatively certain that many should have returned that didn’t, but we are also given insight into the ones that were willing to leave all and take up the challenge of engaging in the work of God.
When Hezekiah assumed the throne, the nation of Judah was experiencing difficult times. The Assyrian forces had defeated most of the nations surrounding them, and the threat of Judah being overthrown was a daily reality. All eyes were fixed upon the king. What would he do to protect his people? Hezekiah realized the natural problems needed a spiritual solution. He knew the best defense for the nation would be found in turning back to the Lord, so he called the people to “sanctify themselves.” Sanctify means to set apart. The cure to what ailed the nation was to set themselves apart to the Lord.
Once the Temple was erected and the altar and priesthood put in place, Solomon explained the purpose of the Temple. It was designed as a means for sinful men to have relationship with a holy God. As Solomon prayed, he revealed the great benefits of the Temple. We might say, 2Chronicles 6 gives us the doctrine of the Temple. It became clear, no matter what the cause, turning to the Lord was the cure. If the people were suffering loss, pain, sorrow, sickness, or defeat, they could turn toward the Temple, pray, and find restoration with the Lord. Since the Temple provided access to God, it was the means to receiving mercy from the Lord.
Life is filled with trying experiences. We are often faced with difficulties we would not wish on our enemies, or with circumstances we would love to change. These experiences can shake us at the core of who we are and cause us to look outside of ourselves for assistance. We can learn a vital lesson from the Psalmist, who, in the midst of his difficulty, chose not to look out to his friends, or back to his old ways, or around at what others might be doing, but instead, he chose to look up to the only One who could truly assist him in his time of need.
1Chronicles 9 is a record of those who lived and served in the city of Jerusalem. Because the Temple resided in this city, it became the religious capital of the nation, and the place where much of the service of God took place. Here, we read about a vast array of people with diverse gifts and callings coming together to accomplish the work of God. Among those listed are leaders, priests, Levites, gatekeepers and singers. Each person had a different calling which required unique skills and gifts. It was when each one served faithfully within his own calling, that the ministry was accomplished in a way that glorified God.
It seems to me, if one thing is certain in life, it is that things are constantly moving. We live on a moving planet. At the equator, the Earth is spinning at 1000 miles per hour, moving at 67,000 miles per hour around the Sun, and our entire Galaxy is moving at about 185 miles per second. Since this motion is constant, we cannot feel its effects. However, there is other movement that we do notice. The United States Geological Survey website lists dozens of earthquakes that have happened around the world in the past seven days. Earthquakes happen because the earth’s surface is like a thin crust. This crust is made up of many pieces, like a puzzle, and the pieces keep moving around and bumping into each other. This causes the surface of the earth to move like waves rippling in a pond. Also, about 70% of the earth’s surface is water. That means almost three-quarters of the earth is too unstable to stand upon. As far as I know, Jesus and Peter are the only two people to successfully stand on the surface of the water, and that did not last too long for Pete.
Jehoshaphat made the same mistake we all make, he made a decision without first consulting the will of God. His decision seemed, on the surface, to be a wise one. The king of Moab was threatening Israel, and if not stopped, it would not be long before he was a threat to Judah. It seemed, joining forces with Israel to attack Moab was the right thing to do. Soon it became apparent, the Lord was not behind their endeavor. After seven days of travel through the desert, the armies arrived, only to find the waters had dried up. In the heat of the desert, they found themselves seven days away from water. Without a miracle, the armies would perish before ever stepping onto the battlefield.
Jeroboam had been called and anointed as king of Israel. He was given the same opportunities and promises that David was given. His problem was, instead of drawing near to the Lord, he followed the gods of the surrounding nations, and turned Israel away from the Lord. God, in His unparalleled mercy, sent an unnamed prophet to win Jeroboam back to the ways of the Lord. The man of God declared a powerful message of rebuke to the king; and with a stunning show of the power of God, the altar split in two. Jeroboam’s heart had become so hardened, his response was to demand this young man be imprisoned. As the king’s hand stretched forth condemning the prophet, his hand suddenly withered. With a withered hand, and a broken altar, the king pleaded with the prophet to pray for him. Sadly, his prayer was not one of repentance, he simply wanted things restored to the way they were.
A number of years ago, I came home from a long day of work, at the end of an even longer week. I was worn out and hungry. Since I was the only one home at the time, I was facing a battle within. My stomach insisted on being fed, but the rest of me demanded rest. Too broke to order out, and too tired to fix a meal, I laid down on the couch and began flipping the channels. I stopped on a show called, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” This a series that displayed the possessions of extremely wealthy individuals. If memory serves me, this was the only time I had ever seen the show. The episode followed the life of a the king of a small Middle Eastern country, whose name I have forgotten. While his subjects lived in poverty, he was one of the wealthiest men alive. They showed his palace, which was the size of a small college campus. What really got my attention, however, was when he traveled to the U.S. He wanted to stay in a particular room in a hotel in Beverly Hills, but the room was booked. Instead of finding another room, or another hotel, he bought the hotel, remodeled it to his liking, and stayed in the room of his choice. Lying there on the couch, I was struck by two contrary things. The first was this man’s great wealth, the second was how it had no effect on me whatsoever. I was still too broke to go out and too tired to cook.
Jim Gallagher 