Let’s Start Rebuilding Faithful in Sorrow or Joy

Let’s Start Rebuilding

Faithful in Sorrow or Joy

 

As you start a new year you may be entering it with joy or sorrow

God spoke to both the younger who rejoiced and the older who wept

In Ezra’s day when the temple was rebuilt

He reminded both to move on for the best is yet to come

Faithful in Sorrow or Joy

As you start a new year you may

be entering it with joy or sorrow.

Ezra writes about the return

of God’s people to Jerusalem.

The Babylonians had

destroyed the city and Temple.

The Persians conquered the Babylonians

and supported the return of the

people of God who were in exile.

The people were under the leadership

of Joshua the Priest and Zerubbabel.

There are two prophets who God uses to

motivate the people, Haggai and Zechariah.

The people who returned began to build their

own houses but found they were not prospering.

Haggai said is it a time to rebuild your houses

while the house to the Lord remain in ruin?

The people were motivated to rebuild the

Temple and when it was completed, we

see the older generation who remembered

the former glory of the temple, weeping

and the younger generation rejoicing.

 Ezra 3:11-14

The former temple was built by Solomon.

King Solomon spent the modern equivalent of five

to eight billion dollars on building the first temple.

The new temple could not compare.

The first temple had the ark of the covenant,

the heavenly fire, the mercy-seat, the heavenly manna,

Aaron’s rod that budded, the divine shechinah,

the spirit of prophecy and most

probably the Urim and Thummim.”

The older people weep at the lack

and the younger people rejoiced.

God spokes to encourage the people

through Haggai who prophecied …

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.  'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."

Haggai 2:6-9

You may be excited like the younger

people who rebuilt the temple.

This year is a year of hope, life

has never been better for you.

Or, you may be like the older

people of God and you are disappointed.

Life has been hard…

 You look at what you have today

and it falls short of what you had.

This year you are not as hopeful.

 You feel discouraged as you remember

how much better things used to be.

  

When God spoke through Haggai, God said…

'In a little while I will once more shake

the heavens and the earth,

the sea and the dry land.

I will shake all nations

More shaking is coming. 

Why?

And I will fill this house with glory

'The glory of this present house will be

greater than the glory of the former house,'

says the LORD Almighty.

 'And in this place I will grant peace,'

declares the LORD Almighty."

The glory of God’s house,

is impart, dependent up us.

We, too, must not give more

allegiance to our houses than to God’s.

We must remember God’s promises of a

temple where the nations join God’s Kingdom.

We need to heed the call

to covenant faithfulness.

Obedience = Blessing

Unfaithfulness = Ruin

God’s final glory did not

rest on Solomon’s Temple.

 

God’s final glory did not rest

on the temple of Ezra’s day.

You and I need to keep reading.

 In Revelation 21, we get a glimpse of what all the

people of God were looking for but only saw a glimpse.

Don’t lose heart because the past seemed to be better.

Don’t get stuck in the glory of today.

Live in expectation of the

New Heaven and New Earth.

Live your life as if you were

there in the presence of God…

Holy, and faithful.

Because all the silver and gold is the Lord’s.

He is the light of the temple.

Until that day never forget…

You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

As the nation’s shake and your world shakes…

My soul finds rest in God alone;

my salvation comes from him.

 He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1

God reminds both those who

rejoiced and those who wept

to move on, for the best is yet to come.

Scripture Reading

Ezra 3:10-4:1 NIV

10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

"He is good;

his love to Israel endures forever."

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

Haggai 2:6-9 NIV

6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 8'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.   9'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."

Psalm 62:1-8 NIV

My soul finds rest in God alone;

my salvation comes from him.

2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

3 How long will you assault a man?

Would all of you throw him down —

this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

4 They fully intend to topple him

from his lofty place;

they take delight in lies.

With their mouths they bless,

but in their hearts they curse.

Selah 

5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from him.

6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to him,

for God is our refuge.