Ezra 3:1-4:5; 4:24-5:1; Haggai 1-2
Today Ezra introduces us to two significant characters:
- Jeshua the son of Jozadak (aka Joshua the son of Jehozadak)
- The high priest
- A descendant of Aaron, in the line of Zadok (I Ch. 6:1-15)
- Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel
- The governor
- Grandson of Coniah/Jeconiah/Jehoiachin (I Ch. 3:16-19), the king of Judah who reigned for only 3 months before surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar
- If Judah were again an independent state, not subject to the Persians, Zerubbabel would be king
These two men, together with other leaders, get the returning exiles off to a positive start with a focus on reestablishing worship of the LORD. The first order of business is to rebuild the Altar so that they can offer the appointed sacrifices. The next step is to rebuild the Temple, and they successfully lay the foundation.
But then they encounter a snag: the surrounding peoples offer to help, saying that they’ve been sacrificing to Judah’s God all along. (Ezra 4:1-2) Sounds good, right? Well, maybe not. These people, uprooted from their own homes and planted in this region by the Assyrians, may well think that they’ve been sacrificing to the local god, but their worship is not authentic, proper worship of the LORD. The best they can claim is that they learned of the LORD from Israel (the Northern Kingdom, Samaria), but Israel was always out of whack, worshipping golden calves (that they called “the LORD”) in Bethel and Dan and otherwise following the Baals and other false gods. The last thing Judah needs now is to get caught in the same snares that got them exiled in the first place. Zerubbabel and Jeshua/Joshua and the rest of the leadership rightly refuse this “assistance”, but that results in a strong resistance campaign from the outsiders, and work grinds to a halt. (Ezra 4:3-5)
In fact, the work languishes for about 18 years, with the people apparently becoming somewhat complacent, no longer actively pursuing rebuilding the Temple. So the LORD sends Haggai and Zechariah to get things moving again. Today we hear from Haggai, whose preaching runs from August to December, 520 BC. And what is Haggai’s message? “Get on with it! Build the Temple already!” (Well, that’s my paraphrase anyway.)
Yet 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. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
Haggai 2:4-5
The LORD specifically exhorts Zerubbabel and Joshua, but also encourages all the people, to be strong, to work, and to not be afraid. Why? Because the LORD is with them. All the outside pressure, all the political resistance, all the naysayers are irrelevant.
So how about us? How well do we keep our eyes on God? Are we obedient to the work He calls us to do? Or do we succumb to public opinion or political pressure? Have we grown complacent in our own personal lives? If God has a task for you to do, are you willing to put forth the effort to get moving on it? And in that undertaking, are you mindful of His presence?
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
One more thing…
We should note that Haggai 2:6 is cited in Hebrews 12:26. Although I don’t want to delve into the Letter to the Hebrews just yet, we should at least recognize that — despite my simplistic paraphrase — the LORD’s message through Haggai goes much further than the immediate exhortation to rebuild the Temple. Similarly, we should see that the LORD’s words to Zerubbabel in Haggai 2:21-23 point well past Zerubbabel himself and on to his ultimate Descendant: Jesus Christ.