When Ezra leads a team back to
Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple they face a wave of opposition and stop their
work. For years the Temple remains and unfinished construction site. To us in
the Cincinnati area this reminds me of the unfinished tower at Kenwood Mall. God
uses a prophet named Haggai to preach a message that would spur the work to
begin again. Read again God’s argument … “Why are you living in luxurious
houses while my house lies in ruins?” (Haggai 1:4 NLT) What an awesome argument
for God to give.
So how does that apply to our lives
today since God no longer resides in a Temple made of wood and stone? Today God
lives in a Temple made of flesh and bone. When Christ died on the cross God left
the physical temple in Jerusalem. On the day or Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was
poured out upon those who encountered a life saving relationship with Jesus God
took up residence in His new Temple, the heart of man. So how does His Temple
look today? Does His Temple look good and flashy on the outside, but on the
inside the heart is torn up, rotting away, close to crumbling any day? Are we
guilty of the same accusation that God waged against Ezra and His
contemporaries?
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| Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art |
Haggai also taught me a second lesson
today. God reminds the people that He is in charge. He reminds the people that they
thought they would have a good harvest, but in reality things were not as bountiful
as they had hoped and thought. God gives the reason that this was the case … “I
sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy everything you worked so hard to
produce. Even so, you refused to return to me, says the LORD.” (Haggai 2:17
NLT) Sometimes the negative we face in life is God’s hand at work. Sometimes God
works to break us so that the only place we can turn is to Him. When we see
negative in life, are we watching to see what it is God may be trying to do in
us and through us?
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