Elihu speaks boldly to Job:
“Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice as it rolls from his mouth.
It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction.
Then comes the roaring of the thunder – the tremendous voice of his majesty.
He does not restrain it when he speaks.
God’s voice is glorious in the thunder.
We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

“We cannot look at the sun, for it shines brightly in the sky when the wind clears away the clouds.
So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God.
He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty;
but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us.
No wonder people fear him.
All who are wise show him reverence.” – Job 37:2-12,15-18,21-24

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted with joy?

Where does the light come from, and where does the darkness go?
Can you take each to its home?
Do you know how to get there?
But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced! … (Job 38:1-13,16-21)

Then the Lord said to Job,
“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers? …
Are you as strong as God? … (Job 40:1-2,9a)

Then Job replied to the Lord:
“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
It is I – and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me…
I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” – (Job 42: 1-2,6)

[The full response by God found in Job 38 & 39 is powerful. I highly recommend you take time to read the whole thing. I was reading from the New Living Translation.]

“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (Job 2:10) Job’s friends seemed to have an understanding of Job’s sufferings as if it was simply Job’s turn. He had been blessed for years and now it was his turn to suffer hardships. It is as if they are asking – where is your faith and your confident words now that the shoe is on the other foot?

They mocked Job saying, “Your words have supported those who were failing; you encouraged those with shaky knees. But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you. Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?” – (4:4-6)

Job had an attitude of – I can argue with God but what good will it do? He won’t listen. “So who am I that I should try to answer God or even reason with him? Even if I were right, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy. And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me. For he attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause. He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows. If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one. If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?” – (9:14-19)

I agree with Elihu’s response to Job when he said, “But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen, to say the Almighty isn’t concerned” (35:13).

Job goes on to question God’s wisdom in even allowing him to be born if he was going to eventually let him suffer like this (10:8-12,18-22). Job demonstrates an internal conflict between being in awe of the power of God and being disappointed with the wisdom of God. In one breath he is speaking of how great God is and in another breath he is questioning the motives and decisions of God. If Job was without sin before the hard times came, he is now demonstrating his human, sinful side by questioning the authority of God.

Job was downright angry with God. Many of us can relate to a moment in our lives where we questioned God by asking “Why?” In our grief, we experienced anger and we took our anger to God but there’s a difference between taking your anger to God and taking your anger out on God. I think this is where Job messes up. It’s not a sin that he is experiencing human emotions in the midst of his grief and pain, it is what he does with the emotion that trips him up. Job is arguing with God and criticizing God’s wisdom.

Are you currently questioning the wisdom of God regarding a situation in your life? Are you arguing with God? Are you angry with Him? Let’s look at some verses in Job to consider just how awesome and wise our God is – how worthy He is of our trust in even the most difficult times.

“Can you solve the mysteries of God?
Can you discover everything about the Almighty?
Such knowledge is higher than the heavens – and who are you?
It is deeper than the underworld – what do you know?
It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea?” – (11:7-9)

“God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.
He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.
He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with clouds.
He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night.
The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke.
By his power the sea grew calm…
These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power.
Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?” – (26:7-12,14)

“God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens.
He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall.
He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning.
Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it thoroughly.
And this is what he says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’” – (28:23-28)

“Look, God is all-powerful. Who is a teacher like him?
No one can tell him what to do, or say to him, ‘You have done wrong.’
Instead, glorify his mighty works, singing songs of praise…
Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted.” – (36:22-24,26)

God is greater than we can understand. Perhaps today the best thing to do is simply rest in the wisdom of God, submitting ourselves to His greatness and His authority in our lives. Perhaps today is not the day to try to understand, but instead try to trust.

There was once a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless – a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil (Job 1:1). This book starts out very much like a fairytale. We all know the story. Job was a righteous man who had been blessed abundantly by God. He had a large family, lots of servants and lots of animals. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area (1:3).

The higher you go the harder you fall. This saying would have rung true for Job. He lost it all when Satan challenged God regarding the faithfulness of Job. God allowed Satan to test Job by taking away his possessions and then by causing him physical pain through terrible boils from his head to foot. Job’s response shows the strength of his faith as he continued to praise God.

“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!” – (1:21)

When his wife nagged him, encouraging him to curse God and die, Job’s response was one that I could learn a lot from: “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” – (2:10)

By reading through the book of Job, it is clear that Job is having a difficult time. He feels the pain and suffers from the loss just like anyone else would. He is surrounded by “friends” who are trying to give him advice through this time of suffering but seem to only be saying the wrong things. We’ve probably all been there – either we have been the one going through a hard time and had well-meaning friends say something that makes the pain worse OR we’ve been the one who has tried to comfort a friend only to end up saying the last thing they wanted to hear.

Job’s friends assume that Job is being punished for something and needs to repent in order for the hard times to end. Perhaps Job’s friends are slightly enjoying the fact that Job isn’t perfect – that something is finally going wrong for him. Jealousy is a powerful thing, even among friends, and it’s possible that the words of self-righteousness coming from Job’s friends are a result of past envy or attempts to measure up to Job.

Job’s friend, Bildad, makes a mistake commonly made today. He assumes that blessings that can be measured in earthly ways come to the righteous and the wicked can never prosper here on earth. “But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. And though you started with little, you will end with much” (8:5-6).

Oh the prosperity gospel! We’ve all heard it and probably believed it to some degree. But, the fact remains that there are some incredibly righteous, godly Christians who live and die “dirt poor” in earthly terms. And there are some very ungodly, unbelieving, downright wicked people who have everything they could possibly ask for in regard to their position and possessions. This is not easy to understand but our response to what seems unfair in life should be to simply trust God and, as Job did, look forward to our heavenly rewards instead of measuring our earthly possessions.

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.
And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!
I will see him for myself.
Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
I am overwhelmed at the thought!” – (Job 19:25-27)

As with most fairytales, although this one is nonfiction, Job’s story has a happy ending. God steps in healing Job physically and restoring him with earthly possessions even greater than what he once had. And the great news for us today is that our story has a happy ending also! No matter what our current circumstances are, no matter how much we are suffering today, Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more loss. The ending to our life will most definitely be, “And they lived happily ever after.” In the words of Job, “Praise the name of the Lord!”

Today is a day of remembrance – a day we will always remember – a day we choose to never forget! September 11th marks a time in the history of America when we went from comfortably living each day without fear to suddenly living in fear that our country could again be attacked on our own soil. Our attitude that America was invincible and nothing would ever destroy our freedom became a united determination that never again would we allow terrorism to strike our country.

The book of Esther speaks of a similar day of remembrance in the lives of the Jewish people – the Festival of Purim. Just like an attack was planned against the American people back in 2011 because a group of people chose hate, an attack was planned against the Jewish people living in the empire of King Xerxes because of a similar racial hatred.

While a large number of God’s people had returned to Judah and Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and the walls of the city, there were still a great number of Jews who had remained in what had once been Babylon. It is not explained why these Jews chose to not return to the Promised Land. Perhaps they had become comfortable in their new homes and chose to stay in the “known” instead of traveling the long distance back to the “unknown”.

We are probably all familiar with the story of Esther and the conspiracy of Haman to destroy all of the Jews in order to curb his appetite for the death of Esther’s cousin, Mordecai. Haman managed to convince the king that it was not in his best interest to let this race of people live. Lots were cast to determine the day in while the Jews could be annihilated. These lots were called “purim” and were similar to what we would think of as dice. This is where the Festival of Purim received its name – a time to remember when a day was set to destroy the Jews but to also celebrate how God instead rescued His people from their enemies.

I found several similarities between Esther’s role and Nehemiah’s role as we studied last Friday. Nehemiah was an exiled Jew living as a servant or slave to the king. His role as cupbearer became a blessing as Nehemiah was strategically positioned to be near the King to request a favor for his people. In the same way, the misfortune of Esther to be taken from her home and placed in the palace had become a blessing as she became queen and was strategically positioned to be near the King, giving her the opportunity to request protection for her people.

God intervened on Nehemiah’s behalf and the king noticed that he was distraught. God intervened on Esther’s behalf and the king noticed her standing in the inner court and he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her so that she could approach his throne.

Nehemiah saw a need, prayed for the need and then allowed himself to be part of the answer to that prayer. He allowed himself to be used by God. Esther saw a need, feared for her life and yet boldly stepped into the equation, allowing herself to become part of the solution.

Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made the queen for just such a time as this?”

Then Esther set this reply to Mordecai: “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in and see the king. If I must die, I must die.” – Esther 4:13-16

This, too, reminds me of Nehemiah. When faced with opposition while rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in order to protect God’s people, Nehemiah appointed half of the men to work on the wall while half stood armed with swords against the attack. For some laborers, they used one hand to support the load while the other hand held a weapon.

In the same way, God’s people lifted prayers on behalf of Esther while she worked on protecting or rescuing them. She put herself in harm’s way but not until she knew that her family and God’s people were lifting her up in prayer, calling on God to bless her efforts and use the position He had placed her in as an opportunity to reverse the decree and allow the Jewish people to live.

There are days and opportunities when God strategically positions us to be used by Him. There are also times in which God gives us the responsibility to pray for someone else. There may be times in which we feel sorry for ourselves wishing that we were not in a situation or place. Then what once seemed like an unfortunate coincidence becomes a God-placed miracle and we find ourselves strategically positioned to be used by Him.

Then what? Will we see our situation today as Esther did? Will we accept our calling “for such a time as this”? Perhaps our role today is to enter into the presence of our King, as Esther did. Perhaps it is our role today to stand with sword in hand and pray God’s protection on others. Either way, today is a special day. It is a day to remember that God has called us as His servants to be used however He desires. It is a day to remember and never forget!

Last week, I read the book by Bill Hybels – Just Walk Across the Room. In this book, he speaks of how important it is for us to take time to think through our story and be prepared to tell it as it fits into God’s greater story. What is your before and what is your after? What journey has God brought you on and how does that affect the way you live your life today?

Over and over again in the Old Testament, a prophet would gather the people of Israel together and review their story once more. This was often at a time of confession and repentance – a time of reentering a covenant with God. Nehemiah retells the story of God’s people in a beautiful way in chapter nine. Retelling the story reminded them of how wonderful and full of grace God is. It reminded them of where pride and stubborn hearts had led them in previous years – how God had forgiven them time and time again, providing for them and blessing them abundantly.

“May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!
You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.
You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him…And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.

“You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands…In your love, you were patient with them for many years…What a gracious and merciful God you are!… (Nehemiah 9:5-31).

Then God’s people said, “In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing…” They were recognizing that they deserved all of the punishment they had received and yet God had forgiven them over and over again. They were once more making a covenant with God – a covenant full of written promises to obey the Law of God and God’s commands.

If we were to write out our stories today, what would they say? I plan to write mine out this week. I want it to include several of the same elements of the prayer told in Nehemiah: praise to God, recognition of His generosity and blessings, confession of my own tendency to be prideful and stubborn, stories of God’s forgiveness and grace, testimony of God’s provision and second chances, and promises to put God first in my life. I never want to forget what God has done for me. I want to learn from my past mistakes in order to not repeat my errors but grow stronger in my walk.

What has commanded me to do? Have I done it? I want to find time this week to read through old journals, reminding me of God’s instructions to me over the years. I want to read through old prayer requests and see how God has answered those prayers. May God’s faithfulness always be a reminder and a stimulant to the growth of my own faith. May time in His presence stimulate my spiritual growth much more than the caffeine in my morning coffee.

Ezra and Nehemiah’s stories are quite similar. While Ezra was now in Jerusalem teaching the people and unifying them in repentance, Nehemiah was still back in Persia serving as the cupbearer to the king. When news arrived that the Jews in Jerusalem were experiencing opposition, he mourned on their behalf. The Temple had been rebuilt in the midst of the opposition but the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down and the gates had been burned. There would be no protection for the city without the walls. Nehemiah desired to go to Jerusalem to help the people rebuild the walls.

Nehemiah interceded for God’s people: “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you…O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me” (Nehemiah 1:5-6,11).

As we learn in the book of Esther, no one can approach the king of Persia with a request without first being invited into a conversation. Nehemiah would be in the presence of the king as his cupbearer but could not ask for permission to travel to Jerusalem without the king first speaking to him. But Nehemiah was a servant. An intervention of God was needed in order for Nehemiah to have the opportunity he wanted. God saw the desire of Nehemiah’s heart to serve his people and faithfully answered his prayer. The king noticed that Nehemiah’s had a heavy heart and asked him if he was troubled, giving Nehemiah the opportunity to ask for some time off to return to Jerusalem. Again, just like Ezra, the king granted his request generously because the gracious hand of God was on him (2:8).

When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he inspected the condition of what was left of the walls. He went back to the Jewish leaders and said:
“You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.
They replied at once, “Yes, that’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work (2:17-18).

Now that’s leadership! Nehemiah sets a great example for us. He saw a need, prayed for the need and then allowed himself to be part of the answer to that prayer. That last part is where we sometimes miss out on an opportunity to be used by God. Nehemiah saw God’s movement, recognized that the gracious hand of God was on him and testified to the rest of his people of God’s faithfulness. His bold requests, his intercessory heart and his testimony of God’s grace are what gave the people courage and inspiration to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, starting with its walls.

Now things did not go easily as they rebuilt the walls. They faced opposition. The people would mock, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” (4:3) Their response was to pray but eventually they became discouraged. Day after day the heard the voice of defeat saying that it could not be done and they began to listen to that voice. “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves” (4:10).

Nehemiah had to do the same thing that we have to do daily – he had to drown out the voice of defeat! “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for you brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” – 4:14

After this, they changed their plan. While half the men worked, the other half would stand armed with swords against the attacks. Some of the laborers used one hand to support the load while the other hand held a weapon. They carried their weapons with them at all times!

We have the same weapon against the voice of defeat and opposition to God’s work – God has given us the same armor to protect ourselves and stand strong!

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Last night before I went to bed, I read Ezra 7-10. Nothing jumped out at me but I went to sleep thinking about Ezra. This morning I woke up and reread these four chapters and continued to ponder how the life Ezra led could impact my life today. I came back to our hotel room after lunch and again studied the last half of Ezra’s book. Here are a few of my thoughts on the lifestyle and essence of Ezra.

This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him…This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel (Ezra 7:6,10).

Ezra was a student of the word of God. He recognized that God had given the Law of Moses to the people of Israel for a reason and he was determined to study it, know it, and obey it in order to teach it. He saw the benefit of spending time studying God’s word in order to better understand God and His laws – to know God’s commands and obey them. He went beyond just being a hearer of the Word; he was a doer. He went past the purpose of learning for his own sake to becoming a conduit of God’s Word to others.

Because Ezra was dedicated to God and well versed in the Law, God blessed Ezra by giving him favor with the king for the benefit of all God’s people. Anything he asked for the king was prepared to give him BECAUSE the gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him. Ezra recognized that this favor was of God and not based on his own worth or merit.

When the king said, “If you need anything else for God’s Temple or for any similar needs, you may take it from the royal treasury,” Ezra’s response was to praise the Lord. When the king recognized Ezra’s wisdom as having come from God, Ezra praised God for demonstrating such unfailing love to him by honoring him before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles! “I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the Lord my God was on me” (Ezra 7:28).

Ezra’s humility, knowledge and wisdom situated him to be used by God in leadership. He gathered together some of the family leaders to return with him to Jerusalem. Before they began their journey, Ezra led the entire group in a time of fasting and humbling themselves before the Lord, praying that God would give them a safe journey and protect them, their children, and the goods they were bringing to Jerusalem.

Ezra could have asked the king for soldiers to escort them to Jerusalem with all of this silver and gold that would make them vulnerable against bandits and robbers on their four month journey. It would have been a reasonable request. But Ezra once again saw the importance of living out his faith in his actions. He had previously testified to the King, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him” (Ezra 8:22). Ezra knew that he needed to back these words up with faith in God so they fasted and earnest prayed for God to take care of them, and God faithfully heard their prayer. At the end of the journey, Ezra was able to testify that God had protected them, rather than the king’s men.

Just as Ezra was able to ask for provision and protection for his people, he was also willing to humble himself and confess on behalf of the people. When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, he found that they had done exactly what God told them NOT to do – they had married women from other nations who served false gods. Ezra could have washed his hands of all this sin and stood back in self-righteousness for he had not disobeyed God. Instead he tore his clothes, fell to his knees and lifted his hands to the Lord praying:

“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens…once again we have abandoned your commands!…O Lord, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.” – Ezra 9:6,10b,15

Ezra led those around him in the study of God’s word. Ezra led those around him in prayer and fasting. Ezra led those around him in the journey God had called them to. But here is where I am overwhelmed by the humble actions of this man of God: Ezra led his nation and his people in confession of their sins. He took the sins of the nation upon himself, taking responsibility for their sins and stepping into God’s presence in repentance of such sin, even though he himself had not disobeyed God in this way.

This reminds me of how Jesus, who was without sin, was willing to die for our sins. Hebrews 4:14-16: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We sin as individuals and we go before God, humbly ask for His forgiveness. We sin as a family or as a church or group of people and we humbly pray for mercy. We sin as a nation and the appropriate thing to do is still to humble ourselves, fall on our knees in mourning and beg the Almighty God of Justice to have compassion on us and forgive us as a nation. Oh God, hear our prayer!!!

Just as Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi spoke of the Israelites return from exile, Ezra also describes what life was like for God’s people as they returned to Jerusalem. Ezra told how God stirred the heart of King Cyrus of Persia to let God’s people return to Jerusalem for the specific purpose of rebuilding the Temple. Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and all the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord.

This stirring of hearts created a culture of generosity. Cyrus generously returned 5400 articles of silver and gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple. Those who had lived among the Israelites and been their neighbors for so many years also gave generously of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They voluntarily lavished God’s people with valuable gifts to take with them (Ezra 1:1-11).

In response to this generosity, the leaders of each family unit among the people of God returning to Jerusalem also gave voluntary offerings, each leader giving as much as they could. God was generous stirring others’ hearts toward generosity and the response was the desire of God’s people to also be generous (Ezra 2:68-69).

When God’s people arrived in Jerusalem, they assembled with a unified purpose – to rebuild God’s Temple. During the seventy years that the Israelites had been gone, other peoples had settled into the city, making it their home. Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the Lord each morning and evening (Ezra 3:3).

Imagine the excitement after all these years to be back home again, offering daily sacrifices to God – dedicating each day to God. The first Festival they celebrated was the Festival of Shelters, reminding the people of God’s guidance and care for His people as they spent 40 years living in tents in the desert as they traveled from exile in Egypt to their new home in the Promised Land. Wow! How significant this must have been to the people as they had just completed their own journey living in tents, traveling from exile in Babylon back home to Jerusalem. God’s timing is always significant though, isn’t it?!

When the foundation of the Temple was completed in their second year back in Jerusalem, the people stopped to celebrate. With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord: “He is good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid (Ezra 3:11). Many wept aloud. Others were shouting for joy. The sounds of the shouting and weeping could be heard far into the distance.

As often happens when things are going well, opposition began to arise among those from other nations who were living in Jerusalem. They wrote a letter back to the King Artaxerxes of Persia convincing him to stop the reconstruction of the Temple. Then, with a show of strength, they forced the Jews to stop building. The construction remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia (Ezra 4:23-24).

Now we are caught back up to where we were at when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were encouraging God’s people to finish what they had started as God had commanded, as we looked at last week. The building started back up again, as did the opposition. God’s people had confidence that God was watching over them (5:5) and the local residents once again tattled back to the King, reporting that the work was going forward with great energy and success (5:8).

King Darius, however, found a scroll with the decree from King Cyrus that the Temple should be rebuilt on the site where the Jews used to offer their sacrifices, using the original foundation (6:3). His reply back to the opposition was to “stay away…do not disturb…let it be rebuilt…do not hinder…Moreover, I hereby decree that you are to help these elders of the Jews as they rebuild this Temple of God. You must pay the full construction costs, without delay, from my taxes collected in the province west of the Euphrates River so that the work will not be interrupted.” He also donated young bulls, rams, and male lambs to be used for burnt offerings presented to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine and olive oil. His desire was that the Israelites would present acceptable sacrifices to God and pray for King Darius and his sons (6:6-10).

Do you ever just get tickled at these kinds of stories? We still hear them today! What others do in hopes of harming or discouraging us, God makes into opportunities to bless us! Today’s morning coffee was rich with encouragement for me.
– Generosity births more generosity.
– When we are unified with one purpose given by God, we have strength to move forward even in the midst of fear and opposition.
– When God works through us to accomplish His will, it is time to celebrate and give Him praise!
– When faced with opposition, trust in God to make something wonderful come out of the struggles.

As God’s people were returning from exile to a city and land that had been destroyed, they were discouraged with the work that lay ahead of them – the task God was calling them to. God reminded them, as He sometimes reminds us, that their current condition was a direct result of their own sinful decisions. There are times when we choose to do our own thing and make a mess of what God could have made a masterpiece.

“Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit…Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. As with a whirlwind, I scattered them among the distant nations, where they lived as strangers. Their land became so desolate that no one even traveled through it. THEY turned their pleasant land into a desert.” – Zechariah 7:11-14

What was the message they had refused to listen to? What did they refuse to do that God was telling them to do? Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against one another (7:9-10). So God wanted them to put the needs of others above their own desires and they refused. God wanted them to honor the truth and love God by loving others and they chose self-preservation instead, only to find out that by trying to build a life for themselves, they had instead destroyed their chance of truly experiencing life.

God went from being an angry God determined to punish to a God of grace determined to bless His people once again. But his instructions remained the same as before. “But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord…The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace” (8:16-19).

God was ready to dwell among His people – to bless them with His presence – but He demanded they live in peace with one another and treat each other justly. Sometimes this is where we struggle in families or in Churches. We pray for God to bless our efforts, to bless our growth, but we stubbornly hold on to grudges or sit back and wait for someone else to come begging for forgiveness instead of seeking restoration with each other. Truth and peace – God would love to turn our mourning into joy and celebration but we must first love truth and peace.

When God lives among us, He creates a sense of community with each other. You may say this is impossible for the group of people you are thinking of right now, but God says nothing is impossible for Him! Invite Him to dwell among you and He can reveal truth and restore peace into any situation. Look at what He did for the Israelites when they returned to their war-torn country.

“And now the Lord says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem…Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play…All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? Says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (8:3-6).

When we have fixed our relationships with each other, when we are truly living in peace and truth and God’s presence is dwelling among His people, then we can be about the task of doing what God has told us to do! We must first obey God’s command to love Him by loving others before we can follow His calling in our lives. Then, when peace is restored, He strengthens us with His presence and tells us: “Be strong and finish the task!” and “So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!” (8:9,13).

And this is my favorite part! When we are living in truth and peace, and God’s presence is living among us, it will become evident to all those around us. They will see the difference God’s presence is making in our lives and they will want to become a part of it. As in Zechariah 8:23, people will see what we have and say, “Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Oh, may God’s presence be evident in our lives today! May others see God living in us and among us in such a powerful way that they want what we have – God’s presence in our lives!

Do you ever question why we have some of our traditions or why we do the same things year after year? After God’s people returned to Jerusalem, they asked the question: “Should we continue to mourn and fast each summer on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, as we have done for so many years?”

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me this message in reply: “Say to all your people and your priests, ‘During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting? And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves?” – Zechariah 7:3-6

A question of responsibility was answered by a question of sincerity. The heart of God’s people was being exposed. I have to admit I felt a little exposed as well. How often do we go through the motions on a Sunday Morning? Has the worship become more about what pleases us or are we sincerely offering our praise to God so that He will be pleased? How often do religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter become more about family traditions, foods and gifts than about God?

The prophet Malachi also spoke of the tendency of God’s people to offer less than their best to God – to sacrifice for the sake of fulfilling a ritual instead of making a true sacrifice of the heart.

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name!
“But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’
“You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.
“Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’
“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that theses worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings… – Malachi 1:6-10

Our sacrifices to God are defiled when we give less than our best, less than He requires of us. He wants us to give from our heart, genuinely showing our love and faithfulness. He wants us to give to please Him and not to please ourselves.

Malachi also speaks of how unconfessed sin can stand in the way of God accepting our worship – again pleasing ourselves instead of obeying God to please Him:
Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altars with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. – Malachi 2:13-14

These blocks to our sacrifice and worship involve loyalty – putting God first includes the vows we made before Him, whether that’s marriage or anything else we have promised to do. God wants us to put Him first and to give Him first place in our lives. If we pour out ourselves to God, He will pour out blessings on us.

Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone astray?’
“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for you whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies (Malachi 3:7b-12).