I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
The prophet Haggai spoke to the people of Israel about their attitude towards God. They said that it was not time to rebuild the Temple because they did not yet have enough. They were barely meeting their own needs, how could they give more in order to rebuild the Temple? Haggai tells them the problem is that they have their priorities wrong. If we wait until we have enough before we start giving to God, we will never get there. There is a line in this that resonates with me, “Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!” It is so easy to justify covering our expenses before we give to the Lord, and there are times when that is the right thing to do. The prophet is not telling the people that they should have started building the Temple in the past. He is telling them that they are to start building the Temple NOW! I believe that I am receiving the same message. My finances had gotten disrupted earlier this year and I decided to stop my tithing until I got things straightened out. This passage is telling me that it is time to resume my disciplined giving to the Lord. The timing on this is perfect as I will be receiving my end of year bonus in my next paycheck.
The passage tells us that when the people responded positively to the prophet’s message, the Lord sparked enthusiasm within them. The prophet then talks to the priests about the way that clean things become defiled by contact with the unclean rather than things becoming holy by contact with holy things. He says that in the same way everything that the people had done and offered had been defiled by their sin. As a result of this God had caused all of their work to be unproductive. The prophet tells them that now that they have begun following the Lord’s commands and put their priorities in order, God would bless them in all that they do. The prophet told them to take note that he was making this prophecy before they had even planted the seed for the next harvest and before any of the perennial fruits had begun to blossom.
This passage is often used by “prosperity gospel” preachers. This passage is not a promise that we will get wealthy if we obey God. It is a call to get our priorities straight. We need to understand that no matter how hard we work at something, it is not going to prosper if we do not put God first. If we as Christians want to have a bountiful harvest of new believers, we need to get our priorities straight and put God first in our lives and in our ministries.
The writer tells us that in his vision he was told that God would appoint two witnesses to prophecy to the world. Anyone who attempted to harm these two witnesses during their time of testimony would be destroyed. These two witnesses would have the power to strike the earth with plague whenever they wished. At the end of their time of testimony the beast from the bottomless pit will attack and kill them. The bodies of the two witnesses will not be buried and people throughout the earth will gloat over their dead bodies. After three and a half days, God will bring them back to life and those who see them rise up will be terrified. A voice will call out from heaven calling them up to heaven and they will rise up to heaven while their enemies watch. Immediately after this happens there will be an earthquake that will kill many, the survivors will give glory to God.
After this the seventh trumpet will sound. The writer heard voices cry out from heaven that the kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of God. The twenty-four elders gave thanks to God and declared the time had come for God to judge the dead. God will judge the dead, reward his servants and destroy those who destroy who destroy the earth. The writer saw God’s temple in heaven open followed by flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, a mighty earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
There are a lot of things in this passage, but at the moment I see two things of importance. First, when the Lord returns, no one is going to miss it. The second is that no matter how scary all of this imagery sounds, that day will be a day of joy and thanksgiving for those who love and serve the Lord. We should not fear the Lord’s return (although we may pray for its delay in order to bring the Gospel to more people).
This psalm has a lot in it. First, it tells us that God knows everything about us, everything we say and do and think. God’s understanding of our thoughts and our actions is beyond our ability to comprehend. No matter what we do or where we go we cannot escape God’s notice. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. We are not insignificant. Even if no one on this earth knows who we are or what we do, God does. We are not insignificant nothings. God knitted each of us together in our mother’s womb. This is not an insignificant image. Have you ever watched the care with which someone knits? God put that much care into each and every one of us. On the other hand, it also means that God is aware of every mistake we make and wrong thing we do.
We are precious to God and He is with us every moment of every day. When we wake first thing in the morning, God is already there waiting for us to follow Him.
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
I make this my prayer. Oh Lord, show me what I do that offends You and change me so that I no longer desire to do those things. Help me to do that which is pleasing to You and only that which is pleasing to You. Help me to care as much for those around me as You do.
Our desires will burn us up and destroy us, demanding ever more. If we wait for our desires to be satisfied before we begin to serve the Lord we will never serve the Lord because our desires will never be satisfied. Attempting to satisfy our desires will lead us to the grave as surely as water poured out in the desert will evaporate or be absorbed into the ground with no noticeable effect.