Skim through Haggai and/or Zechariah. Note the problems in the Jewish community that these two prophets address. How would their prophetic message have helped in rebuilding Jerusalem and in helping reforms among the Jewish people? What aspects of their teachings might have helped the Jewish people survive even after the temple was destroyed and the Jews were removed from their land again?You may turn this into two "extra credit" blogs if you like: one entry on each book.
The problem Haggai seems to be addressing is that people are not rebuilding things in the proper way. What has been built is not in the way God wants. Haggai's message would have helped in that people could understand how things needed to be done. When God wants something done in a certain way the people have to do it that way. Haggai's message would have been a real help.
ReplyDeleteIn Haggai the work on the temple is not going as planned. They David. They just don't have the same feelings and seems to be going through the motion. If they had the same passion as the original maybe God would never let Judah fall. They just needed to follow the what God wanted and they would not suffer again.
ReplyDeleteZechariah on the other hand tells of the coming of destruction to the world. Maybe a book like Revelations but in the old testament, Telling of what is coming for wicked people in all the vision. It also tells of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on palm Sunday as we call it. It tells also the destruction of Israel enemies and of a great war then victory.
"...From this day on I will bless you." - Haggai 2:19
ReplyDelete"This is what the Lord Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."" - Zechariah 8:7
What these two verses tell me is that God is not giving up on His people and He never will. For a nation struggling to pull itself back together and rebuild the temple and the fact that they were forced to move out again, the idea that God is always there for those loyal to Him and the fact that one day everything will be well again would certainly help the survivors to keep faith and push onward.
In Haggai, the people of Israel are not working on God's temple. God wants the temple to be restored. He wants his people to do this task for him. He wants it done sooner than later. He wants his people to restore the temple and put him before their needs and wants. For if they do this for him, he will provide for them. Their wheat will produce more. The grapes will give them more wine. God will stop putting road blocks in his people way. Believe and do exactly what God wants. He will show case and hold up those who follow his words.
ReplyDeleteIn Zechariah the prophecies that God gives deal with rebuilding the temple. They deal with restoring Jerusalem back to its glory. They tell that the cause of exile was disobedience and insincerity. God promises his people that their king is coming to save them. God promises to deliver his people and make them strong again.
ReplyDeleteThe problems being faced were the peoples reluctance to rebuild the temple, and the gradual movment of the priesthood away from the original teaching of God. The prophets come in, and much like all the prophets we've read about they are met with disdain. It seems that people are very unwilling to give up their luxuries and focus on God. The way that these prophets helped keep the tradition intact was by prophesying that their would be a Messiah and that he would one day come. This would undoubtably intilled some hope for the future and kept the people looking toward God more often.
ReplyDeleteA recurring message that seems to come from both Zechariah and Haggai is that the Lord does not forget, but he does forgive. The Jewish community during the time of these two prophets was still not getting things right in rebuilding Jerusalem. My understanding of the scripture is that the people were not as repentant as they should have been and that the prophets were trying to call them to better action and renewed spirituality. Even after the temples and Jerusalem were destroyed and the people dispersed, the message that God will unite them again someday and all will be well eventually could serve as a hopeful, encouraging message.
ReplyDeleteThe common theme the prophets are getting across all throughout the entire Old Testament is that Israel is not doing what he wants. God is sick of the idleness of the Israelite's continual disobedience and lack of love and desire for God. This is continuing to set up the need of a savior. These accounts of prophets seem to be somewhat repetitive, but none the less these times where prophets emerged were some of the most desperate times when referring to the way the Israelite people distanced themselves from God.
ReplyDeleteHaggai begins with the Lord accusing the people of worrying too much about themselves and building their own houses instead of serving Him. God sent Haggai to remind the people about this. He also tells them that they do not necessarily need to fear the Lord. This in turn led to people doing things for him not because they were afraid of him, but rather that they actually did want to serve Him. The fact that Haggai told them that God loved them is a distributing to the Jews' survival. After hearing that God loved them and not just himself (like other gods), they wanted to continue serving him and guide others to know him as well. God gave them something to strive for.
ReplyDeleteHaggai’s message is to rebuild the temple. The Jews at this point had been told to stop rebuilding, and they did. Something like 8 years work had been stopped. Haggai is one of the people that help work start again. Haggai blames a drought that had fell over the land as a punishment for not rebuilding the temple. His message reminds the Jews of their exodus from Egypt…way back, making comparisons to their current situation. The message is that God has not broken his covenant with his chosen people, so get to work rebuilding the temple so you have a place to worship and follow your traditions.
ReplyDeleteZechariah 7:9-10 This is what the Lord Almighty said: Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other. Zechariah’s message is at the same time as Haggai’s, early in the Jews return to Jerusalem. His message is to a discouraged people, people beaten down one to many times, it’s falling on deaf ears. Zachariah must show the people God wants them to rebuild, God wants them to be happy, they just have to do a little bit of work, and glory is around the corner.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main points of Haggai is to rebuild the Temple. One thing that differs him from other prophets is that the people respond to him much quicker than the other prophets. Once the Jews rebuild the temple it seams like God blesses them more, and they become more fruitful, with their faith.
ReplyDeleteGod calls on Haggai to deliver a message, but mostly it dealt with the building of the temple. The people were living in fancy houses while the temple sat unfinished. He was different because even though the prophets before him, the people responded quicker to him. Once the temple is finally built the people become more blessed. They also keep with the faith better, because it seems as if they have finally listened to the word of God.
ReplyDeleteLiz