When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them supporting them. Ezra 5:1–2
With the rebukes of prophets Haggai and Zechariah ringing in their ears, Zerubabbel and Joshua (Jeshua) boldly encouraged the people to resume rebuilding “the house of the great God.” (Ezra 5:8) Their plan was to take advantage of the time that would be necessary to send a message to Darius king of Persia and to receive his written reply, for he had decreed that the work stop. They worked on the principle of acting now and asking for permission later.
Everyone seems to be familiar with Haggai’s famous rebuke, “‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!’” (Haggai 1:4–5) While the direct application was to get the Lord’s people off their collective spiritual duffs, this could be used (and wrongly so) to motivate a congregation to chip in to a church building program. The larger question for all of us is “what in my life lies desolate?” Are we talking to our “great God?” Are we boldly and shrewdly acting on his will for us? Our God is not confined to the area “beyond the river,” but is the one who created it.
It is also interesting and instructive that the leaders knew full well that their actions could result in them losing their heads, for the men traveling back to the king took names. (Ezra 5:10) Serving the Lord requires an “all in” mentality. We like to hedge out bets. We create “fallback positions.” Better to rely on the promises of God. In this case, somewhere in the king’s archives was the decree of King Cyrus. What they were doing should stand up in court. Applied, every charge in God’s word is actionable in our lives. A simple read of a scripture passage in the morning is likely to give you your marching orders for the day!
Don’t miss these windows of opportunity despite the costs!
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