When the LORD
“stirred up the spirit” of the leaders and the people of
Israel, “they came and did work” in the LORD's temple. In
chapter one and verse fifteen of his prophecy, Haggai names the
twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of Darius as the date the work
resumed. We read:
In the
four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of
Darius the king.
The
verse begins, “In the four and twentieth day of the sixth
month,...” Haggai began, “In the four and twentieth day”
or “twenty-fourth” “of the sixth month” which is “the
month of the new moon”. The prophecy of Haggai to the leaders and
people of Israel began on the first day of the sixth month, and only
twenty-three days later, the leaders and people heeded his charge.
The
verse continues, “...in the second year of Darius the
king.” Haggai went on to add,
“in the second year”
or “the second year of the reign” “of Darius”
whose name means “lord” and was “Darius the Mede, the
son of Ahasuerus, king of the Chaldeans, who succeeded to the
Babylonian kingdom on the death of Belshazzar; probably the same as
"Astyages" the last king of the Medes (538 BC)”
“the king” or
“royal one”. The timing of the rebuilding was significant because
the leaders and the people of Israel finally realized their error in
not prioritizing the LORD's work.
When
we think through Haggai's words, we understand the significance of
his mention of the timing for the restart of the rebuilding of the
temple. This is twenty-three days or a little over three weeks after
the charge first came from Haggai to continue rebuilding the temple
of the LORD. Sometimes, we too, are in need of someone to encourage
and push us to be about the LORD's business. It is easy to allow the
Kingdom of God to become second, third or later to other things in
which we are involved. The key is to realize when this happens we
must alter our direction immediately. Our relationship with Jesus
should be “first”, and building his Kingdom must be our main
priority. Let us examine our hearts and decide, Is “Jesus' Kingdom”
first? If it is not, let us be busy about His work as quickly as
possible.
Next
time we begin a new chapter and see what Haggai says happened on the
seventh month and twenty-first day, so read ahead, and we shall join
together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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