So yesterday, I hauled out my Old Testement. No particular reason. I always kinda avoided it because it seemed like a bunch of morality tales with a couple books devoted to Israel's doom mixed in. Which is supposed to be brought about by the Giant Lizard People. Or something. It never seemed to have had much to do with Jesus, so it never seemed to have much to do with what I believed.
So that's when I dusted off the book of Haggai. That's right: Haggai. Yes, it's in the bible. Look it up in your table of contents. That is, if you need to. Haggai, Amos, and Nahum I always dismissed as the obscure minor prophets. I always skipped them cause I figured they were about how Israel had better shape up or there was gonna be a God-sized beat down. Which I've secretly wanted to see all my life.
Back to Haggai. It was here, I realized, that Haggai is misplaced. It should be back 20 or so books with Nehamiah. Haggai is a story, more or less. It's about Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and his efforts to rebuild the temple. Sounds like Shealtiel sneezed when his son was born, but that's the Old Testement for you. Maybe that's why I've always avoided it.
Anyway, so at this time, the people of God are in a state of flux. They're going from Hebrews to Jews. A nation to a religion. Exile is over. They're going home. To Jerusalem. Yet even with the blessing of King Cyrus, it's no rose garden. Resources are low at best. It's hard enough to build the wall in Jerusalem and a snail could build the temple faster. It's taking years to build just the foundation. Worse yet, there's no way this new temple will measure up to the old one. Soloman's temple was too glorious, too expensive to replicate. Needless to say, Zerubabel is discouraged. He wants to give up.
So the word of the Lord comes to him through Haggai. Soloman's temple was just that: Soloman's Temple. Soloman built it, but even at that time, the people of Israel were turning their hearts and minds to other gods.Soloman built it. Israel didn't. Soloman's Temple was defiled before it was even completed.
But this new temple will be a pure temple. A temple built by the Jews, united in the name of Lord. And because of that, even though the temple will be physically humble, it'll be more glorious than anything Soloman ever built.
So Zerubbabel presses on and sees the temple's construction through. Party.
Because of Zerubbabel's faith and courage and wonderfulness, in Haggai 2:20- 23, we read: "The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 'Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and rider will fall, each by the sword of his brother. On that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' Declares the Lord, "and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you.' declares the Lord Almighty."
So God basically says that, through Zerubbabel, He will do great things. Through Zerubbabel, God's plan will go into motion. And so I turn a couple pages over to Matthew 1. And there, in a place of honor, is the name Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel. Jeepers. I thought the only important names in that list were David and Abraham. And Boaz.
It gives me shivers to think of that. That through all 39 books of the Old Testement, God was leading up to Jesus. Nothing is unimportant. Nothing is overlooked.
Suddenly, the Bible begins to make sense. It's a story. Not a series of stories. Not some good advice. It's a story of epic proportions. The story of Man. The story of God. It has its exciting times. It has its boring times.
It has its backround. Its complication. Its rising action. A happy time with David. Then everything goes to pot. Israel messes up.
Then God does it. He turns his back on Israel. The experiment is a failure. And, yet, in this dispair, there's this is foreshadowing. Whispers of hope. God is about to move.
And then an intermission.
But then, right before the climax, we have a recap in Matthew 1. A hall of fame. A list of men who have given their lives for this moment.
Here, in Matthew, we have the climax.
This is what we've been waiting for.
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