Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone. – Zechariah 10:1

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 31, 2020): Zechariah 10

Twentieth-century Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov argued that we should "not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards." He is not entirely right with his assumption. Sometimes, in the chaos of the clouds and the wind, rain does swirl and sometimes even falls upward. Of course, we never see that happening. And the rain that falls upward does us no good. It is only the rain that makes it to the ground helps us to live and grow the things on which we depend. Only the moisture that falls to the ground helps keep our forests alive and healthy and curtails the fires that seem to rage every year all over the globe. If it weren't for the rain that falls to the ground, life would not exist on the planet.

Ancient Israel featured an agricultural society, and it was an agrarian society without an irrigation system. And so, the nation depended on the rain. And the rain they depended on fell in two seasons; the former rain fell in the fall of the year, and the latter rain fell in the spring. Zechariah, here, speaks specifically of the latter rain, or rain that fell on the springtime. Zechariah reminds his society that they need the storm and that the rain falls at the command of God.

But he also reminds them that God's rain falls on everyone. God does not just play to his base. God does not act in heaven, deciding who to bless and who to curse depending on who supports him. Yes, there are consequences to sin and blessing found in living inside of God's plan. But God desires that all would succeed. And part of the reason for this is that God understands that "everyone succeeding" is a fundamental part of lasting peace. Wars, both formal and informal, are often fought, at least on some level, over the control of resources. Rebellion and riots are the results of an unequal distribution of the things needed for us to live. And lasting peace only happens when there is an equalization of wealth and resources.

Pastor David Guzik argues that "In man's ideas of equality, often everyone ends up equally poor. God's idea of equality means abundance for everyone." Slowly, we are waking up to the truth of these words. The peaceful path forward in our culture is to make sure that the rain or blessings fall on everyone, and that the gap between the rich and poor shrinks. And that is the plan according to the mind of God. Our problem is that achieving these things are not in the mind of man. Politicians seem to put policies in place that maximize the wealth of those with money and have the ability to support their campaigns monetarily, often arguing that their wealth will trickle down to the rest of us. But, while they rarely admit it, they often do so at the expense of those who live in the middle and lower portions of the economy. The reality of trickle-down economics is that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

In God's economy, there is enough for everyone.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 11

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. – Zechariah 9:9

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 30, 2020): Zechariah 9

His name was Bucephalus. And while he only lived thirty years, during those thirty years, he made the most of existence. If the measure of our lives is whether or not we are loved, then there is no doubt that Bucephalus found himself on the positive side of life's equation. Bucephalus was loved, but he was also feared.

Bucephalus was a warrior, and like many warriors, his dream was not to die of weariness or old-age, but preferably in battle. For Bucephalus, that moment came in June 326 B.C.E., at the Battle of the Hydaspes, a military skirmish fought on the banks of the Jhelum River in modern-day Pakistan. Bucephalus was old at the age of thirty, but he was not weary. He fought as he had fought in the days of his youth. (I know, you question whether thirty is old, but, you see, the warrior Bucephalus was a horse.) More importantly, Bucephalus was the much-loved steed of Alexander the Great. And until the moment of his death, he was the faithful partner of one of the greatest generals this world has ever known. And every battle that Alexander fought, until that fateful one in Pakistan, Alexander fought with Bucephalus.

In Ancient times, a conquering King always entered the city on his horse. And since Alexander was a conqueror, he always entered the city of those whom he had defeated on his horse, and, for Alexander, that meant Bucephalus.

But that was not the only way that a king could enter a city. The other way was on a donkey. And when the king entered a city on a donkey, it meant that he was coming in peace. And while we often read this passage and emphasize the humility of the Jerusalem's king entering the city, riding on a donkey, we seem to minimize that the passage also says that the comes to the city "righteous and victorious," riding on a "donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The latter phrase appears to be a Hebrew way of stressing that the animal was a thoroughbred. The king was not going to enter the city riding some kind of mongrel beast; this was mount fit for a king.

As Christians, we see the fulfillment of this passage taking place with Jesus on Palm Sunday. On that Sunday, he entered Jerusalem, not as an Alexander would have on his precious Bucephalus, but riding a donkey, a borrowed one at that, declaring to all that he had come in peace. But we waged war against him anyway. He came victorious, assured that he would accomplish what he had set out to do, and yet we called him a thief. He came on a thoroughbred, and we treated him as a mongrel, unfit to enter our lives. He came in love, and we responded in hate. He gave his life for us, and we dishonored him.

There was no "rejoice" in our actions. And that is on us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 10

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her." – Zechariah 8:2

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 29, 2020): Zechariah 8

We have a jealousy problem in the church, but not likely in the way that you are thinking. For us, jealousy has become an emotion that is filled with only negative connotations and possessing no redeeming attributes. To say that we serve a "jealous God" is almost impossible for the contemporary mind to comprehend. After all, God is good, and jealousy is bad. The two can't mix.

Except that the Bible, in its various phrasings, seems to insist that our God is jealous. And the implication is far from negative, only increasing our tension with the concept of jealousy. There is no doubt that jealousy can be negative, that jealousy can give birth to a lack of trust and to over-reactive emotions that burn with anger at the object of the jealousy. But that is only part of the passion that we know of as jealousy.

In fact, most of us want a little jealousy present in the ones that we love. Because the presence of jealousy also indicates that they care for us, and are willing to pursue us. And even though this might not be a politically correct thing to say, I think that we all deep down want to be pursued. Jealousy is a force in the dance that we do when those we love are away, and they ask us if we miss them. Maybe because we are afraid of sounding jealous, we sometimes downplay the question. Our answer often sounds more like "Yes, but I have been busy and keeping myself occupied" when the truth is more "I can't sleep, I can't eat, I wonder continuously what you are doing and who you are with because I miss you," and the truth is "I am jealous for you."

And it is in the manner that God is jealous. He has proved over the pages of history that he is a jealous God, and that jealousy is shown in the fact that he pursues us, even when the only thing we want from him is to be left alone to suffer in the darkness of this world. He loves us, even when we don't love him. And he is utterly incapable of giving up on us, regardless of how rocky our lives might get. When our actions are ugly, he doesn't seem to notice, and he still loves us.

Yet, even amidst of his jealousy, he will not force himself on us. He may never be far away, but the choice to love him has to be ours. He has blessed us with the freedom to accept or reject him. So, have you made your choice? Because God is jealous for you.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 9

… by asking the priests of the house of the LORD Almighty and the prophets, "Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?" – Zechariah 7:3

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 28, 2020): Zechariah 7

It is hard to match the angst of the Psalmists in exile.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
    when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
    we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
    our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
    they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

How can we sing the songs of the Lord
                                  while in a foreign land (Psalm 137:1-4)?

Can you feel the pain? Is it possible to place yourself in their position; to be stolen from your home and made to build a life in a foreign land. All of the landmarks that you knew, the places you liked to go to relax and enjoy life were somewhere else. And so are your friends. Nothing is the same. Everything has changed, and not because of anything that you have chosen.

I chose to go to college a thousand miles away from my home. And I remember days where the homesickness was overwhelming. In those moments, I used to like to find a quiet place and, just for a few minutes, close my eyes, and imagine myself driving the roads I drove when I was home. It made me feel closer to those that I loved.

For those living in Babylon, at first, the weeping was likely continuous. But it didn't take long for the mourning to become ritualized.   The fast of the fifth month was instituted to remember the destruction of Solomon Temple and the end of a way of life that had prevailed in Judah. But it was a mourning and a fast that was created by man, and not one demanded by God. So, as the exiles begin to return, and as they start to get to the work of rebuilding the Temple, the question that arises to be asked is whether the fast has any purpose in the current environment. Is there a reason to continue the fast, or is it time to let the fifth month fast be left behind as an artifact of the past, as something that was once important, but is so no longer?

It is an important question and one that we need to continue to ask today. The reality is that there are activities we perform in the church that we do because we are commanded to by God, and there are things that we do because the traditions of man demanded them. The first are essential, and the second are not. The first we need to continue to do (for example, celebrating communion or meeting together as the Body of Christ) and the latter are human traditions (for example, singing hymns or choruses, or what translation of the Bible is read in our worship services) that are not commanded, but that we do because it is comforting to us. We need to understand the difference, but that has proven to be complicated. But the reality is that what is demanded by God, we need to continue. But what is created by man can be changeable, and should serve the needs of the church and the people of God as they worship at any point in time.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 8

I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. – Zechariah 6:1

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 27, 2020): Zechariah 6

Mount Zion. Just the name fills readers acquainted with the biblical record with emotion, although the name has not always meant the same thing. Sometimes, the Bible uses Zion to indicate the whole nation of Israel. At other times, it is used to refer to a particular mountain – or one of three mountains. The first reference to Mount Zion is in reference to the fortified city of Jebus, which was built on the lower part of Jerusalem's Eastern Hill. It was this area that would eventually be referred to as the City of David. But when Solomon built his Temple on the upper portion of the Eastern Hill, the name Mount Zion migrated to the place where the Temple had been constructed. For the next thousand years, it was this home of Solomon's Temple that was called Mount Zion. But then the mountain, or at least the name, moved again. Today, the hill that biblical writers knew of as Mount Zion is simply known as Temple Mount. Mount Zion has shifted one more time, this time to the more dominant Western Hill, located just outside the Western Wall of the old city of Jerusalem. The reason for the shift was that the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the first century C.E. felt that the dominant Western Hill was more worthy of the name Zion than the lower Eastern Hill, especially after the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. And on the Western Hill, the name Mount Zion has stuck.

Zechariah looks up and sees four chariots emerging from between two mountains – mountains he says are "of bronze." The idea that the mountains are bronze indicates that strength and judgment are present in the mountains. And most scholars agree that the mountains are the Mount of Olives, located just to the east of the old city of Jerusalem, and today's Mount Zion, or the Western Hill, located just to the west of the old city.

But Zechariah wouldn't likely have recognized the Western Hill as Mount Zion. In the mind of Zechariah, the four chariots were emerging, not from between Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives, but out of Mount Zion itself, which was located between the two mountains of bronze – the Mount of Olives and the dominant Western Hill. On Mount Zion, Zerubbabel was going to build his Temple. On that mountain, God would rule once again over Israel and the earth. Not only on the two mountains of bronze but on the mountain that existed between them, the world would recognize the strength and judgment that flows from the throne of God, flowing out of Mount Zion.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 7

And he said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. – Zechariah 5:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 26, 2020): Zechariah 5

Fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss says that "music sounds different to the one who plays it. It is the musician's curse." There is little doubt that he is right. The musician hears the mistakes or weaknesses in the music that they write and perform. But they also experience the emotion of the music in a way that is impossible for anyone who hears the music without playing it. Maybe my struggle with Rothfuss's words is found in the word "curse." Because if a "curse" is a bad thing, perhaps "curse" isn't quite the right word for the experience of the musician with their music.

I have a similar struggle when I consider these words of Zechariah. Zechariah insists that every thief will be banished, as will everyone who swears falsely. Scholars take this to be an example of what was written on the flying scroll and wonder if this scroll might have contained all of the Ten Commandments, even though only the two are actually mentioned. But the words of Zechariah seem to indicate that our actions will judge us. And part of me argues, isn't that what justice looks like in our lives. We serve a just God, and our societies struggle to be just, so that those who commit the crime, pay the penalty for their actions. Let me be clear, in our racially charged environment, the cry is not that atrocities should not be prosecuted, but instead that those who commit the crimes pay a similar penalty, regardless of their race or societal standing.

But Zechariah seems to indicate that this is a curse that is being held over the land. If you steal, or if you lie, if you contravene any of the commandments, you will pay the penalty for your wrongdoing. If you commit the crime, you will be banished. But the question remains, is receiving the just punishment for your actions really a curse.

It is a reality with which I know that even we as Christians struggle. We strongly believe that we serve a just God, which leaves us a little hazy about the role of grace and mercy in our lives. But we need to be precise. We do serve a just God. But we also serve a God who is marked just as much by grace and mercy as he is by justice, which is a good thing because we all need a little of God's grace and mercy mixed into our lives.

How it all comes together is something that we will probably never understand. But Zechariah is right, with all of the ways that we fail God in our lives, a sovereign marked only by justice is a curse. The blessing is that God took the penalty on himself so that we can receive his grace and mercy in those moments when we really need it.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 6

"Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the LORD that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?" – Zechariah 4:10

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 25, 2020): Zechariah 4

Mother Theresa remarked that "The Lord likes small things best, especially those done with love." The truth is that every venture begins by doing something small. And every action is sustained by doing something small. It doesn't matter what the project might be. The undertaking might be big, but the steps to completion are always small. A day that is filled with small things is a day where significant gains could be achieved.

So, Zechariah emphasizes "the day of small things." His language might seem strange to us, but we understand the message. The "seven eyes of the Lord" is just a nod toward the idea that God sees all of our actions and our inactions. There is no small thing that is too small for God to bother to notice. There are no insignificant actions that are not worth undertaking because all of our small steps end up carrying us miles into the journey.  

Zechariah's reality is that the Temple still laid in ruins. It had likely been almost two decades since the first hesitant steps toward the rebuilding of the Temple had been undertaken. Nothing was being done, mainly because the job seemed to be so big. But Zechariah reminds them that big tasks are completed by paying attention to the small things. The steps needed for the rebuilding of the Temple needed to be broken down into several smaller actions, something that could be completed. And if the nation did the little things, the day would come when the Temple, almost miraculously, would be completed.

And the "seven eyes" of God would rejoice on the day that they got to witness the capstone in the hands of Zerubbabel. On that day, the Temple, which was too big and too hard for the people to complete, would be finished. On that day, they would realize that the day of the small things could accomplish big and impossible projects.

So, don't despise the day of the small things. Mother Theresa is right. God loves it when we do the small things. Because he knows that when small things come together, great things are accomplished. If all that you achieve today is the completion of some small things, know that God is smiling. Small things are important. And when we dare to come together as a community, committed to doing the small things, we really can change the world.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 5

"'In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,' declares the LORD Almighty." – Zechariah 3:10

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 24, 2020): Zechariah 3

Derrick Bell, in "Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth," notes that "We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained." The American Dream, which is really just the dream of any free society, is that by working hard, we can distinguish ourselves on an equal playing field. We are beginning to realize that we have a lot of work left for us to make our playing fields fair, but it is the dream. But in practice, we celebrate wealth, power, and celebrity, no matter how those things are gained. While we say that we are a merit-based society or a society where you are honored by what you make of yourselves, in practice, we celebrate the spoiled and lazy, who have wealth but have no merit and who refuse to work hard at anything. The Canadian rock band "Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) summed up these people in the 1970s "I love to work at nothing all day" (Taking Care of Business, Randy Bachman, 1973). We love to watch and talk about the partiers, those who have made the most of an unequal society. This has really become our definition of prosperity, not those who have by merit and hard work distinguished themselves, but those who have accidentally fallen into the lap of wealth and power. For us, prosperity is wealth without responsibility.

But the Bible offers us a different perspective on the idea of being prosperous. Prosperity is summed up by the ability to sit with your neighbor in your back yard and just enjoy their presence. It is an ability that is impossible unless we live in a society dominated by peace and equality. Prosperity is sharing the vision with others, knowing that our community continues because we all carry our share of the load. It is being in relationships with people who have no intention of harming you, and who love you just the way you are.

This kind of prosperous world is where I want to live. I am tired of conversations with people where the only purpose seems to be to tear down someone else so that they can be elevated. I yearn to sit in my back yard with my neighbors, wanting the best for them and secure in the knowledge that they want the best for me. It is the prosperity of a society that has indeed developed an equal playing field, one where race and gender have no part in any discussion. It is a world where trust abounds. And where we love each other as we love ourselves.

And I hope that someday that is what you find under your fig tree.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 4

And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the LORD, 'and I will be its glory within.' – Zechariah 2:5

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 23, 2020): Zechariah 2

In 2016, President Trump ran a campaign that centered around the idea of building a "big, beautiful wall" along the border that separated the United States and Mexico, and maybe sometimes to a lesser extent between the United States and Canada. The problem was that people from poorer countries, mainly in Central America, were making use of the Southern border of the United States, to enter into the country to live illegally in the United States. President Trump decried the purpose, largely placing the blame for many of the ills of the nation on these illegals. Drugs were also coming across the southern border. And there is no doubt that a country has both the right and the responsibility to control its borders.

And Donald Trump was right. In ancient times, it was hard to imagine a city without a wall. Walls were essential to protect a city from the attack of the enemy and to maintain some control over those who were allowed to enter into the city. When an enemy gathered to attack an area, the people living in the countryside would move into the walled city, residing behind the protection that the wall offered until the time of the crisis had passed. But President Trump's critics sought to remind the President that this was not ancient times. Once airships were invented, the value of a wall decreased. Walls ceased to be of as much value when the enemy could simply fly over the top of the wall. And it would be impossible to build a wall high enough to stop those wanted to enter the country that way. It was already the reality of the situation. More illegals entered the nation by flying or boating into the United States, than by choosing to come over a land border that could be protected by a wall.

Zechariah imagines Jerusalem as a city without walls. On that day, God would become the wall that protects the city. He would be a wall of fire that could not be flown over or tunneled under. God would be the protection that the city needs. And as the angel measures the city, there is an idea that the walls of the city provided by God could be expandable. There would be no limit to the number of people who could find their protection inside of the City of God. God would be the wall of security, but also the glory or excitement inside of the city. The people would rally around their God and want to be present in the city because God is there.

The prophecy had a short-term application for the returning exiles. Jerusalem, as Zechariah writes these words, had no walls. It needed protection, and new walls for the city would take time. The enemies of the city were everywhere; the countryside was filled with people who wanted nothing more than for the exiles to fail. And Zechariah's promise to these people is that God would protect them as they rebuilt Jerusalem. But the main emphasis of the prophecy is that this is something that would come true in the time of the Messiah. When the Messiah comes in all of his glory, we will be living in a world that has no further need for earthly walls.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 3

I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?" He answered me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem." – Zechariah 1:19

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 22, 2020): Zechariah 1

Mahatma Gandhi argued that "The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace." That day has never come. And the love of power is transient, passing from one empire to the next. It always has been that way. Every empire has been built on power, and every empire has eventually fallen. And that single fact should give the powers of this world reason to pause. The love of power can only lead to the temporary possession power. Power is almost an impossible thing on which to hold.

Traditionally, the use of a horn as a symbol was intended to bring about images of authority and strength, because the power of a bull or an ox was found in the animal's horn. If you dehorn a bull or an ox, you steal its power. We can imagine the "Running of the Bulls" If all of the bulls had been dehorned. The size of the beast would still make those who run afraid, but not nearly as scared as they would be if the bulls still had their horns.

Zechariah has a vision. And in the dream, he looks up and sees four, apparently disembodied, horns; at least, Zechariah makes no mention of any animal to which the horns might be connected. And he is confused. What is the intended meaning of the four horns? The angel replies that these are the horns or the powers that had scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. The angel offers no other information. And neither does Zechariah.

This leaves us to guess at what powers the angel was meaning. Adding to the mystery is that the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible written for Greek-speaking Jews during the third and second centuries B.C.E., and the Bible that was adopted by the early Christian Church, omits "Israel." The omission of Israel makes some sense because Israel had long disappeared by the days of Zechariah. But that might have also been the point.

So, who were the powers? Opinion varies. If we include Israel and concentrate on the word scattered, then it would seem that Assyria, who drove Israel into exile, and Babylon, who took Judah into exile and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, should be included as two of the horns. We should probably also include Egypt, who, while not directly driving Israel into exile, accepted Judeans, who were fleeing from Babylon into a self-imposed exile—leaving the identity of the fourth horn. Some argue that the fourth horn represents the current Medo-Persian Empire, which reached its height during the reign of Darius the Great, who Zechariah mentions in verse 1. But the Medo-Persians didn't really scatter Judah. Other Scholars have added an element a prophecy by including Greece, who scattered through their influence and the Hellenization, or the promotion of Greek Culture, throughout the Middle East. Others have argued for the Romans, who scattered Israel by destroying Jerusalem and ending Judah as an independent nation.

But regardless of which empire we assign to the four horns, the reality is that all of them fell. Only the God of Israel remained as a constant. And only he was the one on whom Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem could rely.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 2

I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. – Haggai 2:7

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 21, 2020): Haggai 2

American journalist H. L. Mencken remarked, "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." Mencken died in 1956, so he was not commenting on our contemporary political situation. Having said that, I think that almost every President who has adorned the White House during my lifetime has been considered by some to be "a downright moron." But that highlights part of the problem. We struggle with what we want. We always have. What we should want, we discard into the trash. And what we should throw away, we give an honored place in our lives.

There is a little confusion concerning the phrase "what is desired by all nations." The NIV uses it as a descriptive phrase, allowing us to consider what is desired by all nations. And we can come up with answers. Power? Possibly. Wealth and comfort? Yes. Health? Definitely. All of these things can and are desirable.

But some translators have treated Haggai words as a title, instead of a phrase, The Desire of All Nations.  And using it as a title changes the way we interpret the phrase. For biblical scholars, the answer to the mystery of what is desired by all nations is a simple one. The answer is The Messiah. But just because all nations desire the Messiah, does not mean that we understand that.

For Christians, we understand the Messiah, or the Christ, to be Jesus of Nazareth. He is the "Desire of All Nations." And when he came and was presented at the Temple that was built during the days of Haggai, he finally filled Zerubbabel's Temple with glory, something that had been missing until the day he arrived in the arms of Mary and Joseph. But as far as opponents to Christianity are concerned, part of the problem is that Jesus, especially at the end of his ministry, was not desired. Jesus did not bring the power or wealth and comfort or even the health that the nations expected and desires. Instead, he brought a path to spiritual health, a way for the nations to mend their relationship with their God.

And so, we did not recognize the Messiah. We did not understand that we needed him. If we were to possess real power and wealth, that path starts with our relationship with God. All that ails this world, he heals. Instead, we discarded the very thing that we needed and desired, echoing the truth of Mencken's comment. It seems that whether we are talking about a president or a Messiah, the desire of heart's is that these positions be inhabited by "a downright moron."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 1

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come to rebuild the LORD's house.'" – Haggai 1:2

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 20, 2020): Haggai 1

Mark Twain famously commented that we should "Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well." As a world-class procrastinator, I understand the comment. (Actually, I have tried to change my ways and have worked according to more artificial deadlines in my daily life for many years. Because I know that what I can put off, I will put off.) I think procrastination comes easily to most of us.

It would be easy to write off the rebuilding of the Temple to a case of procrastination. We can date these words to September, 520 B.C.E. That means that the people had been back in Jerusalem for eighteen years. In the beginning, the altar had been rebuilt, and the work on the Temple had begun. But the work had stopped. For the past fourteen years, nothing had been done on the Temple.

In their defense, there were some good reasons for the inactivity. First, the work was hard. What had been easy had been completed. Now, what was left was going to take a significant effort. The work was also expensive, and the exiles did not have a lot of money. The exiles had suffered under conditions of drought and the resultant crop failures. The people of the land opposed the rebuilding of the Temple, and the city of Jerusalem, by the exiles. And the people remembered easier times back in Babylon. The time was not right for a major building program. The exiles had good reason to want to wait a little longer. Waiting was an expedient course of action.

But Haggai wants to call the people on their procrastination. It is not that he does not understand their hardship. He has lived and is living through the same set of circumstances as the people. But sometimes, we need to set our mind on doing the hard things. There will always be reasons not to do the hard stuff. Haggai's message is that the time comes when we must choose to do the hard things.

It is a sentiment that was echoed by John F. Kennedy in 1962 in his speech at Rice University.

We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too (John F. Kennedy; Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, September 12, 1962).

I think Haggai would have agreed. It was time for Israel to do the hard thing.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Haggai 2

So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. – Ezra 6:21

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 19, 2020): Ezra 6

King Augeas was said to be a man of wealth and prestige. His wealth was partially represented by his herd of cattle, which according to the legend, was over 3000 head. The cows were likely divine, as they had been given to the King by the sun god Helios. Augeas had housed the cattle in his stable. According to the legend, King Augeas had kept the animals in his barn for thirty years. And for thirty years, the stable had never been cleaned.

The Augean Stables came to represent a job that could never be completed. The task of cleaning the stables had been put off for too long; it would be impossible to clean them now. And so, because it was impossible, the task of cleaning the stables was given to Hercules as his Fifth Labor. Unlike the preceding Labors, this one was not intended to kill the hero. It was just meant to humiliate him.

The situation that the exiles returned to in Jerusalem could be compared to the King Augeas's stables. The reality is that the Temple had been destroyed, and the best and the brightest had been removed from the territory. Among those who were left behind, many of the more capable people, such as the prophet Jeremiah, had left for Egypt and had never returned. Jerusalem and the area that surrounded it had been l given over to a few Judeans, and other foreigners who were trying to make a life for themselves in and around the area. For seventy years, the people had worshipped without guidance. What developed out of that practice of worship was a hybrid belief that had its origins in many faiths, both from the Judean worship of Yahweh as well as from the rituals dedicated to the Canaanite gods. Religiously, Judah had become a stable that had never been cleaned. It really wasn't the fault of the people any more than the condition of the Augean Stables was the fault of the cows. But the question that remained was what could be done to correct the problem. Or was cleaning up the situation impossible.

And it is easy to get the impression that the exiles, much like the observers of the Augean Stables, had decided that the situation could not be cleaned up. The only thing that could be done was to isolate the two groups of people, maintaining two systems of worship, one for the exiles who were returning and another for the ones who had remained in the land. Ezra reveals this idea earlier in his writing.

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, "Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."

But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, "You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the King of Persia, commanded us" (Ezra 4:1-3).

Ezra's comment in Ezra 4 makes it sound like the strategy of the returning exiles was to isolate. But the importance of Ezra's commentary here is that cleaning up the religious situation in Judah was not an impossible task. Some people had stayed in Judah throughout the era of the exile, and they were able to separate themselves from the hybrid beliefs that had grown in the period. These worshippers were willing to leave what they had grown to know and return to a more pure faith that was being promoted by the returning exiles.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Haggai 1

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. – Ezra 5:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 18, 2020): Ezra 5

Author J. K. Rowling in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" argues that "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." Things often go better when we can all get on the same page, and it doesn't matter that the "thing" might be. It is one of the reasons that, as a society, I think we need to get a better understanding of our priorities. Often it seems that everything is essential to our agendas. But the adage holds. When everything is important, nothing is important.

So, it strikes me as significant that when the first Temple was built, Solomon's Temple, there was a singular unity between the secular and religious branches of government. The priests and the Levites were intimately involved in the project, but so was the King. Solomon drove the construction of the Temple that would bear his name, building the Temple according to the plans that had been handed down to him from his Father. We might remember the first Temple as Solomon's Temple, but before it was Solomon's, the dream belonged to David.

And as Israel rebuilds the Temple, again, we see a unity between the secular and the sacred. The second Temple would bear the name of Zerubbabel, the governor. But we shouldn't miss that this governor was a descendant of David, and if Israel still had a king in the days of Ezra, his name would have been Zerubbabel. And Zerubbabel is standing shoulder to shoulder with Joshua, the High Priest. The two were unified in purpose. The Temple was important enough to cause these two leaders to lay everything else aside for its cause.

The question that arises in my mind is, what are those issues for us today? So much of the governing of our nations seems to be spent on doing the things that the other side won't do while we are in power and have a chance. Or, on the flipside, fighting the lunacy that seems to take hold of those who govern. Too often, I wish that leaders would sit down around a table and examine the things that they hold in common, together, and concentrate on completing or strengthening those things.

There will always be things about which we disagree. But sometimes, all of that needs to take the back seat so that we can do what is important to all of us. Sometimes, the Temple simply needs to be built.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezra 6

And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language. – Ezra 4:7

Today's Scripture Reading (August 17, 2020): Ezra 4

A friend tells a story about attending a dinner party that was held with a group of dignitaries in attendance. At the last minute, my friend was asked to pray a blessing over the meal. This tends to be the curse of being a pastor, whenever a prayer is needed, it is the pastor who is asked to pray. So, my friend responds that he would be honored. When the time for the blessing arrives, he is announced and invited to come to the podium to offer a blessing over the food. My friend steps up to the mic … and goes completely blank. Nothing, no words appropriate to the situation, come to mind. And so, my friend, in a deep voice, begins his prayer with all the importance that he could muster. "God is Good … God is Great! … Let us thank him for our food. Amen." A prayer from childhood, spoken with as much dignity as possible.

Our language tends to change with our circumstances. The reality is that we speak differently, use different phrasing, when we are hanging out with friends than we do when we are making an official speech. It is just the way that things are.

Ezra makes a point of telling his readers that the next few verses are written in Aramaic. And it is not just a transliteration, changing the language but using Persian letters, much like most pastors do when teaching from the biblical languages. This letter of opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem was written with Aramaic script or Aramaic lettering. If we were holding the original document in our hands, we would notice the definite change, because in the original Hebrew document, not only is the statement present, but the words used are not translated. Ezra 4:8 until 6:18 are written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew (as is Ezra 7:12-26).

The question that arises out of this change is, why? We might think that, possibly, it was the language that King Artaxerxes, the letter's recipient, was more comfortable with; that Aramaic was the language that the King spoke. But that isn't it. In his reply, Artaxerxes makes it clear that the letter "has been read and translated in my presence" (Ezra 4:18). Artaxerxes couldn't read or understand the language of the message. He had to find people that did understand the language to read it to him in a language that he understood, adding an extra layer between the letter and the King.

But Aramaic was making a transition into the culture. As Ezra was rebuilding Jerusalem, Aramaic was becoming the language of business in the area, much like English has become the language of commerce throughout much of our world. In the Middle East, Aramaic was the language of money.

And even more importantly, Aramaic was the language that the reply would be written in when it came to the exiles. And by writing the original letter in Aramaic, those who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem were offering a template for the written reply, a cease and desist order from King Artaxerxes, commanding the exiles to stop their rebuild of the city, should that letter ever come.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezra 5

 

Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices. – Ezra 3:3

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 16, 2020): Ezra 3

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities on the planet. The city might have been called Rusalim four thousand years ago, and then Urusalim and Jebus before it was finally christened Jerusalem, a name that means "The City of Peace." Yet, peace was something that Jerusalem seems to have rarely known during the long years of its existence. Throughout the pages of history, Jerusalem was destroyed at least twice. It was a city under siege twenty-three times, captured and recaptured forty-four times, and attacked at least fifty-two times. Today, the peace of the city is an uneasy one, as the city has been divided into four cultural and religious quarters; the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter.

As Ezra tells his story, Jerusalem is struggling, two generations after Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the city, which was likely the first time that the city had been completely destroyed. But it was not necessarily uninhabited. Jerusalem, even after its destruction, remained an important city. There is no doubt that the remnant of the Jewish population left in Israel frequently found its way back to the city to worship. Those who wished to worship the God of Israel had likely built crude family altars around the place where Solomon's Temple had once stood. It is also likely that those who worshiped gods other than Yahweh had found their way to Jerusalem as well, celebrating the ancient Canaanite gods of the land on the mountain that had once been dedicated only to the worship of the God of Israel.

So as Israel returns to Jerusalem, they have some decisions to make. Everything has been destroyed, and so the needs of the city are vast. But they decide that the first thing that they need to do is rebuild the altar. The rebuilding of the altar, on its previous foundation, made sense. They knew where the altar had to go, it was an easy rebuild, and it reflected the spiritual priority of people and worshippers who were returning. If Jerusalem were going to succeed, it would only be because they had chosen to place the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob first and resume their worship of him.

But there was another problem. Those who had been worshipping on the mountain for the past two generations had left their altars and religious paraphernalia on the holy site. And many of them had no desire to be kicked off of the mountain just because the exiles had decided it was time to come home. But for the altar to be correctly rebuilt, that was precisely what was going to have to happen.

And so, the people are scared. They know that they don't need more enemies in the area that we were now trying to inhabit. But they also wanted to do things right. And so, they tore down the crude altars that had been built in the area, so that they could rebuild the altar that they believed that their God demanded. And they were not going to allow their fear to stop them from doing what was right.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezra 4

Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. – Ezra 1:7

 

Today's Scripture Reading (August 15, 2020): Ezra 1 & 2

There are many ways to lose something. Sometimes we misplace the item (my keys often find themselves into this category). At other times, we have it stolen away from us. And sometimes, in a moment of insanity, we simply give the item away. But in all of these instances, the truth is that the item is lost to us, it is no longer under our control.

Historically, we know that everything that used to exist inside of the Temple has been lost. But how it was lost differs. Sometimes the items were taken. Sometimes the items were misplaced. And even at other times, important things from within the Temple were given away. If the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba sharing a son is true, then one of the tales of that relationship is that Solomon gave away the Ark of the Covenant to his Southern friend (or was it stolen, the story seems to change). But legend says that Menelik, the son of Solomon and Sheba's queen, brought the Ark to Ethiopia, essentially saving it from all the destruction that would claim the other articles of Jerusalem's Temple. But the truth is that it doesn't matter how something is lost. It is still lost. The Ark of the Covenant might be in Ethiopia (and no, I really don't think that it is there), but only one man is allowed to see it, so it is still lost to the rest of us.

As Ezra begins his tale, there is no doubt that the Temple and everything that was in it was lost. The Temple and some of the items that were traditionally housed inside of the Temple had been destroyed. The author of 2 Kings seems to make this clear: "As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord" (2 Kings 24:13). But there is some disagreement over the wording. While it seems that 2 Kings indicates that at least all of the gold items were destroyed, that might not be the case. The word translated as "cut-up" could simply mean "cut off." It wasn't that all of these items were destroyed, but that they had been removed from their former uses and were unavailable to the priests of Israel. Essentially, they were lost.

And as Ezra begins his story, King Cyrus returns these items, stolen from the Temple, that he still had in his possession. Undoubtedly, if we had a list of the items taken by Nebuchadnezzar and those returned by Cyrus, there would be a discrepancy. Maybe, it was more of just the mundane objects that Cyrus still had from the days of Nebuchadnezzar, those that were worth little, and yet still found their origins in the Temple. But Ezra makes it clear that at least some items from Solomon's Temple were returned. And in a way that the writer of 2 Kings probably couldn't imagine, the lost, at least some of it, had been finally found.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezra 3