To my friends who are joining me in going deeper in Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (and Jonah).
Observation #1:
What a monumental effort! An entire generation has passed on, and most of the people returning to rebuild the temple and the city walls have been born in a foreign land. Only a few remain who remember the temple of Solomon in it’s pre-destruction glory. Ezra 3:10-13 describes the conflicted feelings of the people, and Psalm 137 is a monument to their bittersweet emotions.
Observation #2
As I have been engaging Ezra and have begun to consider the prophet Haggai (per the post #50 outline/questions last week) I was drawn into my memories regarding the distinct thread of the “house of the Lord” throughout the God Story. God reminded me of several things (so awesome).
– Haggai was concerned about the builders. They had become distracted and had allowed their attention, energy, and time to be siphoned to other things. Can you relate to this?
– This made me think about the now-destroyed Solomon’s Temple which the Babylonians had scraped from the temple mount in Jerusalem.
– I was reminded by the Spirit about Acts 17:22-31. Where does God live – really?
– Which then led me back to the source where David desired to build a “house” for God (1 Chronicles 17 – this story makes me weep because of the deep emotional connection between David and God) which ALSO reminded me that this is PROPHETIC – not merely about David’s son Solomon but about One Who would emerge from David’s descendants and reign as King forever (anyone come to mind?) – and by the way, why did God live from tent to tent, and what in the world does this mean?
– All of which focused me on the fact I am a living stone (vibrating with life) being assembled into the true dwelling of God (1 Peter 2:4-12).
I am in awe.
I can’t wait to dig in more deeply.
Isn’t it amazing how ten minutes can turn into a half hour when you are searching for treasure?
I appreciate your company – feel free to tell me what you are seeing. Encouraging!
Dave
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