The Jews who left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem did so because they wanted to be a part of God’s purpose. They returned to re-establish God’s Kingdom in the promised land and to rebuild the temple where God would be worshipped. There was a great sense of expectancy among the returnees. But things turned out to be harder than they expected and as a result their fervour was greatly dampened. When the Samaritans successfully opposed the temple project each person retreated into their own lives. Sixteen years later they still had their heads down working away at their own subsistence without any recourse to why they were there in the first place. So God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to wake the people up. It is very easy to go through life with your head down focused on your own lifestyle goals. In many cases God graciously sends some person or circumstance to wake us up. God wants us to lift our heads from the mundane preoccupation with subsistence and remember why we are here in the first place. We are here to build for God’s Kingdom. We all have our little bit to do in this great project. It is our mission and if we don’t do it then it doesn’t get done. A lot of people begin their Christian walk with genuine devotion and high expectations of what they will do with God. But when things get hard they lose hope and lower their heads to focus on their own lives. May God always do whatever it takes to awaken us when this happens.
Ask God to help you see the significance of your part in the corporate mission.
Read Haggai 1
