Lent - Pt 26

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’” (Haggai 2:4-9 ESV).

Haggai was one of the prophets who lived and worked during the time when the people carried into slavery were being set free to return to their native land in Israel. They would return to the destruction left in the wake of the invading armies of Assyria and Babylon. Our reading today is taken from the book of Haggai, which was written to these people who had returned from Babylonian to rebuild the destroyed temple. It was an encouragement and a call to rebuild amidst rubble, hope despite desolation, and believe even during times of hardship and disappointment. I am reminded that we may be living in such a time. Our cities may not be in rubble; however, our culture teeters on the brink of collapse in many ways. The reading I’ve selected for our Lenten devotional today speaks of a time to come much like that which we are living in. It is described as a time when the world would be shaken up as it had never been shaken before. Ironically, this was intended to be a comfort for people who were standing in rubble! While this may seem difficult to understand at first glance, the writer of Hebrews took comfort in the shaking of this world, as it “indicates the removal of things that are shaken … in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain … a kingdom” (Hebrews 12:26-28). At the heart of Haggai’s declaration that all of creation (v. 6) and all nations (v. 7) would be shaken, there is the promise that “the treasures of all nations shall come in.” “Treasures” is a Hebrew word that can function as a singular or plural noun. In other words, not only will the treasures of the nations be brought to the house of God in tribute, but there will also be One, the true treasure, who fills the house and is to be prized above all the wealth of the world. When our world shakes, we must be shaken with it. When the treasures of your heart disappoint you, our hearts should fail. It is then that we may take hold of the “treasure of all nations” and be encouraged! Here we are given peace.