Untitled Sermon (14)
4 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,
Saith the LORD of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain:
And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house;
His hands shall also finish it;
And thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of small things?
For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven;
Zerubbabel was faced with many challenges!
Zerubbabel was faced with many challenges!
1. The first of these challenges came from the position of the people!
Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us?
2. The second of these challenges came from the purposes of the enemy!
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain:
And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house;
His hands shall also finish it;
4 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; 2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, 5 And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time. 12 Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. 13 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.
3. The third of these challenges came from the procrastination, or in other words, passivity of the people!
1 aIN the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ccgovernor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of eJosedech, the high priest, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built. 3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses,
And this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; iConsider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little;
Ye eat, but ye have not enough;
Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink;
Ye clothe you, but there is none warm;
And he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house;
And I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.
9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little;
And when ye brought it home, I did sblow upon it.
Why? saith the LORD of hosts.
Because of mine house that is waste,
And ye run every man unto his own house.
10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew,
And the earth is stayed from her fruit.
11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains,
And upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil,
And upon that which the ground bringeth forth,
And upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
4. The fourth and final challenge that came was from the perception of the people!
2 In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,
3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?
And how do ye see it now?
Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD;
And be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest;
And be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work:
For I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt,
So my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while,
And I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come:
And I will fill this house with yglory, saith the LORD of hosts.
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
9 yThe glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts:
And in this place will I give zpeace, saith the LORD of hosts.
4 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,
Saith the LORD of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain:
And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house;
His hands shall also finish it;
And thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of small things?
For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven;
