Timing is Everything

by Lance Ponder⁽⁹¹⁾
http://fkiprofessor.xanga.com

Up Until Now
Hag 2:15-17 Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16 how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord.

It is said that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. While this might not be a literal biblical axiom, this passage certainly supports the principle. The people are being reminded of how things have been up to this point. The work they did for themselves came to nothing while the temple lay in ruins.

Through Haggai and Zechariah the Lord told them to get back to the task of rebuilding the temple. In spite of strong opposition they obeyed the Lord in faith. God acknowledged their difficult circumstances. He took responsibility for their condition, but explained the reason was their failure to repent.

Starting Now
Hag 2:18-19 Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”

It was a mid-December day exactly three months after the second prophecy. A command was issued. The people obeyed. God saw. He turned a judgment of punishment into an opportunity to show mercy and grace.

God’s love and forgiveness are inseparable. To forgive is to love. Both are a choice. Both are divine. Both are integral to redemption. A solitary act of faith is only the first step, but it is enough to turn away wrath.

This time of year barley seed is made ready for the winter planting. This made the figurative reference to seed all the more poignant. Just as planting is only the first step in the process that ultimately results in the harvest, so too laying the foundation of the temple is but the first step in the project. The people must continue in the project to continue in God’s grace. So too must all believers remain obedient in their faith in or out of season. By faith we are saved, however faith without obedience is hollow. To be and do the workmanship of God means to continue steadfast even when external conditions and internal emotions mask God’s love.

Our enemy, the devil, seeks to oppress us and make us useless. He employs every kind of trick to deceive us into surrender. God is faithful. Faith that is true results in joy that prevails through the trials of life to help us complete our missions from God. When we begin the work of God we can rest assured that He will see us through. It is not a promise of worldly wealth, but of peace and security now and for eternity.

To be free from sin is to be forgiven, which is to be loved. Freedom does not mean external ease. Freedom is far more valuable than gold or silver. The richness of God is infinitely better than the richness of the world. Seek first the kingdom of God and the cares of this life will take care of themselves. God knows our needs and will meet them. To dwell on those needs is pointless.

As the people of Israel discovered in the early winter of late 520 BC, to trust God and obey Him is how we treasure and love Him. He is faithful to love us and forgive us. God begins it by planting the seed within us. As we step out in faith we grow. A we mature we learn to trust Him fully and walk boldly in faith. When the harvest time comes we shed this world and like seed produced in one life we are raised up into a new life, perfect and incorruptible.

Article submitted Monday, January 23, 2012 & read 164 times.

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