Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
The watchword for the month of September is taken from the Book of the Prophet Haggai, Chapter One verse Six, “You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it,” (NRSVB). Scholars teach us that the prophet Haggai prophesied in the year 520 BC. It has been eighteen years since the remnant of the Jews returned from Babylon to Jerusalem. They were given an edict by King Cyrus to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in 539 BC. However, King Darius, the ruler who succeeded Cyrus, did not have any knowledge of the edict and gave instruction that it had to be investigated. This investigation hindered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem for more than a decade. During this time the returned exiles started to build their own houses, planted their own fields and rebuilt great parts of the city.
The prophet Haggai brought the word of the Lord to the people regarding the reconstruction of the temple and urged them to start to work on the house of the Lord. The high priest, Joshua, and the Jewish governor, Zerubabbel, encouraged the people in their work and the temple was rebuilt from 520-516 B.C. The second temple did not have the same splendour as the first temple that King Solomon built, but the prophet promised that the temple would witness greater splendour than the first temple witnessed. Once the foundation of the temple was laid and the people worked to complete the reconstruction of the house of the Lord, they started to experience the blessing of good harvests, just as the prophet foretold.
Our watchword for today is taken from the Book of Psalms, Psalm Sixty-nine verse thirteen, “I pray to you, O Lord, in the time of your favour; in your great love, O God, answer me with your salvation,” (NRSVB). This psalm was written by King David, who wanted to build a temple for the Lord. When David received the message from the prophet, Nathan, telling him that God would not want him to build the temple, David started to collect material so that there would be enough to build a magnificent house for the Lord, once his son would start with the building program. In this psalm David has a prophetic vision of the coming Messiah and his relationship with the temple, as the House of God, “For zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches and insults of those who reproach and insult You have fallen upon me,” (Amplified Bible). Jesus Christ cleansed the temple of the traders and said that it should be a house of prayer. Thus the promise of the prophet Haggai was fulfilled. The second temple witnessed the Messiah’s cleansing and zeal for the temple of the Lord. God answered the prayer of David and he saw God’s salvation and blessing on the latter part of his reign that was blessed with peace and abundance. David found favour in God’s sight for he instructed the people to start to prepare ahead so that all would be ready for the building of the temple.
When Jesus died and the dividing curtain of the temple was torn in two, the altar became visible to the people, then the new covenant between God and humanity became visible in Christ. Jesus became the Lamb who was slain for all for salvation. Believers became one body, united, through, in, with and under Christ, the head of the Church. After Christ’s resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the followers of Christ prayed to God in the Name of his Son, Jesus, who reconciled the world to the Father. We read Jesus’ instruction to the disciples in the Gospel of John, Chapter 16 verse 23, “If you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you,” (NRSVB).
Father, we thank you that you have made our hearts your home and you dwell in and with us. We praise you and thank you for your Son, who died for us so that we can live and worship you. We thank you for the countless houses of worship across the world and ask that you will bless the faithful who gather together and maintain in your house, Amen.