Shine within our hearts, loving Lord,
with the true light of your divine knowledge,
and open the eyes of our minds,
that we may comprehend the message of your Word,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
In the beginning of Habakkuk, the prophet sees evil among his own people – the leaders of Judah (although some argue that it is Assyria that he is talking about). By now you should sense the weight of 1:4 – the law, justice and righteousness are all at risk. God’s response is to send Babylon to do his work of punishment. That doesn’t sit well with Habakkuk either! But Habakkuk waits for the LORD to carry out his justice with Babylon, too. The final verses (3:17-19) are a huge statement of faith and trust.
Zephaniah prophesies during the reign of King Josiah (a good king) of Judah. Israel is already exiled to Assyria, so the references to Israel here are meant for the whole of God’s people (here mainly Judah). A main theme is the Day of the LORD which will bring blessing for those who keep covenant and disaster for the rest. I am noticing another theme in some of these prophets that comes up here in 3:3-5. The ones in charge of making sure the people keep covenant are the officials (kings and others), the prophets, and the priests. Repeatedly all three fail. Repeatedly God says he himself will step in to change that. One of our foundations for understanding the work of Jesus is that he is prophet, priest, and king. Jesus is God stepping in to change everything. Because of the promise of God, the work of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit, ALL Christians now have what we call the “threefold office” of prophet, priest, and king. Not that we replace Christ, but we are indeed his heart and hands in this world. Read Zephaniah 3:15-17 as a message to us (to you). I love verse 17 – we used to sing a song that began, “Sing, Lord sing over your people…” What an amazing and true image! God rejoices over his people!
Haggai prophesies after the Babylonian captivity (the year is 520 B.C.). The temple is still the manifestation of God’s presence among the people. The people have returned to Jerusalem, but they have not given thought to God’s presence, so they are experiencing little blessing. On Sunday morning we talked about these temple prophesies that don’t seem to literally come true. In 2:9 God says the glory of this house will be greater than the former. We know that this particular temple building was not more glorious than Solomon’s temple, but from this and other prophecies we know that God’s presence (symbolized by the temple) will be a blessing to all nations. We see this verse most fully fulfilled in Christ.
Zechariah was a priest who also prophesied after the Babylonian captivity. Chapter 2 is a vision for the gathering of the nations as God’s people. The city (Jerusalem) will be so full that it will not even be surrounded by walls! I won’t comment on all the visions (this message is getting long enough), but my study notes say that 4:14 is probably referring to Zerubbabel the governor (like a king) and Joshua the priest. Beginning in chapter 9 we find a lot of passages that are either quoted or at least referenced in the New Testament, many in regards to Jesus.
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