God's promises – Page 2

Nehemiah 2:11-20 – Unwavering Faith

Read Nehemiah 2:11-20

Can you imagine gathering all of the people together who are returning to Jerusalem with you and saying absolutely nothing about the plan God put on your heart? That was a long journey to have not confided in someone, recruiting people to help you in your mission.

Apparently, Nehemiah had his reasons. And now in the opening scene of this passage we see him sneaking around! At least he took a select few with him. I don’t know why I was surprised by the piles of rubble still blocking the way. The city had been destroyed 70+ years ago, and there had already been returnees in Jerusalem for years by the time Nehemiah showed up to finish securing the city with a wall.

Zechariah 8:9-19 – Source of Blessing

Read Zechariah 8:9-19

Zechariah’s message reminds the people of God’s love with a tangible example and a promise. The people can see the construction efforts on the new temple as they are returning from exile. We’ve also heard how the remnant returnees experienced poor profit on their crops and other financial stressors. This message says, “those days are over.”

Soon, the people will start to see all the bounty God promises. After years in exile, these words would have been even more precious and comforting. But the people still needed to listen. The keys to success were being spoken through God’s prophets. How would the people respond to how God was moving?

Haggai 2:20-23 – Chosen by God

Read Haggai 2:20-23

It helps to understand a bit of what is happening in Zerubbabel’s back story. We know from reading Haggai that he was the governor of Judah after the people returned from exile in Babylon. What I didn’t remember was that he was the grandson of King Jehoiachin, a king in the line of David (see Jesus’ lineage in Matthew 1:12).

You may recall from my reflections on Jeremiah 22 and 2 Kings 24, that King Jehoiachin had fallen out of favor with God. Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon in the first deportation of God’s people and imprisoned. God had promised David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 that there would always be an heir on the throne. Fast forward to the Israelites’ return from exile, and the question is now, “what about Zerubbabel?”

Joel 3:13-21 – Our Refuge

Read Joel 3:13-21

God is our refuge. Joel doesn’t use a lot of metaphors to describe God. We’ve have seen him portrayed as the leader of an army, a judge, and a roaring lion! But my favorite of all is found in verse 16, “But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel.”

Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress” has some fitting words for the idea of God as our refuge and strong fortress. Growing up Lutheran, this is a song I sang over and over but am only now seeing the exquisite beauty in these words.

Joel 2:18-27 – Restoration

Read Joel 2:18-27

What divine intervention! If Joel’s earlier words led his audience to believe they would be the laughingstock for belonging to the one true God, this passage lessens the distress. Can we assume that the people did repent and pray and this is God’s response?

Have you ever feared or experienced mockery for your faith? How did that make you feel? Did you realize God was there all the time?