Haggai 1:1-8 ~ that I, The Lord, may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.

 

FREEDOM

FREEDOM

FREEDOM

King Darius

sets the prisoners

FREE

And inquires to their progress

as pilgrims in an abandoned land.

Reclamation!

Redemption

Renewal

Life!

Who is Darius? His is the One the Books of God and this mountain tell us is..

Darius is the Slave Freer. The man, the king who has helped the slaves return to their homeland. Part of the Bible and History in the Babylonian Cuneiform.

FREEDOM

FREEDOM

FREEDOM

Darius promises to return all 'exiles' other nations would call slaves. And at the base of his mosaic, he praises God as his Helper. 

Who is Darius? It's difficult to tell, there are numerous Kings named Darius with various numbers behind their name.  But we can know, this Darius is excellent and biblical.

Because the Next King is the 3rd King, 

Nebuchadnezzar II and Cyrus had promised to return the Children of Israel to Judah.

Darius decides he will act upon this promise.

Fitting nicely into Jeremiah explaining 70 years of exile. 

The Babylonian Cuneiform tells us the Captivity began in 597 BC and the times frame of the 3 Kings i 527 BC. And this is God's Word and is fulfilled! And in this Chapter and the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. 

(c. 1000 BC, Israel was split in half almost immediately after King Solomon died due to the arrogance of his only son. And Judah or Judea will exist until 70 A.D. the natural time of death of Jesus, from the Tribe of Judah.) (And 2,000 years later - Israel exists again. Very, immensely pleasing.)

Another really amazing and God Centered point, 70 years of Babylonian Exile

 

Haggai 1:1-8

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 

2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: 

These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 

3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,

 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: 

Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Haggai 1 has the time and season of fulfilling God's Word to Jeremiah about 70 years of slavery and captivity in The Babylonian Empire.  The people return to ruins, blackened, charred ruins. When many Jews, like the family of Esther, Hadassah, elected to stay in the Babylonian Empire for the comfort of daily life.

Nehemiah 2 describes returning to the homeland they had longed for, for 70 years.

The ruins were charred with fire.

Nehemiah 2

11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days, 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
 

13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 

14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate.

  16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.



17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 


18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

And the Slaves, who had been called Exiles by Nebuchadnezzar II, set about living in safety and comfort.

Israel and Judah had wars before. 

If we compare the end of the 2nd Exodus, we could consider the time when God acted through Isaiah and King Hezekiah.  The tribes of Israel had been enslaved by the Assyrians and many tribes ceased to exist. Their lines ended. Could not find descendants.  

King Hezekiah's father, Ahaz, knew the threat of the Assyrians, and he encouraged the people to worship on the mountains. So Hezekiah could strip the Temple of gold and live comfortably as a puppet king of the conquering Assyrians.  In fact, Hezekiah did strip the Temple door to send the Assyrians gold and suddenly decided to follow God instead of stripping His Temple for the comfort of Hezekiah.

CONSIDER KING HEZEKIAH

739 BC

250 Years after King David

and King Solomon

2 Chronicles 29 ~ opened the doors of the House of the Lord

1 Kings 6:2
The Temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

A cubit is considered to be about 18 – 20 inches, so the temple was about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. In the modern world, the size is not vast like skyscrapers, football stadiums or airports. However, we've probably never seen a Church covered in gold.

Hezekiah is One of the Most Prosperous Kings 

Recorded as Amazingly Victorious Kings 

To Demand Judea, Judah, the Children of Jacob Israel

Will not bow down to the Assyrian Army

and Will be Free from

the Assyrian Empire

And IN HIS FAITHFULNESS

God has Showered His Blessings on The Children Of ISRAEL

Judah Rises, seeing Israel has become Assyria's captive

and at least 3 tribes disappear from their History due

to war and slavery.

Judah begins to dig tunnels, World War II style

to give them water under siege and protect them

from Assyria.

But Assyria was Nineveh and they are interested

in the Temple and the Jewish God Almighty.

Even Jonah has a place in God's Plan for Generations.

2 Chronicles 29

1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old,

 and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 

His mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.

 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east 5 and said to them, 

“Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. 7 They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel.

8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron.

17 They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”

20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. 23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them, 24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king's seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, “You have now consecrated yourselves to [filled your hand for] the Lord. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. 35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings, and there were the drink offerings for the burnt offerings.

Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. 36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had prepared for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

The events and choices of our lives define us. Solomon said the day of adversity is surely from the Lord as the day of blessing.

Hezekiah is 25 years old when he becomes 14th King of Judah. In his era, Hezekiah is middle aged. Hezekiah is coming to God's Kingdom in a time of great stress. The Assyrian Empire is a huge and powerful force Hezekiah has seen take down the Kingdom of Israel. Peaking back at the last chapter - Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, did not have a victorious reign. He turned his back on the Temple of God and closed the doors - sacrificing to every god, all over the place, and turning to other kings to fight battle for Judah.

How can we imagine a king turning his back on this wonder in the world, this gold Temple and the glorious history of the Lord's power and intervention? Sadly, we can understand this. We see people every day who have decided the Lord's promises do not belong to them.

The Temple of the Lord seemed a fairy tale to Ahaz. He cast his hopes away from the Temple. Ahaz had the benefit of knowing Isaiah. He didn't listen or believe. Perhaps Ahaz was thinking if he made the Temple obsolete, future generations would be able to dismantle the Temple gold to pay armies and make financial arrangements.

Hezekiah could have pillaged the gold covering the Temple. Later, he would try this and cry out to God. Crying to God worked better. Hezekiah forged a path away from asking other kingdoms for help. He relied solely upon the Lord.

Hezekiah opened the doors of the House of the Lord. I'm sure not all who witnessed Hezekiah rely upon the Lord agreed or were pleased. But Hezekiah left a legacy of Scripture written about his faith, his victory, and the wonders of God's works. Hezekiah opened the doors of the House of the Lord, the possibilities from following God were endless.

2 Kings 19:
6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’”

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”

2 Kings 20
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you.

2 Chronicles 30:19-21
19 who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.” 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord.

2 Chronicles 32:19-21
19 And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men's hands.

20 Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword.

2 Chronicles 32:23-30

And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

27 And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly vessels; 28 storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. 29 He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. 30 This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

Hezekiah's Water Tunnel




The passage reads:

... the tunnel ... and this is the story of the tunnel while ...

the axes were against each other and while three cubits were left to cut? ... the voice of a man ...

called to his counterpart, (for) there was ZADA in the rock, on the right ... and on the day of the

tunnel (being finished) the stonecutters struck each man towards his counterpart, ax against ax and flowed

water from the source to the pool for 1200 cubits. and 100?

cubits was the height over the head of the stonecutters ...

Zada means prosperous or fortunate.

2 Chronicles 32 ~ And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things

The Bulla explain Amazing Prosperity Blessings 

Trade with Assyria and Egypt.

King Hezekiah's bulla or seal. In the Josef Chaim Kaufman Collection, Archaeological Center in Tel Aviv, Israel. Found also is Hezekiah's servant seal, which hung on a cord for the honored person to wear. Archaeologically, there is no doubt of these seals. Archaeologically, Hezekiah is supremely rich of finds - 2 actual seals of Hezekiah's, at least 5 bullae belonging to servants of Hezekiah, the tunnels for water, the Shiloah Inscription and the evidence of abundance in purchasing. Plus the historical knowledge of the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and the wealth and independence of the Kingdom of Hezekiah's Judah in the midst of the Assyrian Empire.

All of these bullae bear the name of Hezekiah, without doubt. The Scriptures record abundance in Hezekiah's time. It would also make sense products were purchased in abundance.

2 Chronicles 31:5-10
5 As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. 6 And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. 7 In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. 9 And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. 10 Azariah the chief priest, who was of the house of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left.”


This bulla, and the seal on the Papyrus, are for an Egyptian order of grain for Hezekiah.

After a Plague of slavery,  the children of Israel return to Jerusalem. To find it is invaded regularly by thugs. Safety is major concern. And they have freedom and housing. God has to stop them several times and remind them to now work on the wall for the safety of all. Later, He makes them brave to stop work on fortification and work on the Temple. Mistakes are made. The mistakes affect History today. The Samarians were the remnant and became the outsiders.

After a Plague of wars, Israel is wiped out. Ahaz dies. Hezekiah steps in. And stops. Asking himself is God a Savior to His People? After seeing war, slavery, death and destruction, Judah is willing to take up collections and build the tunnels for water and safety. At one point, Hezekiah has to ask they stop giving - because the gifts have no place to go.

When we have a Pandemic and so many aspects of life change. We must make sure. Consider your ways. Go high up in our thoughts and live in the meaningful portions of life. Let God take pleasure in our days, that He may be Glorified, says The Lord.

Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.

Abba, Father,

We see so many sights in this life

that generations before us have not seen.

You gave Jesus Ascent into Heaven

letting us know

where Jesus is.

We have lived in turbulent times

and see parents with small children

having concern written on their faces.

And in this mercy we hope

for one another

we will build

up the Body of Christ

Stronger,

Mercifully

and filled with Love.

In Jesus, we ask

Dwell in us, Father

Send Your Holy Spirit as Helper

Dwell in those we love

and 

Help us to seek You first

And in Jesus,

we will finish well.

Making our hearts, mind and soul where Jesus is proud of us.

 Today and tomorrow!

Our prayers. Our works. Our words. Our Hope. Our Future.

 Jesus be in these hopes for a plan.

Send Your Word, Please. 

You uphold the Universe With Your Word.

We lift up to Your Mercy, for relief rain

and gentle weather. Recovery for those in 

trauma and difficulty.

We pray with Texas for the weather to have gentle rain. 

God bless.

Our God is working. His Son, 

Jesus is working.

And we say Amen in Jesus.

Thank You, Father.

AMEN.

Thank You, Abba.

Thank You, Jesus Christ.

Alleluia 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Thanks, be unto the Lord

and His Blessings

To all who Love Him

and bring

more Heaven to earth