On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?
How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ (Haggai: 2: 1-5, NIV) There are certain devastating life-situations where we lose our hope in God, e.g. death of a loved one. It is in a similar context of despair and brokenness that I find the prophetic role of Haggai to be significant. The text is set within the context of exile and captivity in Babylon.
Cyrus conquers Babylon by 539BC and allows the exiles to return to Jerusalem. A Syncretistic ruler, Cyrus, encouraged the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. During this period, Haggai along with Zechariah and Malachi performs the role of a prophet to the Jews. Zerubabbel and Joshua are among the first group of exiles returning to Jerusalem who took up the responsibility of rebuilding the temple.
Soon problems arose in the rebuilding process. The temple was the place where God resided and was a symbol of the covenant between God and the people of Israel. Some elders, who had seen the previous temple built by Solomon before its destruction, drew comparisons with the present attempts and effectively discouraged the people. Past attempts at rebuilding the temple (Ezra 3: 8-13), and the present lack of resources had left the people with huge disappointment.
Furthermore, the hard toil required to rebuild the temple and questions about the need for a temple made the rebuilding attempts progress at a very slow pace. In such a context, the Lord raises Haggai, to prophesy to the Jews. Here Haggai gives a new interpretation to the understanding of a prophetic role. He departs from the stereotype of one who criticizes the system and predicts doom, to one who encourages and provides hope to the people. Firstly, Haggai identifies the issue which needs to be addressed. Here he shows his prophetic concern towards understanding the concerns of the people.
Secondly, he immediately reacts to the situation. The reaction is a positive attempt at rebuilding the broken relationship between God and Israel. Thirdly, he provides hope and encouragement that empowers them to undertake reconstruction of the temple. It is a matter of fact, that we live in a world where frustrations and despair are day-to-day realities. We face frustrations and despair almost everyday, with no warning systems kept in place to help escape. Death, financial losses, betrayal, disease and many other life realities leave us devastated and searching for answers. It is during devastating situations; this prophetic voice of encouragement and hope develops into a lifeline on which broken lives are restored.
We have to play an important role in rebuilding. We have to identify issues that concern the very existence of people. We have to react immediately and effectively to these issues. Finally, it’s through our involvement there is a channel of Hope for broken individuals & communities to be restored. We are called to face devastating situations with courage and hope in built within us. For this, we draw our power from the Spirit of God that abides in us. This Spirit was visible in the ministry of Jesus – a ministry of rebuilding the broken relationship between God and creation; a ministry of rebuilding broken human lives; a ministry that gives new possibilities for a new beginning. This hope is not merely a false expectation or an anticipation of future glory. Rather, it is realized here and now in the present. It is realized through proactive reaching out to help people overcome their struggles and rebuild their own lives. We have to live this life. This life by itself is not wretched; rather the circumstances involved may make it so. But, circumstances are there to be overcome for a new beginning! It is difficult, but let us resolve to stand side by side, to partake, to encourage and to support.
Author: Mr. Joshua Das is a graduate of UTC, Bangalore and heads an NGO ‘Human Development Foundation’ working for the empowerment of gold miner’s family at KGF.
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