While most people might tell you I am an organized person, I didn't start out that way.  Like all children I did not always keep track of my things or put them away when I was finished playing with them.  But there came a day of reckoning which altered the way I treated my things for good.  It was summertime and I wanted to bring my transistor radio (remember those?!) along on a family trip.  But I didn't know where it was due to the mounds of toys and clothes tossed about my room.  I still remember my mother saying, "If you don't have this room picked up in an hour, I'll come in here with a garbage bag and help you."  I knew what that meant.  My beloved transistor radio was in danger of being tossed into the garbage!  Needless to say, the next day when we set out for our trip my room was clean and my transistor radio lay happily in my lap.  After that I never let my room get that disorganized again.

     In a sense the prophet Haggai speaks to the Israelites who have returned to the land just like my mother spoke to me.  This devout collection of people returned to a decimated land with very little resources to work with (although Cyrus did agree to underwrite some of the costs).  Their main objective at the start was to rebuild the Temple as per Cyrus' edict (Ezr. 1:1-4, 6:3-5).  The enthusiasm of returning to the homeland gave them the incentive to lay the foundation of the Temple rather quickly.  But once the excitement wore off and opposition rose from the Samaritans in the north (Ezr. 4:1-5), it became easier to focus attention on other projects (Hag. 1:3-11).  Eventually construction on the Temple stopped altogether and it wasn't until the time of Haggai that it was renewed- some 16 years later!

     It has been said that Haggai was a man with one message: take care of the Temple (Hag. 1:8)!  And interestingly his name which means "my festival" and his four messages which occurred in a brief time frame in the Fall of 520 B. C. seem to underscore his passion for giving God's "House" and His Law top priority in life.  This is even more evident in the fact that the second of his four sermons occurred on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a festival which emphasized God's faithfulness in providing for Israel while she wandered in the wilderness  before entering the Promised Land.  During the Feast, the Israelites would construct tents (a. k. a. sukkot or tabernacles) which reminded them of how the Lord always made sure they had a place to rest their heads and share a meal.  But now they were too concerned with themselves and their needs to do the same for the Lord.

     Haggai is clearly speaking on God's behalf and states that he is "God's messenger" (Hag. 1:7) indicating that his sermons are not his opinion, they are God's.  He uses the traditional "message formula" (Thus says the Lord) but instead of placing it before his oracles, Haggai puts the phrase at the end of his sermons (Hag. 2:7, 9, 23) or sometimes even inside them (2:4, 14) which also emphasizes that these are the Lord's statements, not something Haggai happened to say because he was disturbed by the lack of progress on the Temple.

     Why was it so important to rebuild the Temple?  In order to answer this question we must enter the mindset of those who dwelled in these ancient times.  Most people groups followed a god, or multiple gods.  Temples were advertisements on the greatness and power of your god.  In the ancient world, the bigger the temple the better it demonstrated the power and greatness of your god.  And the more opulent and expensive, the better the testimony to the glory and majesty of your god.  Haggai challenged the people to think about what kind of message they were sending about God with an unfinished Temple.  While in captivity, the ruins of the Temple reminded them as to why God allowed it to be destroyed in the first place.  But now, its condition merely perpetuated the low opinion and ridicule that the other nations had of the Jews and their God.  It was time to set the record straight!

     Haggai's admonition "Consider your ways!" (1:5, 7; 2:15, 18) is just as appropriate for you and I as it was for those who returned from the Exile and became distracted from completing their mission to rebuild the Temple.  It is echoed across the New Testament in Jesus' teaching and the writings of Paul, Peter, James, and John (Mt. 5:43-48; Mk. 7:14-23; Lk. 6:39-45; Rom. 12:9-21; Js. 4:1-17; 1 Pet. 1:13-19; 1 Jn. 1:1-10).  I confess that I am an introspective person.  I often "consider my ways" and "look before I leap" as it seems to be ingrained in my personality type.  But I have also stumbled over my own two feet when I've insisted on doing things my own way and not allowing God to be at the helm of my life.  This is when I must ask myself, "Am I being a good advertisement for God?"  The people responded to Haggai's challenge by completing the Temple; one of the few times a prophet was actually listened to (Hag. 2:2)!  Will I respond to the Lord and reorder my priorities when He challenges me?  Will you?

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.                                                                                                                     8/2/2015

     Many years ago a friend of ours convinced Jeff to go into business with him.  When Jeff left his job to join in the business venture, we received some funds from a profit-sharing program the company had set up.  Our friend took the money and gave us a promissory note in return which stated he would repay the investment.  However, the company did not last, nor did the partnership, and with some financial maneuvering this man reneged on his promise to repay us.  We lost our investment and we learned that his promises were as worthless as the paper they were written on.  It was a hard lesson to learn but looking back on that time frame now, we see God's protection and provision even in the miserable outcome.

     After the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B. C. the Southern Kingdom of Judah plodded along.  Eight of its kings were godly, but the rest were a worthless lot.  The prophet Zephaniah was probably born during the reign of one of the most worthless of these rulers, Manasseh.  He was an extremely wicked king and ruled Judah for 53 years.  The people were often enamored with Baal worship but Manasseh brought this evil to a new level by officially endorsing it and allowing many of its practices to be incorporated into the worship of the Lord.   Even though it is noted in Chronicles that Manasseh repented during the end of his reign, "the people still sacrificed at the high places" (2 Chron. 33:17).  One of the effects of this evil diversion was to all but squelch the voice of the Lord's prophets.  But a warning call needed to be sounded as a time of judgment was coming and Zephaniah was in the first wave of this movement.  Along with Nahum, Habakkuk and Jeremiah (a lengthy span of time as they did not prophesy all at the same time), a forceful message and eleventh hour warning had a positive effect on Manasseh's grandson Josiah who ruled from 640-609 B. C.  His reforms came after Zephaniah's ministry, but for a brief time, the evil of Baal worship was purged from the land.

     What is interesting to note about Zephaniah is his credentials which are listed prominently at the beginning of the book.  While some scholars believe there is no way to establish for certain that the Hezekiah mentioned in Zeph. 1:1 is the godly king, it makes no sense that Zephaniah would include his family tree just because he felt like it!  So it is generally accepted that this Hezekiah is the king who lived around 70 years before the beginning of Zephaniah's ministry which in turn makes Zephaniah a man of royal blood.  The book divides easily into two sections: a time of judgment (1:1-3:8) and a time of blessing (3:9-20).  These two sections have on focus in particular- the Day of the Lord and Zephaniah's recorded prophesy is one of the most explicit presentation of this event in all of Scripture.

     In the Hebrew culture a day was divided into two segments.  The first was a period of darkness.  The second was a period light.  The day was usually calculated from sundown to sundown.  This pattern was established in Genesis (Gen. 1:1-5 etc.).  During Creation these two segments were quite literal.  But in the view of Zephaniah's prophecy they also involve the activity of God concerning His people and His fallen creation.  The period of darkness is a period of judgment whereby sin is purged.  The period of light describes God's blessings after He is finished with His spiritual house cleaning.  Isaiah's prophecy concerning the Day of the Lord focuses on the period of light (Is. 60).  Zephaniah's prophecy concerns the first segment- the time of judgment (Zeph. 1:2-3:7) but concludes by looking forward to that period of light (3:14-20).

     There are 6 promises in the form of a psalm of praise which finish Zephaniah's prophecy.  By them the goodness of God is shown in the Day of the Lord.  First, God will judge the nations and Israel's enemies (3:8, 15, 19).  Second, the Gentiles will call on the name of the Lord (3:9).  Third, Israel's faithful remnant will be restored (3:12-13, 20).  Fourth, Israel's shame will be removed (3:11, 15, 19).  Fifth, the people of Israel will be gathered back to the land of their heritage (3:10, 18, 20), and sixth, the Lord will be in Israel's midst (3:15, 17).  The Lord confirmed that these promises would come to pass through other prophets and to the disciple John on the island of Patmos many centuries later.  Consider the following overview and see which promises they relate to: Is. 65:1; Jer. 32:36-44; Ezek. 36:22-28; Rev. 6:1-8, 12-17, 7:15-17, 8:1-9:21, 14:1-5, 16:1, 18:4, 19:6-7, 20:11-15, 21:3-4, 22:3.  Unlike the promises of Jeff's former business partner, God's promises are always fulfilled.  The ultimate proof of this is Christ's resurrection (Jn. 2:19-21).  So if God brought that to pass (Mt. 28:1-6), He will also fulfill those promises He spoke through Zephaniah.

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.                                                                                                                    7/26/2015

     The people of Nashtur huddled in their homes.  Mothers clung to their children; husbands silently embraced an ugly fate.  News had come that the Assyrian army was on the march again and headed straight toward Nashtur.  The tips of their spears glistened in the sun and they marched relentlessly like a locust swarm devouring everything in its path.  The small farming community was doomed.  It is hard for us to understand the kind of fear the name Assyria evoked in Biblical times.  I can't really think of a modern equivalent to it in the 21st century USA.  The closest image I could conjure up was the threat of and audit by the IRS, but even then, it is pale in comparison to the outcome of what the fictional village of Nashtur faced.  Assyria's reputation was one of power, oppression, and barbaric destruction of whatever they conquered.  They were evil personified.

     The strength and power of Nineveh, Assyria's capitol, was considered to be as unsinkable as the Titanic was boasted to be.  Like the ferocious lion's which were embedded in most of its artwork to represent it, the battle practices of Assyria's kings were vicious.  Infants were slaughtered, captives were mutilated before lots determined their destiny, kings and officials were impaled on spears as winner's trophies and corpses piled by the city gate to suppress any thought of retaliation.  But the second chapter of Nahum proclaims that like the Titanic, the Assyrian Empire was going down.

     In brilliantly vivid poetry, Nahum describes several different aspects of the city's fall and each has been concurred through archaeology and other ancient documents.  Nahum declares that Nineveh would be flooded (Nah. 2:6, 8).  An over-flowing river (dated to this time) flooded the city and broke a section of the wall.  Nahum declares the people would flee, leaving the city vulnerable to looting (v. 8).  The Babylonian Chronicle (a record of Nineveh's fall to the Babylonians) reports that so much pillaging and plundering occurred, it caused the city to look like a pile of rubble (v.9).  And finally in Nahum 2:13, the prophet says the Nineveh's chariots will go up in smoke.  Archaeological digs of this era have revealed a 2" thick layer of charcoal and ashes confirming that God did indeed burn up Nineveh's glorious war machines.  The NIV Archaeological Study Bible notes, "Nineveh's destruction was so complete that the decimated city was never rebuilt and within a few centuries it was covered with windblown sand, leaving, leaving no trace of it except for a mound which is known today as Tel Kuyunjik (the mound of many sheep).

     There are two aspects of judgment at the core of Nahum's prophecy.  While the Lord used the powerful pagan nation to judge the Northern Kingdom for its disobedience in Covenant matters (and would eventually do the same to the Southern Kingdom through Babylon), Nineveh would also be judged for the way they treated God's people.  Much like the ancient city of Thebes (another virtually impossible city to conquer) was ruined for their treatment of God's people (Nah. 3:8  a. k. a. No-Amon), Nineveh will also be destroyed.  This came to pass in 612 B. C. at the hands of the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians, only 50 years after Nahum prophesied it.

     Nahum, like the prophets before him and those who followed after him brings a word of hope to the people of Judah who now lived in fear of Assyria.  Nahum does this in two significant passages.  The first is in 1:15 when Nahum declares there is good news and the people should celebrate their feasts.  This signifies that though their punishment for disobedience may be harsh, it will not be the end of them.  The second is at the beginning of chapter 2 when Nahum says the Lord will restore Israel's glory (2:2).  Since the Northern Kingdom was about to fall and Judah's tentative freedom was on shaky ground, God had not forgotten His people nor their homeland.  He would restore both.  The prophet whose name means "comfort" offered hope to a people who lived in uncertain times.

     I think most of us, as we look at the general state of the world find ourselves fearful of what might happen at the hands of evil men (and women).  Their "power" seems out of control and while they are not connected to Assyria, it is good for us to remember what Nahum said about God in 1:3.  It is God's nature to wait patiently for the perfect time (Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 86:15, 103:8, 145:8,; Jl. 2:13; Jon. 4:2) but when the time comes, His judgment is swift and thorough (Ex. 14:26-28; Num. 16:25-35; Ac. 5:1-10; Rev. 20:9).  We can take comfort in the fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy for if God was faithful to bring down Assyria, He will also be faithful to judge those who rage against Him today (Rev. 21:5-8, 22:10-13).  Take hope my friend!  God is not finished with history yet.

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.                                                                                                                    7/12/2015

     It's hard to believe that a little over two years ago I was headed to Michigan this very week to meet my third grandson who arrived on June 28th.  We had been expectantly awaiting his arrival and although the trip unexpectedly involved replacing two tires, driving with a broken speedometer and a dead battery (thankfully after I arrived!), the joy of seeing that beautiful baby erased all the trials and tribulations of getting there.  "Why is all of this significant", you may ask?  Because this week's prophet also bears the same name as he does: Micah!

     Micah's name means "Who is like Yahweh (the Lord)?"  We learn in the first verses of chapter 1 that Micah is from Moresheth-gath which was located in the hilly region between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea called the Shephelah.  It was a rural area populated by poor people who struggled to make their living off the land in an area that was often overrun by powers who desired to take control of the north/south trade route that ran through it.  Although located in Judah, Micah's prophecies are closely connected with the Northern Kingdom's capitol Samaria and the impending fall of that city (722 B. C.) due to the lack of repentance and their flagrant sins which were an affront to God.  Micah's prophetic ministry took place during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (735-710 B. C.) making him a contemporary with Isaiah who also shared similar concerns in his prophecies to those of Micah.

     The book of Micah can be divided into three sections, each beginning with the word "sheh-mah" or "hear" (Mic.  1:2; 3:1; 6:1) and brings to remembrance Israel's greatest command to hear (Dt. 6:4-9).  In the first section (Mic. 1:1-2:13) both Israel and Judah are alerted to the coming punishment for their failure to listen and obey God's commands (1:1-16).  Micah emphasizes that this punishment is due to their sin (2:1-13).  The second section looks forward to the Messianic Kingdom (Mic. 3:1-5:15).  Wicked leaders will be punished (3:1-12), the Messianic Kingdom will be glorious (4:1-13), and the section ends with a description of the Messianic King and His work (5:1-15).  The final section returns its focus to the punishment of the people but ends with words of mercy (Mic. 6:1-7:20).  The details of God's case against the people are outlined in the first part of this section (6:1-16) but the second part ends with words of promise (7:1-20).  It is interesting to note that as a contemporary of Isaiah, the Holy Spirit often inspired both prophets to convey similar or the same messages to their audience (for example compare Mic. 4:1-3 with Is. 2:2-4).  The impact of Micah's ministry was far-reaching as he is mentioned a hundred years later in the writings of Jeremiah (Jer. 26:18), a rare thing for prophets to do.  

     While Israel was in a vassal-state relationship with Assyria, the reprieve from oppression would be short-lived.  Micah's prophecy was fulfilled in 722 B. C. when Assyria took Samaria and carried off the inhabitants.  Micah warns the people of Judah that unless they repent, their outcome will be the same.  Sadly, history shows that the same fate befell Jerusalem in 586 B. C.  We see in Micah's writings that he took no pleasure in delivering this message (Mic. 7:1-6) but the Lord gave His faithful servant a glimmer of hope in the closing verses of the book (Mic. 7:7-19).

     Three great promises emerge in Micah's final words: 1) the Lord will pardon His people's iniquities (Mic. 7:18); 2) the Lord will show compassion by casting His people's sins into the deepest part of the ocean (Mic. 7:19); and 3) the Lord will give his truth and love to His people and they will receive it (Mic. 7:20).  Micah is determined to wait and watch expectantly for these promises to be fulfilled (7:7) in spite of the adversity he will endure while he waits (7:8-9).  There is a distinct and noticeable parallel here in the way believers today await the Savior's return (Ac. 1:10-11; Phil. 3:20).

     I don't know about you, but I am not always the most patient person when I have to wait!  But the Bible is full of scriptures which encourage me to wait as eagerly as Micah did (Ps. 25:5, 27:14, 33:20, 37:7, 34; Prov. 20:22; Is. 8:17, 40:31, 64:4; Lam. 3:25-26; Hos. 12:6; Zeph. 3:8; Lk. 12:36-37; Ac. 1:4; Rom. 8:19-25; Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:20; Js. 5:7; Jd. 1:21).  The conditions today appear to be as unsettled and evil as the ones that Micah lived in so his message to wait seems all the more applicable and challenging to me.  If I believe God's truth is as unchanging as He is (Mic. 7:20) and recognize that Micah's name stands as a testimony to God's ability to fulfill His promises, then I will do my best to wait in spite of how horrid the world appears to become.  Who is like the Lord?  No one!  If He says He will return, then He will (Mt. 25:1-3)!  So here I am, waiting with Micah.

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 7/5/2015