The temple of God had been partially rebuilt, but construction was stalled. The walls of Jerusalem were still in ruins. There was confusion about whether or not the returning remnant had the authority for their building project, and their efforts were thwarted at every turn.
Things were not good for the motley crew in Jerusalem, and they were a discouraged bunch.
Into that sad setting, God sent a vision to Zechariah to encourage the people.
Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line in his hand."What are you doing?" Zechariah asked him.
"Measuring the city."
Another angel in the vision told Zechariah the most surprising news. (Leanna paraphrase) "One day, Jerusalem won't need walls for protection because God Himself will be a wall of fire around her."
As if the promise of the protection of the ring of fire was not enough, the promise of presence was given to Zechariah.
"Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the Lord." Zechariah 2:10 nasb
The people were defeated by edicts that stopped their obedience in rebuilding, but God was saying, "Fear not. I will do that which you cannot do, and do it in a better way than you could ever do. Then, I will do something even better. I'll come and dwell with you again."
The word translated as "dwell" indicates that God will not be merely passing through, but He will be establishing a residence. He will stay and live among them on a permanent basis.
And He did.
The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us, but God didn't stop there. When Jesus ascended back to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to do more than dwell in our midst. He dwells inside us. We have access to our Triune God every minute of every day.
He abides in us.
How amazing is that?
We no longer need to build with brick and stone in an effort to "house" God. For those of us who are believers, He has moved into our hearts and lives.
We are the house of God.
It's more than I can comprehend, but, today, let's take heart that God has not left us alone to do the hard work of life. He is not remote or unapproachable. He's as near as our breath. He is with us, and we serve a God to loves us enough to stay with us until the day He calls us home.
_____________
In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Becoming a Person of High Esteem
Here's the link to the prayer guide: The Prayer List
Here's the link to my Global Outreach page (where you can support this ministry as God leads): Leanna Hollis MD
#Christian
No comments:
Post a Comment