Moriah Primitive Baptist Church

Madison County, Georgia

 

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Armies and Economics

February 17, 2011

 The Babylonians [under Nebuchadnezzar] looted and dismantled the Lord’s temple (2Ch 36:18-19).  Seventy years later, Persia [under Cyrus] allowed the Jews to rebuild His temple (2Ch 36:22-23).  Twenty years after that, God was not pleased with the Jews because construction had not been completed.  God spoke to the Jews through Haggai and said:

bullet You say it’s not time to build my house, I say it is time (1:2).
bullet Do not wait for your pockets to be full, I will cut holes in them (1:6).
bullet You have rebuilt your houses, mine lies in waste (1:9).

The Lord’s admonishments were sharp and to the point; however, He did not only chasten the Jews.  He encouraged them as well.  He said:

bullet I am with you, saith the Lord (1:13).
bullet I am with you, saith the Lord (2:4).
bullet I am the same God who delivered Israel out of Egypt (2:5).
bullet The glory of this temple will be greater than the old temple (2:9).

 The Lord also told the Jews:  I will bless saints who are clean (2:18-19) and blast saints who are not (2:16-17).  What is the lesson for us today? 

Sometimes God punishes with armies and sometimes He punishes with economics (1:11).  Sometimes God blesses armies and sometimes He blesses economies (2:22).  Is America being blessed or blasted?  Is she clean or unclean?  Not exactly rocket science, is it?  And the God that lived in the olden times, is just the same today.

Article Written by Elder Dolph Painter, Moriah Primitive Baptist Church

pastordolph@aol.com

This site created by Steve McCannon. This page last updated 07/04/2011