6-24-19 Today in the Word

ALL TREASURES ARE THE LORD’S
Monday, June 24, 2019 | Haggai 2:1–9

An old family blanket became a life-changing opportunity for an unemployed, disabled man. Loren Krytzer was watching Antiques Roadshow when he saw a Navajo blanket from the 1800s similar to one he owned. He had his blanket appraised, and it sold for $1.5 million! The money "gave me a new lease on life," he said.
Just as the man looked at that old blanket and did not recognize a valuable treasure, the people of Israel looked at the temple and did not see God’s future restoration. To the returned Jewish exiles who remembered the past glory of Solomon’s temple as compared to the smaller new temple now under construction (v. 3), God offered His encouragement.
Be strong and work, He said, “For I am with you” (v. 4). Though the former temple’s treasures were looted and gone, God remained faithful. He Himself was the most valuable Treasure of all! This is a lesson to us as well. Faith is only as good as its object. Trusting in money doesn’t work because it’s so easily lost, whereas trusting God is rock-solid wisdom.
The Lord continued to keep His covenant with the nation so that even now “my Spirit remains among you” (v. 5). He’s all-powerful over both creation (v. 6) and nations (v. 7). Earthly treasures are under His control (v. 8). His plan for Israel included a bright future and complete peace and well-being (v. 9). The prophecy, “what is desired by all nations will come,” is clearer in other translations: “The treasures of all nations shall come in” or “the nations . . . will offer their treasures” (v. 7). This was partially fulfilled in Darius’s contribution to the rebuilt temple (Ezra 6:8–10), but in the days of the Messiah’s return the riches of the nations will also be brought to Jerusalem (Isa. 60:5; Mal. 3:1).
APPLY THE WORD
The psalmist says, “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine” (Ps. 50:10). No matter what need we are facing, there’s no reason to worry—God who is the Creator of everything will provide for our needs. Today, let’s give our worries to Him. Because He’s sovereign over all resources, we can count on Him!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t...
Read more

9-25-23 The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas

The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas :: By Bill Wilson Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Bill Wilson, General Articles There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter. I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve. I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barny...
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th...
Read more