GOD WITH US
When one is about to embark on a new direction it is essential that he has God’s assurance that the Lord is with him. During the time of Zerubbabel, Israel undertook the rebuilding of the temple that was destroyed. As they were about to do so, they received this promise from God in Haggai 2:1-9.
God’s wisdom and grace will be upon us. That He is with us means He will enable us to do things with wisdom and excellence. He makes us go beyond our own natural strength and abilities. When the Israelites were about to rebuild the temple, their circumstances were very different from that of the original temple builders.
The temple was first built in the time of King Solomon, which was a time of great prosperity for Israel. It was also a time of peace and independence. The Bible describes how glorious those times were. However, when the remnants of Israel in the time of Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, they were not under the most ideal of circumstances. They were most likely fewer. They did not have the wealth of Israel as in the time of Solomon. They were also subject to ruling empires. Thus, there must have been huge limitations to their capacity to build the temple.
In the time of Solomon, they employed woodcutters from the land of Tyre to help them because they were experts in cutting down the cedars of Lebanon. Whatever skill and wisdom was needed to make the temple glorious, Solomon easily employed the labor of the experts. But the same could not be true in the time of Zerubbabel. They did not have the same level of skills available before them.
There are times when we find ourselves in the position of Zerubbabel, Joshua and the Israelites. We are called to move in a direction we have little skill or strength in. We seem to be insufficient for the call. We seem to be severely underqualified. Yet, what they did not have in themselves was compensated by one thing, God being with them. Our God is the source of all wisdom, understanding and knowledge, and if He is with us that means He will make available His own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to us.
God’s protection is upon us. That He is with us also means that we are not to fear our enemies because God will protect and keep us.
We can learn from Zerubbabel’s example. There are times when we are pursuing a certain direction that offers some form of “help” that are not of God. They can be in the form of ungodly counsel or assistance from people who are not walking with God. And when we do not heed them, we can gain enemies. Zerubbabel was right to refuse the help of ungodly men even if it meant gaining enemies because if he sought worldly help he would have lost the help of God. He chose to have God with him than the world. However, because God was with Israel, when they sought to continue the rebuilding, the Lord overturned the events.
In the time of King Darius, when God instructed them to resume the rebuilding, the enemies sought to stop the Israelites again. But God was true to His word that He will be with Israel. This time the king gave his support to the restoration work. Not only did King Darius approve the rebuilding, he also generously gave to it and issued punishment to anyone who will stop the work.
We know the end of the matter. Finally, that He is with us means that we know the end of the matter, God’s glory.
But in what occasions does a person have the assurance that God is with him in the thing he is pursuing?
When we are in the center of God’s perfect will. The Israelites were assured that God is with them because they were doing the will of God. It was the Lord who instructed them to rebuild the temple. They were pursuing something they heard from the Lord.
You have to first hear from God. They built the temple because the Word of the Lord came to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
But seeking to hear from God must be primarily through His Word and not our circumstances. However, quite a number of people do the opposite. They seek to know God’s will through the doors that will open to them rather than hearing from God first before they try a door. This is not exactly reliable. Because there are doors that do open that are outside the will of God.
Under what condition can we hear God’s voice? To hear God’s will our hearts need to be pure. Self-seeking motives can keep us from hearing God. Unsurrendered desires or plans can also keep us from hearing God. Our personal motives and desires can lead us to interpret the instructions of God with bias. Thus, when we seek to hear the will of God, we should ask God to cleanse our hearts so that nothing can stand in the way of hearing accurately.
Another man to whom God promised that He will be with him is Moses. Moses prayed that God will go with them as they go to the Promise Land. Earlier in Exodus 33, the Lord told Moses He will not go with them to the Promise Land and instead He will send His Angel to go with them.
In the same chapter, there was an interesting succeeding group of passages from verses 7 to 11. This speaks of Moses’ tent of meeting where God met Moses and where Moses inquired of the Lord. It says the tent is pitched outside the camp and there in that tent Moses communed with God and spoke to Him face-to-face. Here is a man who did not only hear God’s voice but saw Him. Moses knew what it was like to literally be with God!
This speaks to me of two things. First, it reveals why Moses heard God. It says the tent of meeting was outside the camp. Moses went away from the distractions of camp life to be silent and hear God speak. He really sought to commune with Him. We can hear God the same way by coming away from the busyness and concerns of the day in our daily devotions to hear His voice.
The second thing this speaks of is why he wanted so much that God would be with him. He was so accustomed to the presence of God that he longed for it. He desired it.
We see how God heard Moses. Despite the stubbornness of the Israelites, He promised He will go with them because of one man who longed for Him.
How much do we desire to have God go with us? For Moses, he desired it so much he was willing to lay down God’s promises to Israel for the sake of moving with God. That also meant he was willing to stay in the wilderness, difficult as that place was, if God’s presence does not go with him. Could you imagine the repercussions of this surrender? He was not mindful of what the Israelites would say of such a prospect. What he was essentially saying is - what is the land of their inheritance compared to God? He was saying the land of milk and honey meant nothing without God with them. Truly, Moses understood how valuable it is to have God with us. Apart from Him, nothing could truly satisfy. He dared not take a step without God being with him.
May we grow in our desire to have God say “I am with you.” For it is those who have this promise that are assured of God’s wisdom, protection, provision and God’s glory. He goes with those who are in His perfect will having heard His voice, decided to follow Him. Further, He goes with those who seek to be with Him.
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Haggai 2:1-9This passage reveals to us what it means for God to be with us. When God says He is with us, God is not merely giving a passive consent to our endeavors. And you see that in Haggai 2. The passage conveys God’s active participation and support in a person’s situation.
In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
God’s wisdom and grace will be upon us. That He is with us means He will enable us to do things with wisdom and excellence. He makes us go beyond our own natural strength and abilities. When the Israelites were about to rebuild the temple, their circumstances were very different from that of the original temple builders.
The temple was first built in the time of King Solomon, which was a time of great prosperity for Israel. It was also a time of peace and independence. The Bible describes how glorious those times were. However, when the remnants of Israel in the time of Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, they were not under the most ideal of circumstances. They were most likely fewer. They did not have the wealth of Israel as in the time of Solomon. They were also subject to ruling empires. Thus, there must have been huge limitations to their capacity to build the temple.
In the time of Solomon, they employed woodcutters from the land of Tyre to help them because they were experts in cutting down the cedars of Lebanon. Whatever skill and wisdom was needed to make the temple glorious, Solomon easily employed the labor of the experts. But the same could not be true in the time of Zerubbabel. They did not have the same level of skills available before them.
There are times when we find ourselves in the position of Zerubbabel, Joshua and the Israelites. We are called to move in a direction we have little skill or strength in. We seem to be insufficient for the call. We seem to be severely underqualified. Yet, what they did not have in themselves was compensated by one thing, God being with them. Our God is the source of all wisdom, understanding and knowledge, and if He is with us that means He will make available His own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to us.
God’s protection is upon us. That He is with us also means that we are not to fear our enemies because God will protect and keep us.
Haggai 2:4-5In Ezra 4:21-24, when Zerubbabel was about to rebuild the temple, they faced opposition from the enemies of Israel. Initially those enemies offered to help build the temple. However, Zerubbabel refused their help because he sought to follow God in His command to them that only the Israelites were going to build the temple. Because he refused their help, they were angered and henceforth sought to prevent the Israelites from building the temple. For a time they succeeded in convincing King Artaxerxes to stop the rebuilding. What we see hear is how Zerubbabel sought to follow God excellently yet resistance came. Because he refused to compromise with the enemy, they determined to stop the work.
Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
We can learn from Zerubbabel’s example. There are times when we are pursuing a certain direction that offers some form of “help” that are not of God. They can be in the form of ungodly counsel or assistance from people who are not walking with God. And when we do not heed them, we can gain enemies. Zerubbabel was right to refuse the help of ungodly men even if it meant gaining enemies because if he sought worldly help he would have lost the help of God. He chose to have God with him than the world. However, because God was with Israel, when they sought to continue the rebuilding, the Lord overturned the events.
In the time of King Darius, when God instructed them to resume the rebuilding, the enemies sought to stop the Israelites again. But God was true to His word that He will be with Israel. This time the king gave his support to the restoration work. Not only did King Darius approve the rebuilding, he also generously gave to it and issued punishment to anyone who will stop the work.
Ezra 6:7-11
Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.
Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
Isaiah 41:10God will provide our needs. That He is with us also means that God will provide what is needed to accomplish what we are called to do. Provision comes from the Lord and His resources are limitless. When God told Zerubbabel that He is with them, He also said these words:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Haggai 2:8When God calls us to take a certain direction, we must truly not allow the amount in our pockets to determine how far we will obey God. I love what the Lord told Dr. Bailey when He called them to buy the property of Zion in New York and build facilities there. “You do not need money because I have put faith in your heart and that will be the one to provide for the purchase and building.” Does this not happen to us as well, when God calls us to do something that may cost money but we do not have any? We have a choice to stay within the limits of our personal capacity or see God provide for us generously.
‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts.
We know the end of the matter. Finally, that He is with us means that we know the end of the matter, God’s glory.
Haggai 2:9When God is with us in any endeavor, we see our limitations but we also experience the great sufficiency of our God. And since the work is a product of God’s grace and provision, the end product also has the indelible mark of the One who made it possible - God. His glory shines upon the work.
‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
But in what occasions does a person have the assurance that God is with him in the thing he is pursuing?
When we are in the center of God’s perfect will. The Israelites were assured that God is with them because they were doing the will of God. It was the Lord who instructed them to rebuild the temple. They were pursuing something they heard from the Lord.
Haggai 2:4How do you come to know God’s perfect will?
Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts.
You have to first hear from God. They built the temple because the Word of the Lord came to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
Ezra 5:1-2It is noteworthy that verse 2 says that the prophets of God were with them, helping them. How do you think the prophets helped them? They did so by hearing the Word of God and speaking it to them. When they built the temple they were clearly doing so in obedience to God’s voice. They were hearing. The question then is how do we hear? We know that the primary way God speaks is through His Word. He also speaks through His servants. He can also speak to us in dreams and visions. And finally, He may speak through our circumstances.
Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
But seeking to hear from God must be primarily through His Word and not our circumstances. However, quite a number of people do the opposite. They seek to know God’s will through the doors that will open to them rather than hearing from God first before they try a door. This is not exactly reliable. Because there are doors that do open that are outside the will of God.
Under what condition can we hear God’s voice? To hear God’s will our hearts need to be pure. Self-seeking motives can keep us from hearing God. Unsurrendered desires or plans can also keep us from hearing God. Our personal motives and desires can lead us to interpret the instructions of God with bias. Thus, when we seek to hear the will of God, we should ask God to cleanse our hearts so that nothing can stand in the way of hearing accurately.
Another man to whom God promised that He will be with him is Moses. Moses prayed that God will go with them as they go to the Promise Land. Earlier in Exodus 33, the Lord told Moses He will not go with them to the Promise Land and instead He will send His Angel to go with them.
Exodus 33:1-3One of the things that this passage is telling us is that stubbornness is one of the reasons God will not go with us. If we continue to do our own thing or do things our way, God will not go with us. If we refuse to allow God to transform us, if we refuse to heed the repeated corrections of God, God may choose not to go with us. This was the reason why God left King Saul. We are told that he was stubborn.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
In the same chapter, there was an interesting succeeding group of passages from verses 7 to 11. This speaks of Moses’ tent of meeting where God met Moses and where Moses inquired of the Lord. It says the tent is pitched outside the camp and there in that tent Moses communed with God and spoke to Him face-to-face. Here is a man who did not only hear God’s voice but saw Him. Moses knew what it was like to literally be with God!
This speaks to me of two things. First, it reveals why Moses heard God. It says the tent of meeting was outside the camp. Moses went away from the distractions of camp life to be silent and hear God speak. He really sought to commune with Him. We can hear God the same way by coming away from the busyness and concerns of the day in our daily devotions to hear His voice.
The second thing this speaks of is why he wanted so much that God would be with him. He was so accustomed to the presence of God that he longed for it. He desired it.
Exodus 33:12-15He did not only seek that God’s promises will be fulfilled but he sought after God and His glory above all. Sometimes even God’s promises to us have to be surrendered at His feet. Moses did not want to go if God will not go with them.
Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
We see how God heard Moses. Despite the stubbornness of the Israelites, He promised He will go with them because of one man who longed for Him.
How much do we desire to have God go with us? For Moses, he desired it so much he was willing to lay down God’s promises to Israel for the sake of moving with God. That also meant he was willing to stay in the wilderness, difficult as that place was, if God’s presence does not go with him. Could you imagine the repercussions of this surrender? He was not mindful of what the Israelites would say of such a prospect. What he was essentially saying is - what is the land of their inheritance compared to God? He was saying the land of milk and honey meant nothing without God with them. Truly, Moses understood how valuable it is to have God with us. Apart from Him, nothing could truly satisfy. He dared not take a step without God being with him.
May we grow in our desire to have God say “I am with you.” For it is those who have this promise that are assured of God’s wisdom, protection, provision and God’s glory. He goes with those who are in His perfect will having heard His voice, decided to follow Him. Further, He goes with those who seek to be with Him.
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