“Let freedom ring!”
Indelible words preached by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. over 60 years ago as he stood atop the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963 in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. One hundred years earlier, an equally powerful message reached the ears of the American public from one of our greatest presidents while we were immersed in a mighty Civil War. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring, “that all persons held as slaves… are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.”
Such wonderful words capture the heartbeat and the hopes of every generation: let freedom ring indeed!
History –as well as the Bible– is full of freedom stories and our next member of Jesus’s genealogical record participated in one of the most iconic releases from captivity a People has ever known. At the decree of Cyrus, King in Persia, all captured peoples in his realm would be free to return home and to rebuild life, including Israel. Those who were led into captivity at the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar a generation before are now released to return; redeemed to reconstitute their worship in the rebuilding of their Temple. Of those who respond, a person of messianic proportions will go along to re-center their hopes on God of Covenant.
Zerubbabel is his name, and God will use him to bring glory from the ash heap.
The story is recounted in several books of the Old Testament: Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah and Haggai. Upon arrival back in the Land of Promise, the people begin their mission, but within a few years they are met by the fearful confrontation of those populating the Land and the challenges they attack them with. Shortly, a letter is written by their adversaries and is mailed back to Persia, charging this group of rabbles with felonious intent:
“To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired.”
Ezra 4:11-13 (ESV)
It’s tattletale of biblical proportions; the locals running home to momma! Paralyzed by fear, the Remnant succumb to lies and cease their work on the Temple.
But by the word of the LORD, the work continues…
But by reverence for the word of the LORD, the mission will carry on…
Two prophets speak to encourage faithfulness in lieu of fearfulness. Haggai’s oracle takes the lead in continuing the progress; his message is more specific to their task in calling attention to the leadership of Zerubbabel and the LORD’s claim on his life in the purpose for rebuilding the Temple. God speaks through Haggai, saying,
“Work, for I am with you,” declares the LORD of hosts, “according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not!”
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former,” says the LORD of hosts. “And in this place I will give shalom,” declares the LORD of hosts.
Haggai 2:4-5, 9
It’s that Zerubbabelian Temple where Jesus stands generations later and declares to the people, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).
At His miraculous resurrection, these words came to fruition and the promise spoken by Haggai was manifest: the Glory of the latter outshining the glory of the former!
For the sake of Jesus… for His greater glory and His trustworthy presence in our lives… for His strength to overcome and His promise to carry us through…
Walk by faith in a world of fear!
Glorify. Train. Engage. 