Study Desk

Then he said, "These are the two men whom God has chosen and anointed to serve him, the Lord of the whole earth." The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the Lord : "You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit. Obstacles as great as mountains will disappear before you. You will rebuild the Temple, and as you put the last stone in place, the people will shout, ‘Beautiful, beautiful!'" Another message came to me from the Lord . He said, "Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of the Temple, and he will finish the building. When this happens, my people will know that it is I who sent you to them. They are disappointed because so little progress is being made. But they will see Zerubbabel continuing to build the Temple, and they will be glad."

and to ask the priests and the prophets this question: "Should we continue to mourn because of the destruction of the Temple, by fasting in the fifth month as we have done for so many years now?"

Once again old men and women, so old that they use canes when they walk, will be sitting in the city squares.

People of Judah and Israel! In the past foreigners have cursed one another by saying, ‘May the same disasters fall on you that fell on Judah and Israel!' But I will save you, and then those foreigners will say to one another, ‘May you receive the same blessings that came to Judah and Israel!' So have courage and don't be afraid."

But now I am planning to bless the people of Jerusalem and Judah. So don't be afraid.

Hamath, which borders on Hadrach, also belongs to him, and so do the cities of Tyre and Sidon, with all their skill.

Tyre has built fortifications for herself and has piled up so much silver and gold that it is as common as dirt!

The city of Ashkelon will see this and be afraid. The city of Gaza will see it and suffer great pain. So will Ekron, and her hopes will be shattered. Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will be left deserted.

People consult idols and fortunetellers, but the answers they get are lies and nonsense. Some interpret dreams, but only mislead you; the comfort they give is useless. So the people wander about like lost sheep. They are in trouble because they have no leader.

Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire can burn down your cedar trees!

So the covenant was canceled on that day. Those who bought and sold the sheep were watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through what I did.

I said to them, "If you are willing, give me my wages. But if not, keep them." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver as my wages.

The Lord said to me, "Put them in the Temple treasury." So I took the thirty pieces of silver—the magnificent sum they thought I was worth—and put them in the Temple treasury.

"I, the Lord , will give victory to the armies of Judah first, so that the honor which the descendants of David and the people of Jerusalem will receive will be no greater than that of the rest of Judah.

At that time the Lord will make them so confused and afraid that everyone will seize the man next to him and attack him.

The Lord Almighty says, "I wish one of you would close the Temple doors so as to prevent you from lighting useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you; I will not accept the offerings you bring me.

Then you will know that I have given you this command, so that my covenant with the priests, the descendants of Levi, will not be broken.

"In my covenant I promised them life and well-being, and this is what I gave them, so that they might respect me. In those days they did respect and fear me.

So I, in turn, will make the people of Israel despise you because you do not obey my will, and when you teach my people, you do not treat everyone alike."

Didn't God make you one body and spirit with her? What was his purpose in this? It was that you should have children who are truly God's people. So make sure that none of you breaks his promise to his wife.