Day 67: Habakkuk 1:1-Zechariah 10:12 - 90 Day Challenge

Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zachariah

The book of Habakkuk is slightly different than the other prophets. Here, we have Habakkuk, the prophet, approaching God. He comes to him with several complaints, mainly, that God isn't doing enough to punish His people, which is why they continue with their sin. And God tell Habakkuk not to worry, He has a plan. And it's so awesome, Habakkuk wouldn't even understand it. He also reassures him that God sees the difference between the faithful and unfaithful. 

It may seem out of character to question God, it may have crossed the minds of some of you that those who question God haven't exactly fared well. But in Habakkuk 3, we see that Habakkuk had the utmost faith in God, and put all of his trust in Him. 

Basically, it's okay to question God, to ask what's going on? But its important to keep faith, and to trust in the Lord. Because He has a plan, and His plan is good. 

Zephaniah, a descendant of Hezekiah, prophesies the next book. This one is the telling of the day of the Lord--and it's pretty blunt. He says not any man's gold or silver will be able to save him. You can't buy your way into salvation. There is impending judgement. But fear not! Because there is also hope. 

Eventually, the nations will rejoice, and God will rejoice too. He will gather His people, and bring them home. God will give His people honor and praise (doesn't that sound crazy?!), and will restore their fortunes. 

Haggai is all about spiritual priorities. This entire book (okay, it is very short) is dedicated to calling out the exiles for not rebuilding the Lord's temple--a spiritual mission Haggai believes should be a priority. He says that the exiles are more interested in building up their own homes, rather than rebuilding the home of the Lord. The people get the message (surprisingly) and get right back to work. 

God is pleased with the rebuilding of the temple. He offers words of encouragement. He blesses His people. 

The first part of Zechariah seems to echo Haggai, in that it's all about returning to the Lord and rebuilding His temple. We also see a direct confrontation between an angel and Satan. And we know, from this reading, that the Lord can and will always overpower evil. Even His messengers can do that, because we have an almighty God capable of incomprehensible good. 

We have quite a few visions and metaphors in Zechariah 4-6, which are better to  read for yourself. 

When the people ask the High Priest about fasting, God interjects, and asks, "What good does fasting do, if you're not doing it from the heart." Its like I tell students, and many others with whom I come into contact, but worship and prayer mean nothing if it's not from the heart. In fact, I find it insulting, because it insinuates that God is incapable. Which simply isn't true. It continues to say that all people need to do to keep the Lord with them (okay, all Jerusalem has to do... but we'll extend the application) is to speak the truth and act justly. 

Our reading today finishes up with a prophesy of Palm Sunday in Zechariah 9:9, and a promise. That Judah will become a powerful warrior, and it will be as if God had never disowned them. 

And that's it! Tomorrow's reading: Zechariah 11:1-Matthew 4:25

(That's right, we've made it to the New Testament, y'all!)

Have a wonderful day! 

Jill Jafarace

Director of Student Ministries

New Leaf UMC