The Sign of Hope Is the Son...

 Isaiah 7:10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

As we turn our thoughts to Advent, we begin in the Gospel of Isaiah.  God's people needed some good news.  Judah was surrounded by enemies, and King Ahaz had chosen badly whom to trust. God was calling to him through Isaiah: "Pick Me! Pick Me!", but Ahaz refused to put his hope in God. God even offered a sign (usually people in trouble begged for a sign!), but Ahaz refused to look or listen to God.  God gave His sign of hope anyway: a son.  As we find in the New Testament Gospels, God was not only giving a sign for that time, but for all eternity: His Son is the Sign of Hope for us all. Trust in Him.

Give Thanks to the Lord before Other "gods."

 

Psalm 138:

1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased.
4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.

Our final psalm of thanksgiving is another by David. Throughout his life David had come into contact with other kings and their gods.  He had found that there was no other God like his - One Who hears and answers prayer, Who was always with him, and to Whom no other's glory would compare. Therefore, he was not afraid or ashamed to sing and speak His praises before these other kings or their idols.  May we give thanks to the Lord before all who watch and listen.

Give Thanks to the God of Heaven!

 Psalm 136:
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

The above for verses are the conclusion of the psalm we examined yesterday.  They summarize all the things we should thank God for into three categories: His Presence, His Protection, and His Provision. He does not forget us and leave us to suffer alone; He comes in His mercy and grace to rescue us from others and ourselves; He makes sure we have what we need.  When He refers to God in the last verse as the God of Heaven, He is not emphasizing God's transcendence - that He is "way far away" - but that He is watching us from where He sees everything and can see what needs to be done, and since He is sovereign and all powerful, He can and will do something about it.  Indeed, we have reason to give thanks to Him!

Give Thanks to God for Everything!

 Psalm 136: 
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

This is THAT Psalm: the one that is like a responsive reading. It reminds us of all the things God does for His people, then has the people respond: for His steadfast love endures forever.  It lists one after another blessings that we enjoy because we are His people: He does great wonders, made everything we see, led His people out of bondage and slavery, dealt with all the enemies who attacked, brought them into the promised land, and provided everything they needed.  Give Him thanks!

Give Thanks to the Lord for His House

 Psalm 122: I was glad when they said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem—built as a city
    that is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
    to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
This is yet another psalm of David in which he calls us to thanksgiving. This time David was rejoicing over the privilege of worshipping God in Jerusalem, the place He had established.  This was a big thing to David, as he often did not have that privilege, having been on the run from Saul, the Philistines, and other enemies.  He had learned not to take this for granted. We should not equate church buildings with the temple or as sacred in and of themselves, but we should not miss the importance of gathering together with God's people to worship and give Him thanks.  The lack of a desire to do so indicates ingratitude. 

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Light.

Psalm 118: 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
    O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
    up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

This last section of Psalm 118 brings us back to where it started, with David giving thanks to God and calling upon all to give Him thanks, because He is good and faithful in His love.  One way He describes this is having God shed His light upon us. The picture refers to the blazing light of the brazen altar where sacrifices were offered.  This light of God is also shown in His Son, Who came in the name of the Lord.  This passage is alluded to in His triumphal entry, when the people sang, only some of whom seemed to understand that Jesus is God's light to the world. May we give thanks for His Light today.

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Open Gates!

 Psalm 118:
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

As seen above and in yesterday's passage, this psalm is full of well-known choruses and verses alluded to in the New Testament.  David has called out to the Lord and He has answered. God has an open gate/open door policy. He is waiting for us to call out to Him with our needs - especially our need of salvation. The gates of His city are very functional, as they are connected to His perfect Cornerstone - His Son and our Savior. Why would we not come to His gates and ask for deliverance, then come back and give Him thanks? 

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Forever for Whoever!

 

Psalm 118:

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?

This great psalm, which we will spend three days considering, reminds us of two or more of the characteristics of God we have already considered: His goodness and steadfast love. They were things God's people could count on, and so can we.  It's not just the people of Israel and their priests, but anyone who fears the Lord, trusts in Him, calls out to Him for salvation. (Continue to read through verse 16). May you have true reason to call out in thanksgiving to God today.

Give Thanks to the Lord Wholeheartedly!

Psalm 111:1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
    studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.

This psalm serves as a great summary of many of the reasons we have seen for thanksgiving: His works, His righteousness, His faithfulness, His redemption, and more. What is noteworthy in this psalm (well worth the time to read the rest of the verses) is that there are no strings attached.  The psalmist is not asking or pleading for something - just letting loose and praising God for Who He is and thanking Him for all He has done.  There is a bonus at the end: when we take time to praise and thank God in this way, we will be living wisely in the fear of the Lord. 

Give Thanks to God for His Help!

Psalm 109

 30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
    I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

This is one of the many psalms of David which begins with him calling out to God to hear his plea for help.  He was being mistreated, pursued, and spoken evil of unjustly.  He pleaded his cause before God, trusting in Him as the God of justice to help the poor, needy, and oppressed.  He points out all the ways that the wicked take advantage: they lie, they hate, they attack.  David then hands them over to God to deal with.  For his part, he entrusts himself to God. He states:

26 Help me, O Lord my God!

    Save me according to your steadfast love!

27 Let them know that this is your hand;

    you, O Lord, have done it!

Let us not forget to call out to God for help, and let us not forget to give Him thanks when He does, pointing to Him as the One Who has done it!

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Steadfastness!

 

Psalm 108:
1 My heart is steadfast, O God!
    I will sing and make melody with all my being!
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

This psalm of David is the source of numerous contemporary songs of praise and thanksgiving: I Will Give Thanks to You, Awake the Dawn, Be Exalted O God, With Our God We Shall Do Valiantly, and more. Why? Because David's message resonates so much with us. In the battles of life - be it with the Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines, or the migraines, energy-drains and frustrations - in God we can find the stability we need to stand firm in faith and move forward. Any of the songs above or others not listed which contain this theme are a great way to start the day, away the morn, and seize the day for Him.

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Redemption

 

Psalm 107:
1Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

We have here yet another longer psalm that reviews the history of God's faithfulness to His people. Besides reminding us of His goodness and love, the key word here is Redemption - God buys back His people from their sin and repeatedly getting themselves into trouble. He was with them through the dryness of the desert and scariness of the seas.  He delivered them from prison and the foolishness of their own ways.  He is our great Redeemer. As a result, the psalmist reminds us of what the wise thing is to do:

31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

    for his wondrous works to the children of man!

32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

Give Thanks to the Lord Again!

 

Psalm 106
47 Save us, O Lord our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the Lord!

Yesterday we looked at the opening verses of this long psalm, examining how God had been so good to the people of Israel throughout their history - even in their most difficult days, yet they continually sinned against Him, ignored Him, forgot Him, and took Him for granted. But the time we get here to the closing paragraph, the psalmist calls upon the people to call out to Him once again and ask for deliverance. What he anticipates, believes, and looks forward too is being able to once again gather as a people to give God thanks once again for His deliverance, praising His character and thanking Him for His faithfulness once again. 

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good!

 

Psalm 106:1 Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
    or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times!

This is another longer psalm, reciting the history of God's people.  It is full of their unfaithfulness to Him by their sinning, iniquity, wickedness, rebellion, inconsiderateness, failure to remember (and forgetting) all He had done for them, failure to wait upon Him, turning from Him to idols, despising the promised land, murmuring and complaining, refusal to obey, sacrificing their children - and I'm sure I missed some in this list!  Worse yet, these were all in response to His wondrous works, saving them, leading them, providing for them, doing great deeds on their behalf.  In short, God had been very good to them.  The Psalmist longed for the time when they would see it again. It begins when we praise and thank Him.  That's a great place to start the week. Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is Good!

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Deeds

 Psalm 105:

1  Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually

We have already seen a song of thanksgiving to God for His works; here it is for His deeds.  Though we know there are both sides to deeds - good, bad, or dirty - the term usually has the first connotation of good deeds.  These are good memories of all God has done for us. This lengthy psalm proclaims the ways that God had faithfully provided and done things for them throughout rough times in history: famines while they were wandering shepherd, their bondage in Egypt, their wandering in the wilderness, the opposition they faced in entering the land.  What sticks out is not all the bad, but the Good things God had done in keeping His covenant promises.  This is a time for us to look back on hard times made bearable by His Good Hand of providence, grace, and mercy.

 Psalm 97

8 Zion hears and is glad,
    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.
10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
    He preserves the lives of his saints;
    he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
    and give thanks to his holy name!

This Psalm begins with the statement: The Lord Reigns! It is a celebration of God's Sovereignty. God rules over His creation and the affairs of men. His people who trust Him, love Him, and live for His recognize that in their daily lives.  They see His light for their paths, righteousness in His ways, and joy in their hearts. When you know the God Who reigns, you cannot help but give thanks to His holy name!

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Works!

 

Psalm 92:
1:It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
    to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

In this psalm for the Sabbath, we find once again thanks for God's love and faithfulness, but additionally, the works of His hands. The psalm proceeds to acknowledge wisdom and ability that God has that none other can understand.  The one who trusts in Him, acknowledging His day of rest to celebrate He creative power and blessing on all those who love Him, will receive and enjoy all the wonderful things God does, makes, and gives. The word the psalmist uses, which has become popular again today is "Flourish". The one knows, trusts, loves, and thanks God will flourish in this life and in God's presence. 

Give Thanks to God for His Faithfulness

 Psalm 57:2 I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

We once again find David calling out to God for deliverance. He was hiding from Saul in a cave and danger was close by.  He describes his situation as being surrounded by wild beasts. But he chose to give God thanks. He goes on to sing:

8     Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre!

    I will awake the dawn!

9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

    I will sing praises to you among the nations.

10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,

    your faithfulness to the clouds.

May we awaken the dawn today with a song of thanksgiving and praise to God. Great is His faithfulness!

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Love!

 Psalm 33:
1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

In this psalm we find some of the other reasons to give thanks to the Lord: His righteousness and justice, but we also find a deeper reason - the love from which those qualities arise.  The psalmist goes all the way back to creation to trace this thread of steadfast love, reminding himself, his people, and all nations that the eye of the Lord is upon us, and His love set upon His people who love Him. Let us give thanks for such amazing, steadfast love!

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Joy!

Psalm 30
 4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

Once again, David shares with us the struggles of his soul as he called out to God in anguish, wrestling with Him throughout the night in prayer.  After doing so, he remembers his state: he is forgiven.  Yes, at times God does have to discipline us as His children, but when our faith is in Him, and we have experienced the consequences of our sin and found forgiveness, there is a refreshing joy that sings in our hearts.  This all leads to David's conclusion:

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

    you have loosed my sackcloth

    and clothed me with gladness,

12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Strength!

 Psalm 28: 6 Blessed be the Lord!

    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Like many of David's psalms, this one begins with him crying out to God, his Rock, for help. His enemies are out to get him, and his strength is fading fast. In his calling out to Him, he remembers all the times that God has answered him before.  And God is doing it again. Unlike what many of us often do, David does not just forget and walk away; he sings to God in thanksgiving for the saving strength He provides. When we cannot do it on our own, God picks us up like a shepherd does a lamb, carrying us in our weakness, and putting us on His rock hard strength. May we give Him thanks. 

Give Thanks to the Lord for His Justice

 

Psalm 9: 

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Closely related to the righteousness of God, which we talked about yesterday, is His justice.  David goes on in the psalm to recall situations where both personally and nationally God had shown his justice: protecting David from enemies, foiling the plans of wicked nations set on destroying His people, demonstrating His mercy towards the oppressed, afflicted, and needy.  What begins as praise then blends into prayer, with David asking God to continue to do it - to do it again. David concludes with this call:

9 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;

    let the nations be judged before you!

20 Put them in fear, O Lord!

    Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

Give Thanks to the Lord of Righteousness

 

Psalm 7:17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
    and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

This is the concluding verse of this psalm of thanksgiving. As we consider over the next three weeks this call to Thanksgiving, we want to look at Why the writers of these psalms were thankful, which in turn will help us realize how much we have to be thankful for.  In this case, we do not have to look far back into the psalm:

8 The Lord judges the peoples;

    judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

    and according to the integrity that is in me.

9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

    and may you establish the righteous—

you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!

10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge,

    and a God who feels indignation every day.

Every day God looks down and sees unrighteousness, while He Himself is holy and righteous. The Lord is Judge - he has the authority and righteousness within Himself to do so.  The psalmist (in this case David) had found in God a just judge.  David did not consider himself perfect but made righteous by God. When we know that - that our righteousness is not our own, but comes from the righteous judge, we feel safe, protected by His shield. That is a cause for a thankful heart. 

Promises to Keep You Going

 

Malachi 4:1 For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

These are the closing words of the Old Testament, which kept the people going for a few centuries. Three promises kept them sane: justice against arrogant evildoers, joy at the coming of the Lord, and restoring of relationships who had so long been broken. In a sense, these are the same things people look for today: things to be made right, truly knowing the presence of God, and healing of broken hearts which have been ripped apart. Which one keeps you going and draws you forward?

Test Me... Trust Me...

Malachi 3:6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 

As we have seen in the opening chapters of Malachi, the people of Israel were being half-hearted in their worship and their lifestyle.  The priests were not living up to the standards of the covenant and did not seem to care. One tell-tale sign of their insincerity and apathy was seen in their lack of generosity. They were not even giving a tithe to the temple.  It was not that God "needed" their gifts, but what it meant that they were not giving: they were not trusting Him to provide as He always had.  It was not just a matter of faithfulness, but even of faith itself. God was saying: "Test Me. Just take this basic step of faith. Give and see that I will provide more than you need. 

Don't Cause Others To Stumble

 Malachi 2:5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.

The charge above was brought by God against the Levites - the priests and temple servants, who had been called by Him to be keepers of the covenant.  The had done their job for years. They instilled in the people the awe of God, true instruction, training in peace and righteousness, keeping the people from rebellion and sin. They handled rightly the word and instruction of God.  But recently they had failed to carry out their responsibility, giving false instruction, and not living in obedience themselves. We find Jesus and Paul making similar statements in addressing religious leaders who abandoned their charge. Whenever we who have responsibilities in the house of God go astray or fail to keep our calling, God's people will follow and those servants will be held accountable. 

Are We Helping or Hurting?

 

Malachi 1:10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food, may be despised. 

Malachi is the last Word of the Old Testament.  Things were improving in Israel in some ways after they reestablished in the land after the exile, but there was a spiritual complacency that infected the land, beginning with those more responsible - the priests. God told them that if that was the way they were going to conduct worship, they might as well close the doors. They were supposed to be bringing God glory, which would bring all nations to come worship Him. Some day He would, but at that time things were so spiritually pathetic they were violating their trust.  Do we, as a kingdom of priests and followers of Christ bring shame on His name instead of glory?

The Good Ole Days???

Haggai 2:3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts,

Haggai had a tough job.  He was trying to challenge and encourage the returnees from the Exile to get excited and get to work on rebuilding.  It was a tough job because everyone was remembering - in reality misremembering "the good ole days", before the fall of Jerusalem, when the temple was "in all its glory." Let's think about that. How many of these returnees had actually been alive to see the original temple? How did they know what it looked like, except by being told?  To be sure, they had some knowledge of the size any beauty and wealthy of the old temple, but had they experienced the glory of the presence of the Lord?  That was the real treasure, and that glory had left Jerusalem long before the walls came down. What really mattered was God's words and the truth behind it: I am with you. Let's never forget that. God wants us to keep looking forward to what He is yet to do, not what He may have done in the past. 

Consider Your Ways

Haggai 1:3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

Most of the prophetic books of the Old Testament addressed conditions leading up to the exile of Israel. A few, like Haggai, address the time of return and rebuilding.  Had they learned their lesson? Most Israelites did not return to the land, and many of those who did quickly and easily became discouraged. They built houses and plowed fields, but things just were not right. It just wasn't like "the good ole days", and they never seemed to move forward.  God calls them not to look around, but look within.  What were their motives and desires? Who were they trying to please: themselves or Him? They were to consider their ways. When things aren't going just right, who do you tend to question, blame, and examine? How quickly, or slowly, do you look within?

That Unique Day

 Zechariah 14:5b Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.
8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

Numerous prophets give reference to "The Day of the Lord", which refers to a time of God's judgment and making all things right.  The chapter begins with all nations turning on Jerusalem and coming up against her, but then the Lord comes to her rescue and establishes His kingdom.  When the lights go out in the world, His light shines forth. When the earth splits apart, He provides water for the world.  The religions of the world will all give way to worship of the true Lord.  This will be that unique Day of the Lord.