Minor Prophet?

Daily Reading: Ezra 5

The prophets of God were with them, supporting them. (Ezra 5.2)

Devotional Thought: God’s people ran into opposition on the work of the Temple to where it came to a standstill for fifteen years.  But Haggai and Zechariah—a couple of “minor prophets”—were instrumental in helping get things back on track to where the work eventually resumed.  These two men didn’t have an easy calling, as it was their job to embolden and encourage God’s people during a difficult time.  They didn’t serve during an upbeat season but were asked to represent Him during some dark days. 

In addition, they had to confront some serious shortcomings on the part of God’s people.  Haggai, in particular, rebuked the people for their attitude toward the building of the Temple (see Haggai 1).  The people had given up the dream.  They’d lost sight of the calling and started taking some of the materials set aside for the construction of the Temple and used them for their personal homes.  They’d allowed a delay beyond their control to become a delay of their own choosing.

The words of these prophets were instrumental in helping the people re-order their priorities and resume the work of rebuilding the Temple.  They helped catalyze a people who’d lost sight of a dream to recapture it and pursue it again with resolve and intention.  It says in verse 2, that they “set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem.”

The timely, convicting, and motivational words of Haggai and Zechariah were instrumental in getting the people off the sidelines and back in the game.  And it wasn’t just their words—their work went beyond their words and they took a hand in the practical work of rebuilding the Temple.

My guess is, to those repatriated exiles, Haggai and Zechariah weren’t “minor” prophets.  Their role was enormous and their contribution was massive.

John Whitsett

Prayer: Heavenly Father—help me be a person who by my words inspires and motivates those around me who’ve given up the dream and lost sight of their calling.  And let me supplement my words in practical ways to where we truly sense a camaraderie and togetherness in the pursuit of your calling upon our lives.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 95:6-11

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,

8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,as you did that day at Massahin the wilderness,

9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’

11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”