“Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I fill this house with glory, saith the Lord.” Haggai 2:6,7
In the book of Hosea, the Lord addresses Israel in the following manner: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.” (10:12) There are times, greater in number and magnitude than we can count and conceive of, that the Lord works to shake the heavens and the earth, and to break up fallow ground. Why is there such an upheaval in nations, and in the hearts of individuals? It is so, that men, in realizing their littleness, and sinfulness, their helplessness before the forces of nature, and the work of God, will accept that their concepts, speculations, imaginations, traditions and mindsets, must be broken up if there will be a seeking of the Lord. God works in the hearts of men to bring them, not only to a knowledge of who He is, and what His ways are, contrasted to those of men, but to a conviction that is so powerful that the hold that the enemy has upon minds and hearts is loosened. An example of this is seen when the Lord addresses Cyrus by the words of Isaiah: “I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut.” (45:1) What is God saying here? He is declaring a weakening of the authority and control of the enemy over peoples and nations, so that His kingdom will come, and His will be accomplished through Cyrus. It would be through, and by, the power and authority of Cyrus, given to him by God, that Jerusalem would be rebuilt after the period of the deportation. At that time, the foundation of the second temple would be laid. For this to be done, the will of the people would be strengthened to begin the work to rebuild the temple. But that work would be resisted by the powers of darkness, working successfully through the enemies of Israel. A spiritual resistance, aimed at mind, soul, spirit and body, would work to refuse, hinder, and eventually stop, the work on the temple. The breaking up of “fallow ground,” the shaking of the heavens, and the earth, would come about after approximately fifteen years, by the mouths of two of God’s prophets. The prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, would emerge as the means by which God would clearly, and concisely, stir up the people. The authority with which these men spoke was greater than the mindsets and thinking of the people, who had different accommodating excuses for not finishing the work on the temple. Over the course of these approximately fifteen years, there had been an acceptance of the resistance of the enemy. The “shaking” by God, by the power and authority of His servants, would result in the stirring up of the leaders, and the people, to seek God. Greater would be their conviction become, than the resistance of the enemy. Motivated and strengthened by the power of the Spirit, the people would rise up, and overcome the resistance of the enemy. God would then manifest His glory in that temple.
It seems that in Jesus’ day, there was a settling down by the people. The Romans had an established control over Jerusalem, and Israel. The religious climate seems to be very similar to “fallow ground,” that was acceptably hardened and dry, certainly not fertile and receptive to life-giving sowing. The religious powers of the day had consolidated power, resisting all in opposition. Then would come John the Baptist, powerfully preaching the kingdom of God. Jesus would follow, preaching with power and authority. The “loins of kings,” the authority of spiritual darkness, had begun to be loosened. The Lord was coming to “rain down righteousness” upon the people, and the nations.
Dear Father, Deliver us from the hardening effects of spiritual resistance, stirring us up to seek Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.