The Berean Pursuit
In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating that this is what the LORD of Hosts says:
"These people say, 'The time has not yet come
to rebuild the house of the LORD.'"
Then the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet, saying:
"Is it a time for you yourselves
to live in your paneled houses,
while this house lies in ruins?"
Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says:
"Consider carefully your ways.
You have planted much
but harvested little.
You eat but never have enough.
You drink but never have your fill.
You put on clothes but never get warm.
You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through."
This is what the LORD of Hosts says:
"Consider carefully your ways.
Go up into the hills,
bring down lumber, and build the house,
so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,
says the LORD.
You expected much,
but behold, it amounted to little.
And what you brought home, I blew away.
Why? declares the LORD of Hosts.
Because My house still lies in ruins,
while each of you is busy
with his own house.
Therefore, on account of you
the heavens have withheld their dew
and the earth has withheld its crops.
I have summoned a drought
on the fields and on the mountains,
on the grain, new wine, and oil,
and on whatever the ground yields,
on man and beast,
and on all the labor of your hands."
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.
Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people:
"I am with you,"
declares the LORD.
So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:
"The LORD was very angry with your fathers. So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.'
Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.'
But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD.
Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, 'Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.'"
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo.
I looked out into the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
"What are these, my lord?" I asked.
And the angel who was speaking with me replied, "I will show you what they are."
Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth."
And the riders answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, "We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and tranquil."
Then the angel of the LORD said, "How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?"
So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.
Then the angel who was speaking with me said, "Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity.'
Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.'
Proclaim further that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.'"
Then I looked up and saw four horns. So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these?"
And he told me, "These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."
Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
"What are these coming to do?" I asked.
And He replied, "These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head; but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations that have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it."
Of David.
I give You thanks with all my heart;
before the gods I sing Your praises.
I bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness;
You have exalted Your name
and Your word above all else.
On the day I called, You answered me;
You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.
All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD,
when they hear the words of Your mouth.
They will sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
Though the LORD is on high,
He attends to the lowly;
but the proud He knows from afar.
If I walk in the midst of trouble,
You preserve me from the anger of my foes;
You extend Your hand,
and Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will fulfill
His purpose for me.
O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever-
do not abandon the works of Your hands.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. If anyone says, "I know Him," but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
Beloved, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard. Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.
If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.
I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.