Wednesday after the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Scripture: Haggai 2:20-23 (NKJV)
2:20 And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying:
‘I will shake heaven and earth. 22 I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
23 ‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
Devotion
All of the readings for this week have been types of promises by God, that no matter how things look to God’s people, at all times He is still in control and He will accomplish His purposes. Even though the glory of Israel is a mere shadow of its former self, still the Lord will send the promised Descendant of David to save His people from their sin.
In our reading for today “the Lord honored faithful Zerubbabel not only calling him, ‘My servant’; He also established him as a signet (or sign) guaranteeing to His people the fulfillment of God’s promise given to David (2 Sam. 7:12-16). As this sign Zerubbabel was ‘chosen’ not by the people, nor by the powerful emperor Cyrus. This [unimportant] prince of Judah, a small poor nation under foreign control, was honored by the Supreme Ruler of the world and His Church, the Lord of Hosts, to be a prominent link in that illustrious chain of ancestors extending from David to Jesus Christ, the God-Man. In the face of all opposition, in the midst of catastrophic political changes, the kingdom promised to David and the scepter assured to Judah would continue till Shiloh come, the Prince of Peace whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Minor Prophets, T. Laetsch, p 401-402). We see again that when God makes promises to His people, he is always faithful to keep His promises. By Word and Sacrament you and I have received the same promise. By faith, we too, live in that kingdom.
We pray: Grant, Almighty God, that we who celebrate the solemnities of the Lord’s resurrection may by the renewal of Thy Holy Spirit rise again from the death of the soul; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
