the house of Yahweh

January 27, 2018

The cooking pots are holy (Zech 14:20-14:21)

“On that day,

There shall be inscribed

On the bells

Of the horses.

‘Holy to Yahweh.’

The cooking pots

In the house of Yahweh

Shall be as holy

As the bowls

In front of the altar.

Every cooking pot

In Jerusalem,

As well as in Judah

Shall be sacred

To Yahweh of hosts.

Thus,

All who sacrifice

May come.

They may use them

To boil the flesh

Of the sacrifice.

There shall no longer

Be traders

In the house

Of Yahweh of hosts,

On that day.”

On this glorious day, the bells of the horses will have the inscription that Yahweh is holy.  The cooking pots in the house of Yahweh would be as holy as the bowls on the altar in front of the holy of holies.  In fact, all the cooking pots in Judah and Jerusalem would be sacred to Yahweh.  The sacrifices could then be boiled in any kind of pot because they were all holy.  They would no longer need to depend on the traders at the Temple selling them special holy pots.

December 30, 2017

Zerubbabel will lay the foundation of the Temple (Zech 4:8-4:10)

“Moreover,

The word of Yahweh

Came to me,

Saying.

‘The hands of Zerubbabel

Have laid the foundation

Of this house.

His hands

Shall also complete it.

Then you will know

That Yahweh of hosts

Has sent me to you.

Whoever has despised

The day of small things

Shall rejoice.

They shall see the plummet

in the hand of Zerubbabel.’”

Yahweh came directly to Zechariah.  He told him that Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, would lay the foundation for the house of Yahweh with his own hands.  Then Zerubbabel would complete the Temple also.  Thus, they would know that Yahweh of hosts had sent him to them.  Those that despised the little things would rejoice when they would see the plummet or the measuring line in Governor Zerubbabel’s hands.

December 29, 2017

Walk in the ways of Yahweh (Zech 3:6-3:7)

“Then the angel of Yahweh

Assured Joshua.

‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts.

If you will walk

In my ways,

If you keep my requirements,

Then you shall rule

My house.

You will have charge

Of my courts.

I will give you

The right of access

Among those who are standing here.’”

Then the angel of Yahweh reassured Joshua, the high priest.  The angel said that Yahweh of hosts had said that he would be in charge of the courts and have access to the Temple courts, if he walked in the ways of Yahweh.  If he kept all his requirements and commandments, he would rule the house of Yahweh, the Temple.  Thus, Joshua was reestablished as the actual high priest of the new Temple, but he would have to follow all of Yahweh’s commands.

December 24, 2017

Haggai stirred up the spirits of the people of Jerusalem (Hag 1:14-1:15)

“Yahweh stirred up

The spirit of Zerubbabel,

The son of Shealtiel,

The governor of Judah.

Yahweh stirred up

The spirit of Joshua,

The son of Jehozadak,

The high priest.

Yahweh stirred up

The spirit of all the remnant

Of the people.

They came.

They worked

On the house

Of Yahweh of hosts,

Their God.

This was

On the twenty-fourth day

Of the month,

In the sixth month.”

Yahweh stirred up the spirits of the people of Jerusalem.  This included the 2 leaders, Governor Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua.  Once again, they were mentioned with their father’s name and title also.  All the rest of the people in Jerusalem were also stirred up.  Thus, they came to work on the house of Yahweh, their God, 23 days after Haggai had first spoken to them at the beginning of this chapter.

December 23, 2017

Useless work (Hag 1:9-1:9)

“‘You have looked

For much,

But it came to little.

When you brought it home,

I blew it away.

Why?’

Says Yahweh of hosts.

‘Because my house

Lies in ruins,

While all of you

Hurry off

To your own houses’”

They had looked for many things, but they could only find a few little things.  When they finally brought them home, Yahweh blew them away.  Even though Yahweh’s house was in ruins, they hurried off to build their own homes.  Yahweh wanted them to pay more attention to the house of Yahweh.

December 22, 2017

Rebuild the ruined house (Hag 1:3-1:4)

“Then the word of Yahweh

Came

By the prophet Haggai.

‘Is it a time

For you yourselves

To live

In your paneled houses,

While this house

Lies in ruins?’”

Yahweh, via Haggai, asked the question about the right time to rebuild the house of Yahweh, the Temple.  He wanted to know why they were so happy in their own paneled houses when the Temple was still in ruins since 587 BCE.

October 15, 2017

The rich fertile land (Joel 3:18-3-18)

“In that day,

The mountains shall drip

Sweet wine.

The hills shall flow

With milk.

All the stream beds

Of Judah

Shall flow with water.

A fountain shall come forth

From the house of Yahweh.

It will water

The valley of Shittim.”

In the day of Yahweh, the mountains would drip a sweet wine, while the hills would flow with milk. There would be multiple streams of water in Judah to make the land fertile. In fact, a fountain would flow from the house of Yahweh to the Shittim valley that was in Moab.

October 6, 2017

The useless sacrifices (Hos 9:4-9:4)

“They shall not pour

Drink offerings

Of wine

To Yahweh.

Their sacrifices

Shall not please him.

Such sacrifices shall be

Like mourners’ bread.

All who eat of it

Shall be defiled.

Their bread

Shall be

For their hunger only.

It shall not come

To the house

Of Yahweh.”

Hosea told them that in their captivity, they will not be able to pour out drink offerings of wine to Yahweh. Their sacrifices would not please God. These sacrifices would be like the defiled bread of mourners who have had contact with the dead. The only reason to eat this bread would be because they were hungry. There will be no more symbolic bread, since they will no longer have contact with the house of Yahweh.

December 26, 2016

False worship (Jer 32:34-32:35)

“They set up

Their abominations

In the house

That bears my name.

They defiled it.

They built

The high places of Baal

In the valley

Of the son of Hinnom,

To offer up

Their sons

As well as their daughters

To Molech.

I did not command them,

It did not enter my mind

That they should do

This abomination,

Causing Judah to sin.”

The major fault of the Israelites and Judeans was their false worship. First, they defiled the Temple, the house of Yahweh, by placing these false idols in the Temple itself. Then they also built the high altars for the false god Baal. Finally, they were offering up their sons and daughters to Molech in Hinnom valley, outside Jerusalem, that later became known as Gehenna or hell. Molech was a Canaanite god that demanded child sacrifices, who was specifically mentioned in Leviticus, chapter 20. Once again, Yahweh, as in chapter 19, said that he had not commanded or had it even entered his mind to ask for child sacrifices. Clearly, this worship of false gods and sacrificing children was against the will of Yahweh.

August 28, 2016

Isaiah heals King Hezekiah (Isa 38:21-38:22)

“Now Isaiah had said.

‘Let them take a lump of figs.

Apply it to the boil.

Thus he may recover.’

King Hezekiah also had said.

‘What is the sign

That I shall go up

To the house of Yahweh?”

Once again, this is almost word for word from 2 Kings, chapter 20. However it seems to be in the wrong place. This was better off earlier in this chapter when they were talking about the sign of the sundial since this section ends with King Hezekiah asking for a sign about when he should go to the house of Yahweh. He wanted to know how he would know that he was healed. Isaiah has healed King Hezekiah by taking a lump of figs and putting it on the boil.