Haggai 1, 2
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying, “Speak to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua son of Jehozadak the high priest, this message. 2 ‘Thus says the Lord Almighty: “This people says, ‘The time has not come to build the Lord’s house.’ ” ’ ”
The Command to Rebuild the Lord’s House
3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house stands in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord Almighty: “Consider your ways! 6 You have sown much and brought in little. You have eaten, but you are not satisfied. You have drunk, but not to get drunk. You have clothed yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord Almighty: “Carefully consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountain and cut wood and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 Thus says the Lord Almighty: “You looked for much, but little came, and when it was brought into the house I blew it away, because My house is desolate while each one of you hurries to his own house; 10 because of this the heavens above you will withhold the dew, and the earth withhold its fruit. 11 And I shall bring a sword upon the land and upon the mountains, and upon the grain and upon the wine and upon the oil, and upon whatever the ground brings forth, and on men and livestock, and on all the labor of their hands.”
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, heeded the word of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him to them, and the people feared in the presence of the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, said these words to the people: “I am with you, says the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel from the tribe of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
The Future Glory of the New Temple
1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the Lord spoke by Haggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel from the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who among you saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Is this not in your eyes as being nothing? 4 Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘And My Spirit remains among you; take courage!’ 6 For thus says the Lord Almighty, ‘Once more I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and the choice things of all the nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and peace of soul for a possession to everyone who builds and raises this temple.’ ”
The Corrupting Effect of the Unclean
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Now, ask the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and the edge touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?” ’ ” Then the priests answered and said, “No.” 13 And Haggai said, “If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?” So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, ‘ “So is this people, so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘and so are all the works of their hands. Whoever comes near them shall be unclean because of their early burdens; they shall be distressed because of their toils; and you have hated him who rebukes in the gates.
15 ‘And now consider from this day forward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, 16 what manner of people you were; when you put twenty ephahs of barley into the bin, and there were but ten; when you came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from the press, but only twenty were there. 17 I struck you with barenness and blight and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Establish your hearts from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought to this: 19 Is the seed still on the threshing floor? And as yet, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit? But from this day I shall bless you.’ ”
A Promise Made to Zerubbabel
20 And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel from the tribe of Judah, saying, ‘I shall shake heaven and earth and the sea and the dry land. 22 I shall overthrow the thrones of kings, and I will destroy the power of the kings of the nations, and I shall overthrow both chariots and riders. The horses and their riders will come down; everyone by the sword of his brother. 23 In that day,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘I shall take you, Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and shall make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you.’ ”
Psalm 95
1 When the house was built after the captivity; an ode by David.
Oh, sing a new song to the Lord,
Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
2 Sing to the Lord; bless His name;
Proclaim His salvation from day to day;
3 Declare His glory among the Gentiles,
His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the Lord is great, and is greatly to be praised;
And He is to be feared above all the gods;
5 For all the gods of the nations are demons,
But the Lord made the heavens;
6 Thanksgiving and beauty are before Him;
Holiness and majesty are in His holy place.
7 Bring to the Lord, O families of the Gentiles,
Bring to the Lord glory and honor;
8 Bring to the Lord the glory of His name;
Take up sacrifices and enter into His courts;
9 Worship the Lord in His holy court;
Let all the earth be shaken before Him.
10 Say among the Gentiles, “The Lord is King,
For He established the world, which shall not be shaken.
He shall judge the peoples with uprightness.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth greatly rejoice;
Let the sea be shaken and all its fullness.
12 Then the fields and everything in them shall rejoice;
Then all the trees of the forest shall greatly rejoice
13 Before the face of the Lord; for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth;
He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.
Proverbs 20:21–25
21 A wise king is a winnower of the ungodly,
And he casts them upon the wheel of torture.
22 The breath of man is the light of the Lord,
Who searches the inner man.
23 Mercy and truth are a guard for the king,
And they will encircle his throne with righteousness.
24 Wisdom is an ornament to young men,
And the glory of old men is their gray hair.
25 Bruises and fractures happen to evil men,
And plagues shall come into their inner man.
1 Timothy 3
1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence
5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);
6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Qualifications of Deacons
8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money,
9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.
10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.
12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The Great Mystery
14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly;
15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.