Just Not The Same

Haggai 1:1

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

All was well once again. Israel had endured the seventy years of captivity; a judgment meted out by God and measured to the year.

·       The time of captivity was exactly what God has said

·       The man who would allow their return was exactly who God had said

There were prophets in Judah once again. There were members of the royal family ruling in Jerusalem again.

But all was not the same. Zerubbabel, though ruling, was not a king but a governor. They were home but they were not sovereign.

We often speak of the grace of God, His unmerited favor. And we rejoice in the mercy of God. He restores the fallen and forgives the sinner. But more times than not we fail to adequately consider the consequence of sin. Though forgiven and restored, in many cases the scars of the sin plague us the rest of our lives.

·       We are restored

·       All is well

·       We may resume our life with God

But things are not the same. Some sins leave scars that carry on to eternity.

·       We are forgiven

·       We are saved

·       We are in heaven

But we have suffered loss.

Don't toy with sin. Confess it and forsake it quickly, before judgment begins.