As we go about our daily lives, we have many experiences and encounters that we have trouble recalling as time goes by. Many seem insignificant at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zechariah and Haggai were prophets among the Jewish exiles who were allowed to return to Jerusalem from Babylon where they were in captivity for 70 years. The temple had been destroyed when they were deported, so they resolved to build a new temple as their first priority. Zechariah, along with fellow prophet Haggai, encouraged the people to build. However, their structure was not going to come close to the grandeur of Solomon\u2019s temple. They didn\u2019t have the resources, and experienced much opposition from the people around them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haggai\u2019s words to the old ones who remembered the first temple recognized their disappointment in the new one. But he addressed their sadness by prophesying the future. He alluded to the new temple called the church, which would be established by the coming of the Messiah, saying \u201cthe latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.\u201d (Haggai 2:9). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zechariah gave similar words, saying \u201cwho has despised the day of small things?\u201d (Zechariah 4:10). He also said, \u201ca man whose name is Branch (Messiah) will branch out from where He is, and He will build the temple of the LORD.\u201d (Zechariah 6:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two prophets were speaking of Jesus the Messiah, who would be the fulfillment of all of the physical temples that had been built, and who would satisfy all of their deepest longings. That seemingly insignificant act of rebuilding a scaled-down temple had huge implications for the future of God\u2019s people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t know whether our small, insignificant activities will grow much bigger and more important than we could imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph in Prison<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the best biblical examples of this is Joseph. Joseph was unjustly imprisoned in the Pharaoh\u2019s jail. God\u2019s favor rested on Joseph, and he was put in charge of the operation of the jail by the chief jailer. In that capacity, he interacted with all of the prisoners. One day two of the Pharaoh\u2019s servants were confined there. In Genesis 40 <\/strong>we read about this seemingly insignificant episode in Joseph\u2019s life. Joseph saw them the morning after their internment, and observed that they seemed dejected. So he asked a simple question. \u201cWhy are your faces so sad today?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n That simple question, borne out of Joseph\u2019s compassion, ignited a series of events that culminated in Joseph\u2019s promotion to Pharaoh’s executive officer, second in command of all Egypt. Joseph\u2019s administration accomplished the saving of many lives through the famine that he predicted, and he was reunited with his family who moved to Egypt. They would later be rescued by God through Moses and brought into the Promised Land. It was a key moment in the history of God\u2019s people, the Jews, and even of us today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n God at Work in a Russian Gulag<\/strong> Which of our \u201cinsignificant\u201d encounters could be that important and influential? We don\u2019t know, but some of them could be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some things we can learn from Joseph and Dr. Kornfield:<\/strong> Observe, have compassion, speak!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t despise the day of small things, small beginnings! Every encounter we have has the potential to develop into something significant. Our small acts of kindness and compassion could change lives, neighborhoods, towns, states, or countries. Only God knows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And time is of the essence. We don\u2019t know which day will be our last on this earth. Only God knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our job: to walk as Jesus walked, to observe our surroundings, to have compassion, to listen to his voice, to obey his every instruction, to walk by his Spirit. Don\u2019t miss opportunities, one of them could be our last! As Zechariah also said, \u201cnot by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.\u201d (Zechariah 4:6). We can only do this by his strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n God\u2019s job: to use us, as he has used so many of his people in the past, to accomplish his purposes! As we go about our daily lives, we have many experiences and encounters that we have trouble recalling as time goes by. Many seem insignificant at the time. Zechariah and Haggai were prophets among the Jewish exiles who were allowed to return to Jerusalem from Babylon where they were in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[48],"tags":[72,75,74,73,76],"class_list":["post-1535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living","tag-beginnings","tag-haggai","tag-joseph","tag-small-things","tag-zechariah"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/searchingscripture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/small-beginnings.jpg?fit=259%2C194&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1535"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1545,"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions\/1545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchingscripture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A more recent example occurred in a Russian concentration camp, or \u201cgulag\u201d in the 1950s. A Jewish doctor named Boris Kornfleld had become a Christian in the camp. He began to see God working in that desolate place, and started helping sick prisoners by breaking some of the camp rules. Fearing for his life, he came to a place where he recognized that no punishment we receive in this life is undeserved. We are all sinners who are unworthy of the grace God offers to us. He was at peace, and felt that he had to tell someone. One night, Dr. Kornfield examined a young patient he was working with, and began to tell him of his experiences. The next morning, the young man heard that Dr. Kornfield had been murdered in his sleep shortly after his visit and confession. What he had heard from the doctor affected him deeply. He too became a Christian and survived the camp. His name was Alexander Solzhenitzyn. He went on to write books that exposed the conditions of the gulags. He became in some ways the \u201cconscience\u201d of the Soviet Union. His writing and speaking was influential in the eventual dissolution of that empire. (This story is told in the book \u201cLoving God\u201d by Charles Colson).<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Joseph <\/strong>observed<\/strong> <\/span>the two new prisoners and their sadness. How many times do we go on our way not noticing the people around us?
2. He had compassion<\/span><\/strong> on them. Dr. Cornfield had compassion for his young patient who was very sick. We are told many times how Jesus had compassion on those around him.
3. Joseph spoke<\/span><\/strong> to the prisoners out of his compassion, asking the question that led to great things. Dr. Kornfield shared his God experiences with his patient, not knowing that this would be his last encounter on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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