The opening verses mention the prophets Haggai and Zechariah which is a hint that there were other factors involved in the halting of work on the temple in addition to the fact that the Jews were intimidated by their enemies. Cyrus had supported the efforts of the Jews to rebuild it, but one of his later successors, Artaxerxes gave an order to stop the work much later, and not regarding the Temple but the city itself. These prophets indicate that the people had abandoned their commitment to rebuild the temple in favor of constructing comfortable houses for themselves. They may have been discouraged by opposition but not enough to deprive themselves of the comforts they thought they deserved.
We in America tend to get discouraged by cultural and social opposition to our faith as well as the ridicule we are subjected to by those who want to disparage our beliefs and our commitment to a godly and righteous way of living. Often many try to alleviate this persecution by compromise, by adopting the materialism, selfishness, arrogance and cynicism of their detractors. Our excuse is often: “Well I deserve a break. I deserve this car or vacation or trinket or whatever.” Meanwhile we forget that we belong to the Lord and we let the Kingdom work suffer.
The Spiritual growth of a compromised Christian will remain at a standstill. The reason is that such a life dishonors the Lord. A compromised Christian cannot avail himself of the Lord’s power and will always cave into temptation.
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