Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,
The Jews had begun to rebuild the temple, and the new house looked poor beside the one Solomon built, so the older men lost heart. Into that mood God sends three commands and one reason — and the reason is not what the builders have, but who is with them.
"Be strong" as comfort
This is not a demand for more grit. One writer gives the word's literal sense and the mood it met.
Arno Clemens Gaebelein"Yet now be strong" translated literally is, "And now be comforted, O Zerubbabel, says Jehovah; be comforted all the people of the land... for I am with you, says the LORD of Hosts." They were discouraged because their cause was so small. It is then that the Lord delights to comfort and to cheer His trusting people.
Not only the leaders
God names Zerubbabel the governor, then Joshua the high priest, then all the people of the land. The third address matters as much as the first two.
Edward DennettIt will be noticed that the Lord addresses all the people — the people as well as their leaders. All are before His mind. We too often deal in generalities. Not so Jehovah; the humblest of His servants does not escape His notice... His heart is large enough to embrace the whole multitude of His saints. Yet He also singles out every one, so that all alike may feel that they are the objects of His mind and heart.
Another writer turns this into a warning for us:
George DavisonWe must not think that leaders alone carry on the work of the Lord. All of us are in this work today, just as they were in their day. We all have work to do according to the ability given to us. We may thank God for those to whom He has given grace and ability to enlighten and lead the saints in a right path. But let us beware. If we think they alone have work to do, we will be inclined to leave it to them.
One word repeated three times
The command comes three times, once to each party. That says something about how they stand toward one another.
George DavisonHe looks at them as being in it together. One was not to be more strong than another. The word "Be strong," repeated three times, would truly put them in fellowship. The call that follows makes it plainer still: "and work; for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts."
Where the strength comes from
The word "for" ties the command to the promise. That tie changes how the builders measure their enemies.
Edward DennettThe exhortation He sends is, "Be strong." The source of their strength is knowing that He is with them... If He is with us, we rest confidently in what He is for us. Then we measure our foes and difficulties not by what we are, or by our own resources, but by what He is in all His own almighty power. Then we can boldly say with the apostle, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
The same promise in the brightest day and the weakest
A small group might count God's presence a poor second to their fathers' glory. The truth runs the other way.
William Kelly"I am with you" is the saving principle for faith in the weakest possible day — and, let me repeat it, what did they have better in the brightest day?... To have the most blessed servants would be a small thing if they did not have the Master Himself... The words were few, but they carried every help and blessing; and they sank deep into godly hearts.
Ruin and His presence held together
God did not deny the ruin they were in. He gave the promise inside it.
J. N. DarbyIt is precious to remember that, though we are in wretchedness, God is with us. Haggai 2:4 says it, when the Jews began to build: whatever your state of ruin, I am with you. My Spirit is with you as in the day when I brought you up out of Egypt. Nothing but faith can reconcile these two things — wretchedness and the love of God.
"And work"
God gives strength for labour. The question is which day that labour belongs to.
George DavisonSighing and lamenting over what marked the past will not achieve anything substantial today. The days now past were days of responsibility for the saints who lived through them, and who are now in heaven. But today is our day. We have our responsibility to do the work of the Lord, until He takes us out of the sphere of service too. The rest of God is still before us; today is the time of labour.
Summary
- Comfort — "Be strong" reads as "be comforted." God speaks it to people discouraged by how small their cause is. That is when He delights to cheer them.
- Everyone — God names the governor, the priest and the ordinary people. The humblest servant does not escape His notice, so no one may leave the work to leaders.
- Together — the word comes three times, with "and work" added. It puts them in fellowship, and no one is stronger than another.
- Because — the strength is not in their resources but in His presence. So we measure our difficulties by what He is.
- Now — "I am with you" is as good in the weakest day as in the brightest. Faith holds ruin and His love together. Today, not yesterday, is the time to work.