A God who is With His People (1:13)
13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.”
As God exposes the sin of Israel and calls them rebuild the temple, He also gives them a promise of His presence. In 1:13 we see God speak, “I am with you.” As Israel worked to rebuild the temple, they could take heart that God was with them.
The promise of God’s presence with His people is given numerous times throughout the Bible. Here we see another example in 1:13. I am sure this would have bolstered the people as they sought to take on the difficult and intimidating work of rebuilding the temple. To know that God is with you as you do His work is a precious gift.
Jesus promised to be with us while we went out and proclaimed the gospel (Matt 28:20). This is an encouragement to us as we seek to proclaim the gospel. It is a hard work, but we are not alone. God is with us.
