Holy God, Sinful man

Hang on to your hats, you fellow Messiah oratorio fans.

After the glorious announcement that God's promised Savior is coming, instead of taking us immediately to the prophecy concerning Jesus' birth, Mr. Jennes takes us to an Old Testament scripture regarding Christ's return to the temple in Jerusalem. Here's a little background on his chosen scripture.

It is from the small book of Haggai (only two chapters), the third to the last book in the Old Testament. This prophecy by Haggai, the prophet, was given to Zerrubabel, the governor at the time, Joshua, the priest, and a remnant of the Israelites who had come back from captivity in Babylon. They were rebuilding the temple which had been destroyed by the Babylonians 70 years prior, and were very discouraged because the foundation seemed so small and insignificant compared to the original temple. But the Lord said, "Be strong Zerrubabel, be strong Joshua, be strong all you people of the land. Work for I am with you."

Then the prophet says, "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet once a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come." (Haggai 2:6-7)

Question: Was God going to shake the heavens and earth right then? when Jesus was born? or when He comes back at the end of the age? Most scholars think this refers to Jesus' second coming. If so, Mr. Jennes has used it here to forshadow the glorious ending of the oratorio.

He couples this verse with Malachi 3:1-2: "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; Behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire."

All this is sung by a bass soloist which emphasizes the gravity of the pronouncement. We'll see as we go along if the bass soloist continues to the "the heavy."

The chorus sings the next verse from Malachi which says the Lord will purify the sons of Levi. The sons of Levi were the priests who offered sacrifices to God. They would not be able to offer sacrifices if they themselves were not first purified.

"And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (Malachi 3:3)

Whew! That's the best I can do gang. Next time, though, we get the prophecy about Jesus.
Merry Christmas,
Paulita