A Kingdom that Cannot Be Shaken

First Haiti, then Chile, followed by Taiwan and Sumatra. It seems that 2010 is the year for major tectonic activity -- at least if you count two three four quakes as a trend. And some were quite powerful. NASA is claiming that the 8.8 earthquake that rocked Chile actually tilted the Earth's axis and shortened the Earth's day by about 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).

When I heard about Chile, my mind went to the verses in Hebrews about God shaking all that is not eternal.

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:26-28, emphasis added).

 As I was pondering this passage, I received a copy of Iain Duguid's new commentary on Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. I am a big fan of Dr. Duguid's writing and teaching, especially of the Old Testament, which is his area of scholarly emphasis. As I read what he wrote about Haggai, I learned something about the biblical concept of shaking that I thought would be quite relevant in light of these recent earthquakes. 

Haggai 2:21-23 was delivered by the prophet Haggai when the official reconstruction work began on the temple in Jerusalem. It was addressed to the governor of Judah initially and intended to encourage the wider audience of returning exiles with him. 

"Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother. On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts."

As Dr. Duguid writes, the language of the earth shaking is typical of theophanies -- appearances of God. But there is more to this idea in Haggai:

Now, however, the shaking is not simply the response of the natural elements to the awesome majesty of God; it is something that God actually does to them. God will shake the heavens and the earth as we might shake a child's toy snow-globe, sending everything topsy-turvy within the world. More precisely, though, God's shaking will result not in the disordering of the world, but rather in the proper ordering of a presently disordered world. (Emphasis added).

The firmament upon which we live is not as stable as it appears in day-to-day living. But that's not due solely to plate tectonics. That may explain the methodology, but the reason is because we live in a fallen world that needs to be restored to its original divine perfection. I grieve for the victims of both quakes in Haiti and Chile, and I am not making some sort of televangelist pronouncement when I say there will be more earthquakes to come. But the reality is this: The world is shaking under our feet to make us think about the One who designed plate tectonics and what He means by them. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, we are far too easily pleased to live happily on fault lines and never consider the offer of an eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken in the same way.

Comments

[Brooke Shorey]

FYI, the Facebook "ShareThis" option does not automatically populate w/ the blog address. It just leaves a blank space to put in the url on your own. Great stuff, I'll share it manually!

[Jo Charles]

Thanks for that reflection Carolyn. We live in Santiago in Chile and experienced the quake on the 6th floor of an apartment building. Even though we were hundreds of kilometres away from the epicentre, we wondered if the building would survive, it was so violent. We prayed with the kids that God would help us to trust that his power was good, as it was tempting to think otherwise. That was a lovely quote from Hebrews, and the reflection from Haggai was also encouraging - that God's shaking will result in the proper ordering of a presently disordered world. We are praying that God will help us to speak boldly, kindly and persuasively about his power and the need to belong to his eternal kingdom that won't pass away. Thanks for your blog - I enjoy the input!

[Carolyn McCulley]

Brooke, I trust that was a temporary glitch with Share This--it seems to be working fine for me now. But I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your interest in sharing this post.

Jo, I am very glad to hear from you. I will be praying for you today--for your safety and your effectiveness as a witness for Christ in this trial.

[Lydia Smith]

It's interesting to read this review, as I'm a student at Grove City College, and a member of Dr. Duguid's church. I'll certainly try to get my hands on this book. Thank you for the ministry of this blog!