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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
2:18-19 Consider Life Since Restoration Began: I Will Bless. The Lord calls his people to reflect upon their economic situation since the start of reconstruction. Things still appear bleak, but the mention of four crops essential to the life of the people is now a promise that God's blessing is on the horizon.
2:18 Since the day that the foundation . . . was laid. Probably a reference to the resumption of work in , including an official foundation-laying ceremony (rather than the initial work on the foundation, begun in , which subsequently had been abandoned).
2:19 The late-summer harvest of these essential crops (vine . . . fig . . . pomegranate . . . olive) fits well with the late-December date (see v. 10). Is the seed yet in the barn? Although God's people had already planted their seeds, the day of harvest is still months away, so the Lord promises that an abundant harvest will in fact come. The work on the temple had been started again, giving evidence of the people's renewed devotion to the Lord and their return to a God-centered lifestyle. Thus they should mark this day as the day when the Lord has promised, I will bless you. Although God is not obligated by their obedience, the statement heralds a brighter tomorrow than the meager results of previous years (cf. 1:6-11).
