2. Trust the Lord in Every Crisis (vv. 5-14). “The Lord” is mentioned in every verse in this paragraph because He was the one who protected Israel from their enemies and enabled the people to complete the work in difficult times. In 537 BC, Israel had been set free from captivity (v. 5), and about fifty thousand Jews returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. (See Ezra 3-6.) The Jews laid the foundation of the temple in 536 BC, but local officials interfered and the work stopped from 536 to 520 BC. The nations around the city did not want a restored Jewish state in the neighborhood, so they opposed both the rebuilding of the temple and the fortifying of the city. The work was resumed in 520 BC, and the temple was completed and dedicated in 515 BC. The people learned to trust, not in kings and princes, but in the Lord alone (vv. 8-9). They also learned that, though the enemy might attack them like bees, the Lord would give them victory (vv. 10-12). This was also true when Nehemiah came to Jerusalem in 444 BC and directed the work of rebuilding the walls and restoring the gates. Knowing that the nation of Israel was God’s chosen instrument for bringing blessing to the world, Satan opposed the work and sought to destroy both the people and their city, but faith and courage carried Israel through to victory (vv. 5-7; Heb. 13:6). The statement in verse 14 is significant. The Jews sang it when they were delivered from Egypt (Ex. 15:2) and when God enabled them to rebuild their temple and the city walls (118:14). They will sing it in the future when Messiah redeems them and establishes His kingdom (Isa. 12:2, see context). Just as “all nations” attacked Israel in the past, they will do so again in the future (Isa. 29:2-7; Zech. 12:9; 14:1-5; Joel 3:1-2), and the Lord will again rescue them. God’s people must learn to trust Him in every crisis of life.

[Note: For what it is worth, vv. 8 and 9 are the central verses of the Bible. Of course, the verse divisions of the Bible are not inspired.]