“…Without prayer we are unlikely to risk great things for God. - Don Fields As we look through the Bible, we can see a consistent theme when there are things to do: Man needs motivation. . Various men have taken the opportunity to motivate their brothers and in each case we see great love manifested. Love can do many things. This article will discuss three things that love has done and can do. Love can build a temple, love can build a wall, and love can spread the gospel. For us to fully understand the first two points, we must look at the events that occurred that made it necessary to rebuild the temple and the temple. wall. In 586 BC, the Babylonians conquered Judah. Jerusalem was reduced to ruins. The Jews were taken captive. Some of the promised were allowed to linger to live in these ruins. This remnant, over the following decades, began intermarrying with non-Jews (including some Assyrians who had fled the destruction of their own nation). This racial integration produced the group known as the Samaritans. During the period of captivity, there was still spiritual hope and divine guidance from prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC. A series of lesser leaders followed him. In 549 BC, Cyrus (who had become king of the Persians a decade earlier) conquered the Median king and unified the Medes and Persians. In 539 BC, Cyrus defeated the city of Babylon. The story recounts Cyrus as a benevolent ruler who allowed captured peoples (like the Jews) to return to their native lands, restore their places of worship, and reestablish their rituals. In 538 BC, Cyrus issued a declaration allowing the Jews to return to their homeland (2...... middle of paper...... we can build a temple Love can build a wall L Love Can Spread the Gospel Works Cited Fields, Dan . Nehemiah: The Courage to Face Oppression. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002 Maxey, Al. The Minor Prophets: Haggai Available at http://www. zianet.com/maxey/Proph9.htm.Internet, accessed June 9, 2010. Potts, JH. Our Thrones and Crowns or the Golden Path to Highest Achievement Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2003. Stapleton, Robert 66. Sermons from the Word of God: Nehemiah Bedford, Texas The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2008. Available at http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Haggai.html Internet accessed June 9, 2010. Zerr. , EM Bible Commentary: Volume 2. Bowling Green, Kentucky: Guardian of Truth Publications., 1948.