Haggai 2:20-23

The next message comes on the same day as the last one. Quite a day! What will it contain? How will the Lord deal with his people? What is this fresh revelation about?

It is directed to Zerubbabel, the leader of the people. Again, the Lord declares that he is going to shake "the heavens and the earth". It a statement that he will act in the most decisive way. He will overthrow nations, bring down low those that are raised high in the eyes of the world. A new world order seems to be in view here. It a message akin to the vision Daniel saw in Dan. 2 (the image destroyed by the rock).

As a message to a leader, it is clearly very significant. Zerubbabel is the leader of this small group of despised people but the Lord says that he will overturn the established order. It was especially significant to Zerubbabel but also to the people he ruled over.

But when would this be? Is it a promise that Zerubbabel will become a great ruler? Are there glory days in store for the nation? It seems as though that might be the case: "I will take you, Zerubbabel". But there is more here than meets the eye!

Zerubbabel never became a great leader; the world order of his day was not overturned in favour of the Jews. This was a word for the people of that time but about another time.

We need to remember whose family Zerubbabel belongs to. He is of the line of David, the Messiah's line. And when you read Matthew 1 where the line is listed, you see that the Jesus is a direct descendant of Zerubbabel.

There are other indications here that it's the Messiah who is in view:

- The title used to describe Zerubbabel, "my servant". There were many servants but the servant par excellence was the Lord himself.

- The Lord also speaks of choosing his servant. Those 2 ideas come together in a passage in Isaiah that is all about the Messiah (42:1). Zerubbabel was chosen for a time, in the line of the Messiah, but Jesus as the Messiah is chosen for all time!

Zerubbabel has been chosen and will be like a signet ring. The signet is the seal of royalty; it is the royal guarantee. It verifies things, usually a document. The fact that Zerubbabel is there as a leader despite all the problems & opposition is an indication that the Lord is with his people and will continue to be with them.

But if we look further ahead again, the real guarantee is the Lord Jesus himself. It is in him that all the promises of God are summed up and realised (2 Cor 1:20).

The passage then is speaking of the coming of the Messiah, the one to whom Zerubbabel and all like him pointed. It speaks of victory, of the overturning of the established world order, of the enthroning of God's King and of the fulfilment of his promises.

When will these things take place? In the coming of Jesus as a babe into this world; in his death, resurrection and ascension; in his coming again (see Heb 12:26-28 where these verses are quoted regarding his second coming). They have been fulfilled; they are being fulfilled; they will be fulfilled!

What do they say to us? The LORD reigns! All the promises of God are secure. The current world order cannot last; the great kingdom of God will one day come in all its fulness and glory!

Therefore we are to take heart and work, just like these builders. It may not look promising; it didn't to them. But between them and us stands the greatest indication that it will all be fulfilled: the coming of the Messiah, his life & work.

Christmas thrills our hearts; it is also meant to encourage us and energise our labours as we work and wait for the return of the Lord, not in lowliness but in glory! Until that day, let us serve him with joy and zeal, as the Lord's servants whom he has chosen. Amen!

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Haggai 2:10-19

Haggai's next prophecy comes on the 24th day of 9th month (3 months on from 1:14,15). Presumably those months were full of activity on the temple. They have received the Lord's encouragement to work and there is every reason to think they did work.

So what will the Lord say to his people now? The message is slightly unusual and begins with 2 questions to the Priests:

1) Does something become holy (consecrated) by contact with that which is holy? Answer: No.

2) Does something become defiled by contact with that which is defiled? Answer: Yes

Why ask these questions? The Lord has something to say about the people and the nation: whatever they do or offer is defiled. Therefore, they themselves must be defiled. They are unholy. They don't become holy by their contact with a holy place (the temple). Rather, they make what they do & what they offer there unholy because of their defilement.

So what will come next? Condemnation? Judgement? Exile?

In vv.15-17, the Lord reminds them how things were before. They knew his displeasure and yet did not turn to him. Will it happen again? They must give careful thought to the situation. Look around says the Lord and see: you still haven't any evidence of blessing. But "from this day on I will bless you".

Perhaps expecting rebuke, they receive a promise of blessing! What can explain this? They have done what they failed to do before: they have turned to the Lord. They have repented. There has been a decisive change in their lives. They once again reverence the Lord and are hard at work for him.

Has that merited the blessing of the Lord? The question & answer session with the priests seems designed to remind the people of their sinfulness, of their uncleaness. They can never merit the blessing of God.

So why is the Lord promising to bless them? Sheer grace! Their turning has not merited blessing but the Lord will meet them with his blessing. The last 2 months have presumably shown their repentance to be real. But they need to know that when blessing comes, it isn't down to works; it is all of grace. Remember the Prodigal Son! Utterly unworthy yet blessed greatly.

How much we need to grasp this for ourselves! We begin the Christian life through grace and we continue by grace. There is never a moment when we can say 'We deserve the blessing of God'. We are sinners still; saved yes but still unworthy and wretched.

How great then is the grace of God! How much this message must have motivated & strengthened the people in their work. The Lord loves them and is with them, despite their failures.

If anything is accomplished through our lives & ministries, it is not by virtue of any holiness or power of ours. The credit belongs entirely to the Lord and is a product of his amazing grace. See how Peter responds to the people when the man is healed at the Beautfiul Gate; Acts 3:11ff. Do we share that conviction? We need to.

This passage should stregthen our resolve to repent, to turn again to the Lord as & when we need to do so. It also reminds us that our turning is not meritorious; all is of grace. If a temple is raised up, it will be by grace and fully to the glory of God!

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Haggai 2:6-9

The people were discouraged. Some could remember the temple in its former glory and were distressed by what they saw now. Seeing their state, the Lord encourages them. He exhorts them to be strong & work, for he's with them, the covenant still stands and his Spirit remains among them.

But the people need more than words. They have to contend with opposition; they have very little to work with; they're poor.

1. The God Who Shakes Nations
Hudson Taylor once famously said that "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply". This is exactly what the Lord now confirms to his people. He is going to stretch out his hand to act for his beleagured people.

"In a little while, I will shake...all nations, and the desired of all nations will come". Clearly, something very significant is going to occur; the nations will be shaken. But what is it that is going to come? What is the 'desired of all nations'?

Although this was taken for many years as a reference to the messiah (hence the lines in Hark, the herald angels), the word is actually plural and refers to things, not a person. The Lord is promising to an impoverished people the wealth of the nations to help them in the building of the temple!

How did his promise work out? In an amazing way. Look at Ezra 5 & 6 for the details. There was more opposition to the work and those opposed wrote again to the Emperor for a decree to tell the people to stop building. Their request had the opposite effect; they were ordered to give towards the building of the temple!

The Lord of Hosts was at work. His words are always matched by his deeds. They are never empty. We need to grasp with Hudson Taylor that wonderful truth and look to God to supply our needs. Remember, the silver and the gold all belong to the Lord and he can switch between accounts at will, never having to give notice and never losing interest!

The Lord was going to shake the nations and he did. But what happened in those days doesn't exhaust the meaning of these words. There were to be further shakings over the centuries until the coming of the Messiah. Nations rose and fell, all in preparation for the coming of the Lord.

2. The God of Glory
But how would the temple be filled with glory? How would its glory exceed the former one? In those days it didn't but under Herod it was made truly great. But it was in the coming of the Messiah to the temple in person that it was truly filled with glory and it is through the ministry of the Messiah that the latter glory exceeds the former.

You see, we're dealing here with the difference between the old and the new covenants, between the physical temple and the spiritual one. And God's glory is made manifest in this world supremely through his Son and after that through his people.

His glory - that is, his grace, love, mercy, justice & holiness - is seen in us as we believe on the Lord Jesus and then live a life that speaks of his saving power and beauty.

3. The God of Peace
And the Lord will give peace, there and here. His peace is the summation of his blessing, a wholeness of life that transcends any blessing this world can give. A wholeness of life, despite the trials of life, a wholeness in the midst of the trials. In the light of such promises, can we not be strong & work?

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Haggai 2:1-5

1. The Discouraged Builders...
"On the twenty-first day of the seventh month..." Nearly 4 weeks have gone by since they re-started work on the temple. They began enthusiastically and with real joy. Again, the Lord has something to say to them through Haggai (v.2). He asks them a question..."Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem like nothing?"

The question is rhetorical - clearly there were some who remembered the old temple and its glory and splendour. And they were obviously feeling discouraged. All they had now was a pile of rubble, they little to build with and they were only a small remnant in the face of overwhelming odds. And they're partly to blame. Maybe they're destined to always bear the consequences of their disobedience.

We, too, can grow discouraged, by the situation we face. Perhaps you remember better days, days when people came to church in greater numbers, when invitations to meetings were accepted not rejected. You look around and feel depressed.

Perhaps you remember days when things were better with you. May you've become conscious in a deeper way of your own sin & failure and perhaps you're gripped by the fear that you may have permanently robbed yourself of the blessing of God.

Perhaps, like the discouraged people of Haggai's day, we need a word from God. What message dis the Lord have for his people? What message does he have for us?

2. The God of Grace
The first thing he does is to exhort them to carry on with the work. The reality of the situation is not denied. Yes, it does look bad in comparison with former times. Yes, it is partly their own fault. Yes, they are only a small group of people. But that's no reason to give up! They must ALL be strong and work".

- We need courage too: courage to face our foes, courage to face our past, courage to face an uncertain future.

- We must work too: there is work to do in the building of a spiritual temple, there is work to do on our own souls, there is work to do in serving the Lord in our daily living.

But the kind of courage and energy urged on the people are not self-generated. They are to be courageous and energetic in the work on this basis: "'I am with you' says the LORD Almighty".

The assurance of his presence is to be the catalyst that moves, encourages and cheers them. One with God is a majority! The LORD of Hosts, the God with all power and all resources at his command has promised to be with them and is confirming that promise unequivocally.

Had they gone beyond his blessing? No! This is what he had covenanted with them when they came out of Egypt. His promises stood! His grace was triumphant! And his promise to be with us and to help us and to bless us stands, sealed by the blood of Jesus. If we've wandered, we need to repent; but we need not fear his willingness to take us up and use us for his glory and honour.

The Lord is with us. Jesus is with us, always, even to the end of the age! Can we not therefore get on with the work, with courage, with energy, with zeal, with expectancy?

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Haggai 1:12-15

Verse 12
The obedience of all the people is a beautiful thing to behold (to obey is better than sacrifice). If faced with such rebuke, we may be tempted to deny that it is so or at least try to justify our actions. But they didn't. They heard what the Lord said and they obeyed his voice.

The obedience of the people is total: from the leaders to the most ordinary member of the community. How vital that is and how precious that is!

They obeyed the voice of the Lord their God: it is one thing to hear; it is another to respond to it. Baldwin: "When God has spoken, apathy is practical atheism"

They obeyed God's voice and Haggai's message: God had spoken through a man; the glory belongs not to the man but to God. Haggai takes none of the credit for getting a response from the people; it is all the Lord's doing. If my sermons ever do any good, it is all because of God's grace and mercy.

What induced this obedience? "because the LORD their God had sent him". It wasn't eloquence that persuaded them, nor thunderings or impassioned preaching; it was the conviction that God was speaking to them.

They obeyed God's voice and feared his presence. What kind of fear is this? Some suggest it is a terror of the Lord. They are aware of how much they have failed and how holy he is and are shaking because of it.

Others see it as reverence for God (NASB: "And the people showed reverence for the LORD"). That is a beautiful thing, when respect and honour are truly given to God as they ought to be.

Both are legitimate interpretations and both have much to say to us.

Verse 13
Someone has said, "God's curse is not a sign that God has rejected his people; rather, it shows his love for them. He wants to draw them back to him, and uses disaster to wake them up". So as they begin to obey, he meets them with a word of encouragement: 'I am with you'.

How much they needed to hear that, especially if fear had gripped them. Notice how "God endorses and strengthens our good resolves". We need ever to remember Jesus' words in the great commission 'I am with you always...'.

It is this that we need above all else: the presence and power of God. His presence cheers, conforts and gives confidence to us in our labours. Without him being with us in power, nothing would or could be achieved.

Verse 14
This is perhaps best taken as a summary statement of vv.12,13 from God's perspective. They had obeyed because God was at work amongst them. He makes his people willing in the day of his power. Joyce Baldwin has said that "Behind the willing response of both leaders and people was the silent working of the Lord, creating a willing attitude by his Spirit".

We are taken back to Phil 2:12,13 - our duty is to respond to God's word, to be obedient. But we can never take credit for it, because it is God who is at work within us to will & act according to his good purpose!

We need to hear what he is saying to us and resolve to live aright. But we also need to pray that by His Spirit he will stir us up to live obediently and lead us in his ways.

Verse 15
The 6th month was a busy one in orchards & fields. Yet because the Lord had stirred them and they were intent on obedience, they came and began work on the temple of the Lord.

Did they speak together in the days that followed the message from the Lord? Did they strengthen one another? Did they comfort each other? Did they urge each other onwards? We know from Malachi that "those who feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard". What a wonderful experience! Godly fellowship and the god who listens with delight to his people as he fellowships with them.

Let's resolve to obey the voice of the Lord, to encourage one another in the way of his commands and to pray earnestly for the pouring out of his Spirit upon us to stir us up.

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Haggai 1:3-11

In 1:2, we saw that the people had drawn the wrong conclusion regarding the difficult situation they faced. They had concluded that the time had not come for the Lord's house to be built. 'Wrong' says God through Haggai. But he has more to say: he wants to speak to them about Priorities, Providence and Pleasure.

1. Priorities
In v.4, the LORD asks his people a rhetorical question: "Is it a time for you (emphatic) yourselves to be living in your panelled (roofed) houses, while this house remains a ruin?". Very clearly he is questioning their scheme of priorities. Having concluded that it wasn't time to rebuild the temple, they had seen to it that their own homes were rebuilt.

There is nothing bad about wanting homes to live in; that's not the point. The point is: they'd failed in the task the LORD had given them to rebuild the temple. And they'd failed not just because they were discouraged but because they got their priorities wrong.

We live in days when 2 concepts are often set against each other: the urgent and the important. If you're used to having to allocate time to specific tasks, you'll know all about that tension and not wanting to let the urgent squeeze out the important.

Well, as Christians, we are all called to prioritise. The Lord Jesus said "Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well".

Very interestingly, given the context in Haggai, the 'things' Jesus has in mind are food, drink, clothes and presumably houses too.

Are our priorities right? That is not the same as asking, Do I get to every meeting? We need to remember that it isn't only 'full-time' work that is legitimate. We can seek first his kingdom & righteousness in the mundane aspects of our lives too. It is the heart that matters most, not the specific nature of the work.

But having said that, there is work that is at the leading edge of the advance of the Kingdom and as a church & as individuals, we need to make sure we're gospel centred & kingdom centred. "My talents, gifts & graces Lord, Into thy blessed hands receive".

2. Providences
Having adopted wrong priorities, the people continued to misread God's providence. Or to be more accurate, to fail to read God's providential dealings with them.

The LORD calls them to give careful thought to their ways. He urges them to think seriously about their lives and what is happening to them in their experience. In the circumstances of their lives in the promised land, he is shouting at them but they are too deaf to hear.

What was that experience? Famine, drought, failed crops, galloping inflation; in modern terms, they were in a deep recession. Why was that so? The Lord spells it out to them in vv.9,10: it is because of their disobedience in neglecting the temple.

But this is something they should have seen for themselves! They knew what the Lord had said through Moses about curses on the land if they failed to honour him in the promised land. And that's what was happening to them!

But are we any better at listening to God? Someone has said that "This experience of failing to see God's hand in our troubles is common among believers today; we do not realise the effects of the sin that we tolerate in our lives. This is not to say that all disaster is because of sin, but rather that sin has consequences.". Does he sometimes shout yet we fail to hear? Are we really listening to his word?

We do need, however, to beware the dangers of introspection and over-analysis of situations. The Lord's dealings with them were a fulfilment of what he had promised in Deuteronomy. Our own interpretation of providence must be provisional unless it is based on and sanctioned by the Word of God (& even then we must be careful how we interpret & apply scripture; the NT does not say that we will experience famine for disobedience).

3. Pleasure
Their priorities were wrong and they had neglected his word & his providence. Now the Lord speaks to them about Pleasure - not theirs but his!

Verse 8 is the centrepiece of this chapter (structured around this command). This is the heart of Haggai's message: build the temple. We need to see where we have gone wrong in terms of our priorities and neglect of God's Word but we must be ready to move on from there and respond to what the Lord is calling us to do.

And what he wants is a rebuilt temple. Why? For his pleasure & his glory.

Pleasure Does he delight in buildings?! No; he delights in that which is in buildings out of love & worship for him. What we do, when we do it with right motives, brings pleasure to God. He is truly happy & fulfilled in himself but he also says that he is made happy by what we do. Do we understand that?

Glory Because there God would be manifested & his grace made known (but most fully in the NT). Today, he is most glorified in the building of the spiritual temple, his people. That is why priority must be given to it, that is why we must learn to read providence aright.

The priority was to be given to the temple because it would bring pleasure to God and glorify him. But it was in pleasing and glorifying him that they would (and we do) experience the highest degree of personal happiness. "When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way".

He is worthy of all our service, of our unsparing efforts in seeking to glorify him in all we do, seeking first his kingdom & righteousness. But such is his grace, our own prosperity and the true prosperity of this world are also bound up in these things.

So let's give careful thought to our ways...and build together, for his pleasure and glory. Amen!

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Haggai 1:1,2

Verse 1
'In the second year of Darius the King' - The book is set in the 2nd year of Darius the King. That allows the dating to be quite accurate and gives us clear indications about the conditions in the land at that time.

The book deals with the situation post-exile. The people had not heeded the Lord's warnings and had gone into exile for 70 years. But, in fulfilment of his promise, after 70 years the exile ended and the people returned (see Ezra ch.1-3).

At first the work went well: the altar was set-up and the foundation of the temple laid. But then the work ceased and, at the time the book was written, had been ceased for some 16 years. It is into that situation that Haggai brings the word of the the Lord.

'on the first day of the sixth month' - the first day of a month was to be a celebration day (see Num 28:11-15) and if the people observed it, they no doubt had gathered in Jerusalem at the site of the temple.

The Lord is going to speak to his people about the state of the temple with the greatest visual aid in front of them! They would usually have brought offerings with them and the Lord will later on in this chapter use the absence of produce as a silence that spoke volumes about their lives before him.

'the word of the Lord came...' - this phrase & others like it are found between 25 and 29 times in this short book. This was no man-inspired attempt to get the people working again; God was speaking, clearly, powerfully and unmistakably.

This was the first direct word from the Lord since the return from exile - a momentous time for the people. What would he say to them?

'throught the prophet Haggai' - God's word via a man. We know next to nothing about Haggai but in a sense that's helpful because it means we focus on the message, not the channel. It may be that he himself had known the former temple (2:3) and had therefore experienced the exile.

'the word of the Lord came...to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and to Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the High Priest' - It came firstly to the leaders of the community and only then to the people at large. Those in leadership have a particular responsibility to listen to God and to lead the people by example.

Verse 2
'This is what the Lord Almighty says...' - that name for God (Lord of Hosts) is used 14 times in this short book which means it is of significance to us. It is a name which highlights the awesome power and sovereignty of God. He is King of heaven above and King of all the earth too. No power is like his, no power can equal his; he alone is the Lord.

The name was frequently used after the exile. For a people who were weakened, despised, subjugated, it held great encouragement: our God reigns! But it also challenges them (& us): if you know the Lord is Almighty then live as if you do & trust him daily!

'These people say, "The time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be built"' - this is the people's conclusion about the work. The Lord calls them 'this people' not 'my people' which is a real rebuke to them. They weren't acting like his people; they were not seeking first his glory.

Why had they drawn such a conclusion?

- They had been opposed and perpetual opposition can wear us down. They had grown weary in well doing; they were discouraged. It's easy to see why they stopped.

- They had given in to the temptation to read providence from their perspective, not God's. Yet he had given them clear indications that he was with them: the amazing decree of Cyrus for them to return and build the temple; the provisions that were given to them as they returned, expressly for the rebuilding of the temple. But because of all that stood against them, they reached a different conclusion.

We, too, experience opposition and are liable to the same temptations as these people. We need to pray for grace to persevere, to receive God's word as it stands. We need the spirit that says "What he says, we will do; where he sends we will go; never fear, only trust & obey".

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