Haggai was a prophet who spoke to God’s people as they were
rebuilding the temple after coming out of exile in Babylon. The date of the prophecy is clearly given in
the book, 520 B.C. There were actually
four messages that He gave on three different occasions.
The first message was given on September 1, 520 B.C. God was disappointed in His people for their
lack of enthusiasm and dedication in the rebuilding of the temple. They had been eager to build the altar, but
they let their own day-to-day personal interests distract them from their work. Apparently, according to Ezra, they first
erected a tabernacle, a tent, to house the altar, but it took them over a year
to begin work on the construction of the temple. They had built nice houses for themselves,
but neglected to build God’s house.
Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet,
saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and
this temple to lie in ruins?” (Ezra 2:3-4)
And when the seventh month had come, and the children of
Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to
Jerusalem. Then . . . built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt
offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses. (Ezra 3:1, 2)
Now in the second month of the second year of their coming
to the house of God at Jerusalem, . . . all those who had come out of the
captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years
old and above to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. (Ezra 3:8)
We might sympathize with the people. After all, they had been in captivity in a
foreign land; it probably took about four months for them to travel from
Babylon to Judea; after all, they did have families and needed a place to live;
and they needed to make a living to provide for their families. And we might admire them for first building
the altar. But look again at the reference
above from Ezra 3:1 -- “when the seventh month had come.” If it did indeed take four months to travel,
what were they doing for the next three months?
Now look again at the beginning of Ezra 3:8 – “Now in the second month
of the second year.” An additional seven
months passed before they began work on building a temple. All this time, they were preoccupied with
their own comfort. Why didn’t they just
pitch tents for themselves and begin building right away? Instead, they pitched a tent for God and made
nice “paneled houses” for themselves.
God wants to be the priority in our lives. He does not want anything to be more important
to us than Himself, and anything that we place ahead of God might be considered
an idol:
You shall have no other gods before Me.
(Exodus 20:3)
“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
“Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that
they may add sin to sin.” (Isaiah 30:1)
But
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall
be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
Apparently, after about three weeks Haggai’s
words were finally taken to heart, since it took 23 days for work to begin in
earnest:
So the Lord stirred up the spirit of . . .
the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,
on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
(Haggai 1:14-15)
So within about seven weeks the temple had
been completed. This was at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles and should have
been a joyous time, a time of celebrating the harvest. But that year, the harvest was not
plentiful. God had withheld His blessing
because He was displeased with His people. Haggai used this opportunity to give
his second message to the people on October 21. The temple the people had erected was shoddy
in comparison to the temple Solomon had built.
Some of the older people who had seen the majesty of the old temple wept
when they saw the new, smaller, simpler one.
That, coupled with the slim harvest, caused the people to be
dejected. So Haggai’s message was one of
encouragement:
“Who is left among you who saw this temple in
its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not
in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong . . . all you people of the land,”
says the Lord, “and work; for I am with you,” says the Lord of hosts. “According
to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit
remains among you; do not fear!” (Haggai
2:3-5)
This second message, one of encouragement,
also looks forward to the time when His temple is more glorious than it has ever
been! This will happen when the heavens
and the earth as we know it are destroyed and are recreated. All the nations of
the world will gather to worship the Desire of All Nations, Jesus Christ on His
throne. God’s temple will be rebuilt
more glorious than ever with all the riches of God. It will be filled with His glory and Christ will
rule in justice and in peace:
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more
(it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and
I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and
I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is
Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter
temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this
place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-9)
Haggai’s third message was given about two
months later. It was a call to
righteousness. He drew a comparison from
the old law God had given about ritual cleanliness. He first asked if a man carrying “holy meat”
meant for a sacrifice is sanctified (holy, set apart, free from sin), can he
transfer that sanctification to things he touches? The answer is no. Then he asked, since a man is unclean because
he touches a corpse, does he then make unclean anything he touches? The answer is yes. He was trying to show the people that
sinfulness spreads like a disease. Cleanliness,
or righteousness, does not. Just like disease
is contagious, healthiness is not. The
disobedience of the people was affecting everyone, just like a disease.
Then Haggai answered and said, “‘So is this
people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘and so is every work
of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean . . . I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of
your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord.” (Haggai 2:14, 17)
But Haggai’s fourth message, given at the
same time, was a message of future blessing.
It is here that we again see Christ promised to His people:
This refers to the time when Christ will come to rule all the nations of the world. At the time this was written, Persia ruled an area larger than two million square miles, but God tells us that He will rule the entire world and all kings and kingdoms will worship Him.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
So what does Haggai’s book mean to us today? Are we putting God first in our lives? Is there anything that is taking His place of honor in my heart and in my lifestyle? Am I giving Him my very best, or am I saving the best for me and giving him what is left?
My prayer for you and for me this week is a prayer of confession and repentance, based upon Haggai 2:15-19:
Heavenly Father,
Up until this day I have not given you priority in my life. I have been too busy to spend time in your Word. I have let pastimes keep me from attending church. And I know that I have missed out on Your blessings because of my sinfulness. But from this day forward, I will worship only you. I will make Your desires my desires. Will you please help me? I trust in Your promises, so I know that You will bless me.
All scripture references are from New King James Version.
No comments:
Post a Comment