Haggai: Seek The Kingdom First

Introduction

Open to Haggai 1. Haggai chapter 1 and we will read all 15 verses.

Ill give you a minute to turn there because We will start this evening by reading the Text.

If you are able please stand for the reading of God’s Word

Haggai 1:1–15 ESV

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” 12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

May God Bless the Reading of His Holy, Infallible, and Sufficient Word

Let’s Pray

Transition

Before we go father it might help to ask the what does a bunch of people building a Jewish temple have to do with Jesus

Its important to remember these are real people, these events happened.

As we are told, in the in the text,

Also, Jesus is a Jewish Messiah and to that lineage belongs the glory of being the people that God chose to preserve the scriptures, to send the prophets, and the line of Christ. (Romans 9:4–5)

We must keep this truth in the light of all scriptures, not everyone that is genetically Jewish is a part of Isreal (Ro 9:6)

But there are those who are elect, chosen by sovereign grace, part of true Israel, and genetically descendant from Abraham.

It seems to me those people are who we are talking about tonight.

The Lord says to Zerubbabel, I will “make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you” (Hag 2:23, ESV)

I mean it does get much clearer then that, when we see Zerubbabel respond to the Lord in obedience and God says I choose you, we can pretty much say, yep there is an elect right there.

And we have Joshua, the priest, who fears the Lord,

Haggai the Prophet

The three offices of Christ

But it gets better,

The temple is a replica of the heavenly temple that Jesus current serves as High priest for (Hebrews 8:5)

Jesus said that He was the temple, (Matthew 26:61)

And we are the Temple of God in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19)

So some people read this text and say, what does this have to do with Jesus?

But as you can see we haven’t even begin to talk about all ways this text informs us about Jesus.

Let’s diving into he text with verses, 1 - 11

Body

The House The Kingdom

Haggai 1:1–11 ESV

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

Notice the theme here, the people are focused on their own dwellings while the Lord’s house is neglected.

What does this say to the world? The Lord is not really a high priority

The Lord says, you have no blessing from me because to have no priority for me.

Notice how this is exactly what Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 6:31–33, ESV)

Seek the Glory of God first and trust God to provide and he will.

This was the instructions for the saint of old and its the same instruction we have today.

We need to notice here, it is a sin that they ignore the house of God.

But got send correction for repentance not judgement.

Again we see the necessity of Christ.

See a lot of people want to break God’s interaction with people into dispensations, that's a silly. God has always interacted with his saints in Christ.

He does not send this as a judgement but as a call to repentance.

Remember we say this every week “But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” (1 Co 11:32, ESV)

Right, We are admitting we have sinned and we deserve judgement, but God is being gracious to us in Christ.

We have a more perfect view of why God is gracious then they did, but God is gracious for the same reason. Jesus.

Calvin Mentions, “THE Prophet mentions here the year, the month, and the day in which he began to rouse up the people from their sloth and idleness, by the command of God; for every one studied his own domestic interest, and had no concern for building the Temple” [1]

Think about how applicable this is to you, How studied are you in your own domestic interests? How studied are you in Kingdom interests.

I have plans, for my homestead.

Thankful these are not exclusive goals.

Consider verse 8.

“Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.” (Hag 1:8, ESV)

We are the temple as we already mentioned.

Spiritual disciplines, read on your Bible, praying often, if you are not doign these things you are in the same boat as Zerubbabel and the people.

Take care to add to your faith

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Pe 1:5–8, ESV)

As Pastor Gabe pointed out when we were in Peter, this takes work. In many way its harder work then going to the hills and cutting the wood.

Transition

In verse 12-15 we see the Lord was not only gracious in prompting repentance, but is grace in showing favor when there is repentance.

The People Obeyed

Haggai 1:12–15 ESV

12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Obeyed

“I am with you”

Calvin Comments “This, then, was the way in which they were now encouraged, I am with you. And experience sufficiently shows, that we never really and from the heart obey, except when we rely on his promises and hope for a happy success. For were God only to call us to our work, and were our hope doubtful, all our zeal would doubtless die away. We cannot then devote our services to God, except he supports and encourages us by promises.” [2]

God is gracious that he

Granted them a heart willing to obey

Grantded them the chaqnce to repent

Corrected them when they had gone astray

And encouraged them to the work and all thing.

All of this graciousness is purchased by Christ for his elect.

We need to be clear hear,

this grace in only extended to the elect,

God is the author and finisher of their faith though Jesus

We call this God’s salvific love.

Conclusion

As we conclude our time in Haggai, we have only just brushed the surface of the connection to christ in this text.

Benediction

Romans 16:20 ESV

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Refrances

[1] John Calvin and John Owen, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets, vol. 4 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 317.

[2] Ibid, 343–344.

Bibliography

Calvin, John, and John Owen. Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.