Haggai

Haggai 1 “On the first day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year, the Lord’s message came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak: This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’ ” The Lord’s message came through the prophet Haggai as follows: “Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses while my temple is in ruins? Here then, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: ‘Think carefully about what you are doing. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’ ” “Moreover, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: “Pay close attention to these things also. Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build the temple. Then…”

INTRODUCTION:

Guilty pleasure, drama and intrigue, reality television, political drama

Guilty pleasure overlaps with my love of the bible

Haggai 1:1 NET 2nd ed.

Darius, king of persia. a lot has happened in between when we read Micah, and now.

The assyrians came in and wiped out the northern tribes in 722 BC

The Babylonians conquered the Assyrians and hauled off the southern tibes into captivity. They ransack Jerusalem, they burn the temple to the ground.

And then the Persians came and they conquered the Babylonians, and king Cyrus of Persia issues a decree that says “send the jews back home, let them rebuild their temple.

And as we get into Haggai we’re now 2 kings removed from Cyrus who issued the decree, and we’re in the era of King Darius.

And you know how in politics if someone issues a decree, or in our case maybe it’s an executive order? and then you get a couple of presidents down the line, and it’s not really a guarantee that the next guy is going to uphold that.

And that’s kind of what we’re getting here. In the book of ezra we discover that the Jews were supposed to go back and re-build their temple

But they face some opposition, they back down, a bunch of people are opposing them, and basically they sit on their hands and nothing happens until Darius comes to the throne.

Let me tell you why Darius matters

6. God paves the way. (Darius)

a. The extent to which God paved the way, and had his hand in everything leading up to them re-building the temple?

b. Darius inscription in 3 or 4 different languages, about the sized of mount rushmore. Modern day iran. And he talks about his rise to power, and how he became king. Because he wasn’t actually in the kingly bloodline. Here’s the story of How darius became king based on Darius’s own words. I’m going to paraphrase quite a bit but you’ll get the Gist.

c. Cyrus the one who issued the decree back in Ezra 1, had 2 sons Cambyses and Bardia. Cambyses was the oldest. When Cyrus Died, Cambyses became king. Normal stuff.

d. Darius was the Lance bearer for King Cambyses. The guy who makes sure the lance and sword of the king are all in good working order, etc.

e. On their way back from Egypt one day King Cambyses suffered a fluke lance wound that became infected and he died. Darius, the lance bearer, let me remind you, was so distraught that he rode all the way back to the capital to get there before news of the kings death could arrive.

f. Bardia, the little brother, who would now be king was there. Darius discovers that the little brother had also been mysteriously murdered and had been replaced by a magician shape-shifter who just happened to look identical to Bardia. Thank heavens that Darius arrived so quickly. And he leapt into action and killed the magician shape-shifter who just happened to look exactly identical to Bardia.

g. As it turned out, through some weird paperwork, and a marriage to a distant relative, Darius was the next eligible relative to be king. And so with a very heavy heart he took on the solem responsibility of being king.

Now I’m not saying that Darius murdered the king, and then murdered the kings little brother and then cooked up a crazy story to legitimize being king....

7. Why Darius Matters

a. The reason I tell that story is because the entire premise of Darius rising to the throne was on extremely shaky political grounds.

b. His entire claim to the throne was that the original king cyrus had had the throne stolen from him by some imposters. And Darius’s claim was that he had overthrown the imposters and was restoring things to the way they used to be, back when cyrus was king.

c. Anything Cyrus did, Darius was politically backed into a corner to uphold anything cyrus did. Because he was restoring the kingdom, and he was the great liberator. He was making Persia go back to the way things used to be, in the good old days.

Support for building the temple had gone kind of cold.

But now with Darius in charge the opportunity to finally get this thing done was perfect.

They had to do 2 things

1) they needed to get Darius to recognize that cyrus, had issued a decree, so they could have the political support they needed.

Because if anyone was going to be politically motivated to uphold Cyrus’s decrees it was going to be Darius

2) They needed to inspire the people to get up and get the work done.

God had been paving the way for one purpose and one purpose only

This is our Take home point for the message today

God’s number one mission throughout the entire bible has been to dwell with his people in a real tangible way.

Haggai 1:1-6

b. Haggai 1:1-6

Haggai 1:1–6 NET 2nd ed.

On the first day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year, the Lord’s message came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak: This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’ ” The Lord’s message came through the prophet Haggai as follows: “Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses while my temple is in ruins? Here then, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: ‘Think carefully about what you are doing. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’ ”

This is that period where they had given up. They said, oh we faced some opposition, oh well, we might as well give up and build our own houses

People are being mean to us, so we better just quit while we’re ahead.

5. What God desires?

a. The issue is not necessarily the temple. The temple is a shadow of the things to come

b. The issue at hand is having a heart that yearns for God to dwell with you.

c. They had an opportunity to re-build the dwelling place of God. They had the go ahead to do it. But some people were mean to them, and said some mean things. They just gave up. After God had basically paved the way to be with them.

We faced a little bit of trouble, we faced some opposition, lets just give up, let’s work on building our own houses

And they didn’t re-build.

They didn’t put in the effort to have God dwelling with them.

And so Haggai says look, you’d rather build your own house than a house for the lord. You’re thinking about yourself, and not about the Lord

Haggai 1:7-11

Haggai 1:7–11 NET 2nd ed.

“Moreover, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: “Pay close attention to these things also. Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build the temple. Then I will be pleased and honored,’ says the Lord. ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little. And when you would bring it home, I would blow it right away. Why?’ asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! This is why the sky has held back its dew and the earth its produce. Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce. ”

For the first time in the entire Old testament it seems like

God sends the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and they tell the people to do something.

And then the people do the thing.

Haggai 1:12-15

Haggai 1:12–15 NET 2nd ed.

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, along with the whole remnant of the people, obeyed the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, and the people began to respect the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s announcement to the people: “I am with you,” decrees the Lord. So the Lord energized and encouraged Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the whole remnant of the people. They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. This took place on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year.

This is incredible. It might not seem like a big deal, but if you’ve spent even 10 minutes reading the bible, you’d know that for them to be told by a prophet, hey “do this” and then they just immediatley do it.

That’s a miracle in and of its self.

But there’s problems.

The problem is still there.

Haggai 2:1-9

Haggai 2:1–9 NET 2nd ed.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord’s message came through the prophet Haggai again: “Ask the following questions to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the remnant of the people: ‘Who among you survivors saw the former splendor of this temple? How does it look to you now? Isn’t it nothing by comparison?’ Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,” decrees the Lord. “Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And take heart all you citizens of the land,” decrees the Lord, “and begin to work. For I am with you,” decrees the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Do not fear, because I made a promise to your ancestors when they left Egypt, and my spirit even now testifies to you.’ Moreover, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: “In just a little while I will once again shake the sky and the earth, the sea and the dry ground. I will also shake up all the nations, and they will offer their treasures; then I will fill this temple with glory,” So the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said. “The silver and gold will be mine,” decrees the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “The future splendor of this temple will be greater than that of former times,” the Lord Heaven’s Armies has declared. “And in this place I will give peace”, decrees the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Let’s talk about the former splendor of the Temple for a minute.

Solomon’s temple

This is what happened when the first one was built.

2 Chronicles 7:1-3

2 Chronicles 7:1–3 NET 2nd ed.

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the Lord’s splendor filled the temple. The priests were unable to enter the Lord’s temple because the Lord’s splendor filled the Lord’s temple. When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord’s splendor over the temple, they got on their knees with their faces downward toward the pavement. They worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!”

Now let’s look at the description of the second temple

This is the “foundation” of the temple. being built in Ezra 3 .

Ezra 3:12–13 NET 2nd ed.

Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established—were weeping loudly, and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard a long way off.

They could tell just from looking at the foundation, the footprint, that this second temple was nowhere near as glorious as the first one.

Ezra 6:15-22

Ezra 6:15–22 NET 2nd ed.

They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. The people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. For the dedication of this temple of God they offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, in accord with the book of Moses. The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves. The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel. They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

And that’s it. And then Ezra moves on in chapter 7 to something that happens like 50 years later.

OK. Compare that description to the one of Solomon’s temple.

Did you notce what didn’t happen?

Did you notice how there was no smoke, no fire, no splendour of the lord, no glory of the lord filling the temple, no fire from heaven coming down?

The second temple in Ezra, they build it they do all thethings, they concecrate the priests,

And then ezra goes. Anyways, 50 years later I came down to jerusalem.

Why is it that after Haggai Preached for them to re-build the temple, God’s presence didn’t return?

They did all the things, God paved the way, he put the political chess pieces in place to be able to re-build his temple

Why didn’t God return?

Remember the movie Karate Kid?

Ralph machio goes to mr miyagi, and he’s like hey teach me karate

What does mr miyagi have him do?

Wax on, wax off

Paint the fence

Sand the floor

He has Ralph macchio do all of these chores, why?

Mr Miyagi had different plans. Mr M

God’s plans were bigger than they could ever imagine

Zechariah 9:1-7

Zechariah 9:1–7 NET 2nd ed.

This is an oracle, the Lord’s message concerning the land of Hadrach, with its focus on Damascus: The eyes of all humanity, especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord, as are those of Hamath also, which adjoins Damascus, Tyre and Sidon, though they consider themselves to be very wise. Tyre built herself a fortification and piled up silver like dust and gold like the mud of the streets. Nevertheless the Lord will evict her and shove her fortifications into the sea—she will be consumed by fire. Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza will be in great anguish, as will Ekron, for her hope will have been dried up. Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited. A mongrel people will live in Ashdod, for I will greatly humiliate the Philistines. I will take away their abominable religious practices; then those who survive will become a community of believers in our God, like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

These are all Gentile nations.

God says there will be judgement on those who don’t follow, but for those who do follow, they’ll be in the covenant and be able to dwell with me just like I promised to Irasel.

Zechariah 9:9–10 NET 2nd ed.

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: He is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey— on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey. I will remove the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be removed. Then he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

The temple is just a shadow of the greater thing to come. The king.

Riding in not on a war horse, not on a stalion, but humble and lowly on a donkey.

Why hasn’t the king come yet? why not send the king right then and there, why not fill temple with your splendor, why wait?

Haggai 2:10-19

Haggai 2:10–19 NET 2nd ed.

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, the Lord’s message came to the prophet Haggai: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said, ‘Ask the priests about the law. If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’ ” The priests answered, “It will not.” Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.” Then Haggai responded, “ ‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ decrees the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. From that time when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty. I struck all the products of your labor with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ says the Lord. ‘Think carefully about the past: from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, think about it. The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’ ”

It’s not about the Temple. It never was about the Temple. It never was about what kind of building God lives in.

it was about the hearts of the people he chose to live with.

Is your heart clean?

God wants to dwell with you in a real tangible way. and he needs your heart to be clean.

Jesus Christ Makes us clean. His sacrifice prepares our hearts to dwell with God.