Hindered Builders

Renewing Our Spiritual Heritage

Hindered Builders

Haggai 2:10-19

Theme: God wants the builders to examine their inward lives for contamination.

Introduction: Haggai is now given a third message he is the bring to the remnant of His people who are given the responsibility of rebuilding the temple. This was their spiritual heritage which has been neglected for many years. While they were building, things in internally were not doing well. Everything on the outside looked good but the inside was contaminated. God sees us from the inside out. He knows our thoughts and even our imaginations.

My dad had given me one of his boats a few years back. Even the boat and the trailer was old, it looked good. I hooked the trailer and went down the road for a drive when there was a loud squeak. The further I drove the louder it got and when I stopped to see, the wheel hubs were very hot. I waited for them to cool down and took it to the tire shop. The outside was fine but the bearings inside the axle needed to be replaced.

It is easy to look good on the outside, but the inside is something God sees. The Lord spoke to Haggai again and gave him a message about sin. God couldn’t bless the people because they were defiled. In the Old Testament, clean and unclean were very important concepts the Jews lived under. This is the major theme in the book of Leviticus.

Haggai exhorts the people to examine their hearts while they are serving the Lord. He uses reminders to explain.

I. Reminds them of the contamination truth vv. 10-13

Haggai used the Word of God to address the people. He looked upward first.

He asks the priests in the form of two questions.

A. God’s Word on holiness vv. 11-12

1. He went to the priests who were to be experts in the Law to make sure this was clear.

2. When an animal is presented on altar to God as a sacrifice, it was considered holy.

3. The priests and their families were permitted to eat portions of some of the sacrifices , but they had to be careful how they ate it, where they ate it, and what they did with the leftovers Lev. 6:8-7:38.

4. If a garment containing a piece of meat touches food, does the garment make the food holy?-No

5. You cannot transmit holiness externally by simply touching it. Holiness is not imparted by other objects.

B. God’s Word on defilement v. 13

1. If a person touches a dead body and that person touches another person, would that make the other person unclean? Yes

2. You can transmit defilement from thing or person to another, but can’t transmit holiness.

3. This is truth in health-you can transmit some sicknesses to other people but you cannot transmit, health to other people.

4. God’s people here needed to understand this truth regarding defilement and God’s holiness because His holiness should not be corrupted by man’s unholiness.

II. Reminds them of the living reality vv. 14-17

A. God sees the internal

1. God sees the actions of the people and the innermost of man.

2. God could see their half-hearted attitude towards rebuilding the temple; yet, this is the reason God brought them back to Jerusalem.

3. God sees the heart of man. Jesus says

“And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:20–23)

4. God searches our hearts and knows our innermost being

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

5. So God uses His Word to address these defilements in our hearts.

6. Not only was it right to do God’s Work, but their hearts were pure and devoted to God.

B. God sees the barrier

1. Since the Jews were selfish and had to experience the discipline by God 1:1-11-He couldn’t bless them.

2. They were not keeping the terms of the covenants and their grains in the field were smote with mildew and hail, and after the grain had been harvested, the supply didn’t last.

3. God wanted them to return to Him and they would not v.17.

4. Their concern was building their own house and their own life without God in their lives-their spiritual heritage was ignored and forgotten.

5. God cannot bless His people when there is sin in our hearts and ignoring the Holy Spirit’s conviction.

III. Reminds them of need for repentance vv. 18-19

A. Seek Godly cleansing

1. God does not accept unworthy sacrifices-book of Malachi teaches us that

2. The outward action of offering sacrifices did not make them holy and secure God’s blessing on them.

3. The fact they were working on the temple did not make them holy and in fact, their defilement was corrupting the temple.

4. Had the workers been devoted to the Lord when the foundation of the temple was laid, God’s blessing would have followed.

5. You can’t catch holiness, it is God’s gift to those who commit themselves completely to Him and to His service.

6. It starts with turning from our heart of sin and seeking God’s forgiveness.

7. Some people try to be more religious to cover their sin, but it has to be in the heart-this is where the cleansing comes.

B. Seek Godly reconciliation

1. Since their sin grieved the Lord and defiled their work, God would not bless them.

2. Since there is not seed in the barn because their winter crops has been plowed, they must seek God first and put His interests first for the winter crops.

3. He was calling on them to trust God for the future.

4. One of the best ways to show our spiritual devotion to the Lord is by using material things to His glory, including money and buildings. The managing of material blessings demands as much sanctity as the “spiritual” ministries of the church.

5. It was the sin of the Jewish people that brought destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity and their sins could hinder the rebuilding of the temple and renewing of the Jewish nation.

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: But sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

Conclusion: God is showing us the danger of allowing internal contamination to ruin our spiritual walk with God. May God search our hearts to show us our need for cleaning and restoration with Him.