Haggai Week Two

Haggai 2:1–9 KJV 1900

In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; And be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; And be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: For I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, So my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, And I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: And in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.

Week 2

Text:

Topic(s): Repentance, Reward, God’s Mercy

Big Idea of the Message: God’s promises will fuel our continued worship, but sometimes we need to visit the past and hear those promises again.

Application Point: We need ask God to remind us how he has worked before, so that our worship will remain focused on him.

Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, - KJV.

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? - KJV

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: - KJV

According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. - KJV

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; - KJV

And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. - KJV

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. - KJV

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. - KJV

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

1. The Bible Project has been building some great resources to better understand the Scripture. Here is a great overview of how to read and study Haggai: https://youtu.be/juPvv_xcX-U.

2. Worship that can stand the test of time and experience will be fueled by God’s faithfulness. God speaks to Zerubbabel and challenges him to research how the temple looked before. Even though the temple is the primary point of interest, God seems to be using its status to challenge the Hebrew people to look into their past and see his provision. The questions being asked point to times when the glory of God could be seen more readily—Solomon’s Temple, Jerusalem in its heyday, the worth of the temple (vv. 2–4) According to Richard Taylor, most of the people living at this time would not remember Solomon’s temple in its glory, which renders the question “Who of you is left who saw this house in it’s former glory” rhetorical—the people being sought would have been anywhere from sixty to seventy years old. (Richard Taylor, Haggai, The New American Commentary: Haggai and Malachi [Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman], 150).

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: "Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people: 'Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right? - MSG

3. As a result, Zerubbabel is challenged to call people out for their attitudes. Zerubbabel was called to remind people that they were to work hard as before, but now their effort would not be in vain. God would move among them, and they could be confident in his promise (vv. 4–9).

"'So get to work, Zerubbabel!'—God is speaking. "'Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!' "'Get to work, all you people!'—God is speaking. "'Yes, get to work! For I am with you.' The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! 'Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I'm living and breathing among you right now. Don't be timid. Don't hold back.' - MSG

4. The greatest remedy for a spirit of defeat is repentance. Repentance allows us to be confident of our status before God. God is faithful in all things, and if he is faithful in all things, then he is faithful to forgive. “Be strong” (v. 4) should put us in mind of Joshua and the call of God for him to journey into God’s promised land after the wilderness wanderings of Israel under Moses (). Robert Alden echoes this when he says, “The problem was essentially one of attitude. So the primary command was to take courage. When the people did that, the command to ‘work’ would be fulfilled quite naturally. For the Lord to have only said ‘work’ without giving assurances would have been inadequate motivation These people did not need to be whipped but encouraged not cudgeled but made optimistic. The most uplifting thing they or anyone could hear was that God was with them” (Robert Alden, Daniel and the Minor Prophets, Expositor’s Bible Commentary 7 [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan], 585).

"This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: 'Before you know it, I will shake up sky and earth, ocean and fields. And I'll shake down all the godless nations. They'll bring bushels of wealth and I will fill this Temple with splendor.' God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so. - MSG

5. There is great power in forgiveness. Giving forgiveness sets us free to live lives filled with joy and hope. However, most of us forget that there is also great in value in receiving forgiveness. When we have failed someone and they extend forgiveness, we feel a sense of relief—a release from being chained to regret. Shana Schutte writes, “When we receive forgiveness, our hearts are softened. We no longer have to hide our flawed selves. We can live out of our imperfections because we know that love covers a multitude of sins (). When we know forgiveness, we also know that inadequacies don’t mean the end of love; instead they give love and forgiveness a chance to shine in the darkness our imperfections” (Shana Schutte, “Forgiving: Receiving and Giving,” Focus on the Family, 2009, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/faith-in-life/risking/forgiving-receiving-and-giving). When we remember how God has been faithful to us in the past, we are set free to worship him more in the present.

6. The way God moves in our lives is often subtle, with seemingly no obvious indication; however, sometimes things happen that we require us to stop and take notice that God has moved. Zerubbabel is being called to ready the people for God’s movement, which will be an act of vindication and which will come as a means of God’s mercy and faithfulness. In addition, the Hebrew people will be rewarded for their obedience and commitment to God’s call for their lives. When they stay faithful, God rewards them.

7. A great example of commitment followed by vindication can be seen in the movie Rudy, which is based the life of Rudy Ruettiger. All his life, Rudy longed to play college football for Notre Dame. However, his small size promised to make this an impossible task. Mocked and ridiculed by his family, Rudy sets out to accomplish his dream. After attending Notre Dame for years and joining the scout team, Rudy had all but given up on his dream. However, his coach chose, and with only a few moments left in the game, his commitment was rewarded in a way that would forever leave an indelible mark on Notre Dame football: https://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/rudy/rudy-rudy-rudy.

'I own the silver, I own the gold.' Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. - MSG

8. The story of God in the Scriptures is always pointing toward something. In this passage, we can see God’s promises both to act on behalf of the Hebrew people—bringing about vindication and peace from suffering—as well as on behalf of the whole world at a future time when all will be made right again. God promises, “What is desired by all nations will come” (v. 7). Historically, passages like these have been seen as messianic. However, we have to be careful not to press the passage so far into the future that we miss the promise made to Israel itself as well. It would be better to emphasize that, in the Scriptures, God has proven consistently to move toward the faithful and to act on their behalf.

"'This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.' Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies." - MSG