Haggai (5) "God Disciplines His People"

Approach:

Introductory summary of where we have been.

If you would open your Bibles to the book of Haggai. The last few weeks we have been working through this little book discovering mighty truths. For example we found from the historical background that around 50,000 of God’s people had returned to Jerusalem after being in exile for nearly 70 years. They had been commissioned to rebuild God’s temple. However, because of distress, discouragements, and distraction they had left the construction project untouched for 15 years. Now, God is summonsing His people to get to work. The way He is doing that is to speak to His people through the hand of the prophet Haggai at a very specific time in history

We must be reminded of the flow of the logic that God is communicating. He not only tells them to serious evaluate the heart of what they are currently spending their time doing, but he uses a poetic indictment in verse 6 to help them think about the little return their lives are gaining from huge investments. In verses 2-6 God has revealed what is actually happening among His people. Now, in verses 9-11 He explicitly reveals why the drought is upon them. Today we are going to see that God Himself was disciplining His people.

Read 1:7-11

Transition: Today we are going to work through these few verses and notice some observations about the point that God disciplines His people. Then, I want to finish up with a few specific applications to how this point impacts us today.

Walk through text noticing the flow of argument.

V/s 9 Keep in mind that God is helping them “consider” their ways. It is essential for us to understand why God is repeatedly calling them to do this. (5x in 2 chapters) Last week we discovered that the word consider is literally to sit down into the heart. He is telling them to seriously think about the motivations of their behaviors. To evaluate their hearts. Do not mistakenly assume that God is telling them to evaluate how they feel about the direction of their lives. No, when the word heart is used it is appealing to the mind, motives, and will of a person. He is telling them to consider what they are discerning, desiring, and deciding in relationship to their behaviors.

V/s 9 What are their behaviors, or ways? They are looking… They are bringing… But God is blowing it away.

V/s 9 God’s judgment on His people is directly connected to the promise he had made to them during the time of Moses. (Deut. 11:13-17) It is interesting that when this people during Haggai’s day had returned from Babylonian exile they first built the Alter in order to obey the law of Moses. (Ezra 3:2) But now they conveniently pursue their own interests rather than obey God. Some have suggested that the main problem of the remnant people here was misplaced priorities. They simply need to put God first and all these things will be added to them. That may be true in part, but their problem is much deeper. They are in fact guilty of forsaking God’s covenant. Their sin is that of unfaithfulness to the word of God. They have selfishly busied themselves with their own glories.

Deuteronomy 11:13–17 ESV

“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.

V/s 9 They had rushed to their own glories. It wasn’t that they were lazy. No they were actually very busy, but never satisfied. It wasn’t that God had dried up all of their provisions, but their lives were full, very very busy, working in the wrong direction. It would be like a man who goes out in the hot and humid 90 degree summer sun to dig a ditch. And after hours of toil find out that he’s on the wrong job site.

What is the result of their misdirected unsatisfied business?

V/s 10 “withholding” Heaven and earth withheld their produce.

V.s 11 They have left God’s house in ruins, so now their crops are ruined.

Repeat main point: God disciplines His people.

Point out two key truths concerning God’s disciple.

(Hebrews 12:1-6)

Hebrews 12:1–6 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

God’s discipline is loving.

Observations: At first glance, we may wonder why God would be treating His people like this. Just because they are not building His house, he blows away their sustenance for living? It rocks our world to consider that God is more concerned about His dwelling being built than He is the houses of His people. Isn’t God loving, benevolence, and kind? Isn’t it His great desire that His people should be cared for, taken out of painful situations, and not be permitted to suffer?

Again, in order to think this through we need to understand what role the Temple, God’s dwelling place had in the life of His people. One key aspect of the temple which was located as the center of God’s people was to provided a place of atonement for their sin. Offerings were brought to the temple, and sacrifices were made there, and blood was sprinkled upon the mercy seat in order to make payment for the sin of the people. Do not miss this point. God’s concern that His house would be built was so that He might be pleased and glorified. The temple was used as the place where sacrifices were made in order that God might forgive sin. God is glorified and pleased to forgive. We can understand that God isn’t acting as some disgruntled father that is ticked off because his kids ate all the ice cream. God is not being selfish and demanding that He get first dibs. No, rather, He is revealing His great love to discipline His people so that He might forgive their sin. This brings Him glory, and as mentioned last week… “When God is glorified, we are truly satisfied.”

Application: Assurance of God’s love Applied to those who are not yet converted that forgiveness only comes through Christ. Have you been pursing satisfaction and finding it never produces the way you would hope? Perhaps, the trials and frustration you are experiences is God’s love being demonstrated to you so that you would see Christ for who He really is.

Application: This is why we are a church that practices the Biblical imperative to lovingly discipline one another. (Read from # 8 on Hillcrest Membership Commitment.) Role of discipline in life of the church. Are we more loving than God? See little church questions booklet for further study.

Application: Role of discipline in parenting. (Page 120. Parenting. Tripp)

God’s discipline is transforming.

(Hebrews 12:7-11)

Hebrews 12:7–11 ESV

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Application: Assurance of belonging to Christ.

Also, helps us discern the deference between the suffering we may go through by God’s discipline and others forms of suffering. (Philippians 1:29-30)

Philippians 1:29–30 ESV

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Closing: God’s people must pursue God’s glory not our material gain. How? Only in and through Christ. God is pleased to dwell with His people because His Son sacrificed His perfect obedient life and shed His innocent blood and raised victorious over sin and death in the place of sinners. When we, those who have sinned against the Holy creator God, turn from our sin and trust in Christ we are forgiven of our sin. This brings glory to God. Then, God the Holy Spirit continues to grow us for God’s glory by disciplining those whom He loves. This too brings God glory. Now, how are we doing with this? Church, it is so easy for us to be distracted from the glory of God. Let us not yield not to the temptation, rather may we rush to Christ and give our energy and busy ourselves with obeying His word.