This week we are looking at a letter
that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of
Haggai. Yesterday, we looked on as Haggai revealed the reality that,
once again the issue for the Jewish people was their selfishness and rebellion.
The Jewish people selfishly chose to disobey the Lord’s call for them to
rebuild the Temple. The Jewish people selfishly rebelled against the Lord by
failing to place the Lord first in their lives. Instead, despite the Lord’s
activity through Cyrus that provided them the opportunity to return from exile
to their own country, the Jewish people selfishly placed themselves first.
And because of their selfishness and rebellion
against the Lord that placed themselves over the Lord, the Jewish people
experienced economic insecurity from the hand of the Lord. We looked on as the
Lord command the Jewish people to stop delaying and to start rebuilding the
Temple. The Lord wanted the Jewish people to consider that the way that they
were living their lives resulted in economic ruin and poverty.
And the Lord wanted the Jewish people to clearly
understand that the reason that they were experiencing economic ruin and
poverty was due to the fact that they had selfishly placed themselves and their
plans before the Lord and His commands. Instead of following and bringing glory
to the Lord by rebuilding the Temple, the Jewish people selfishly chose to
follow and bring glory to themselves by building fancy and expensive houses for
themselves.
The Lord wanted the Jewish people to clearly
understand that the issue for the Lord wasn’t about wealth or poverty: the
issue wasn’t about whether or not they should have a nice house; the issue was
about priorities. The issue was that the Lord was not the highest priority in
their lives.
After spending 23 days finishing the harvest season
while preparing and planning how they would go about rebuilding the Temple, the
Jewish people began the work of rebuilding the Temple. And as the Jewish people
began the work of rebuilding the Temple, the Lord proclaimed a promise to the
Jewish people: “I am with you”.
You see, the Lord wanted the Jewish people to
clearly understand the He would be present with them and would empower them to
rebuild the Temple as they strove to place the Lord first and follow His plans
and commands. We see Haggai deliver the second of four messages from the Lord
to the Jewish people in Haggai 2:1-3. So let’s look at that message together:
On
the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the
prophet saying, 2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high
priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, 3 'Who is left
among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now?
Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?
On October 17th 520 B.C., a month after beginning
to rebuild the Temple, Haggai delivered a second message from the Lord. This
message fell on the seventh day of one of the major religious festivals of the
Jewish people, called the Feast of the Tabernacles. Normally the Feast of the
Tabernacles was a time of rejoicing that looked back and celebrated the Lord’s faithful
care of His people.
And as the Jewish people had laid the foundations of
the Temple, hopes were running high among the Jewish people who grew up living
as a captive in the nation of Babylon. Hopes were running high because they had
never had the opportunity to see the Temple that was built by Solomon, which
was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
However, for those who were older and who had seen
the glory of Solomon’s temple, hopes were not high. Instead they were
incredibly disappointed, as they viewed the foundation of the Temple as though
it “seemed like nothing” in comparison to Solomon’s Temple. We see the Lord’s
response to their disappointment in verse 4-9:
'But now take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares
the LORD, 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all
you people of the land take courage,' declares the LORD, 'and work; for I am
with you,' declares the LORD of hosts. 5 'As for the promise which I
made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not
fear!' 6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Once more in a
little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and
the dry land. 7 'I will shake all the nations; and they will come
with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,' says
the LORD of hosts. 8 'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,'
declares the LORD of hosts. 9 'The latter glory of this house will
be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will
give peace,' declares the LORD of hosts."
Here we see the Lord proclaim a command, promise His
presence, and provide a promise for the future. Even though the Temple that
they were building seemed like nothing in comparison to the Temple in the Days
of King Solomon, the Lord commanded the Jewish people to take courage and
continue the work that they had began to rebuild the Temple. The Jewish people were to take courage and
continue the work that they had began because although the temple being
constructed was very humble, the Lord promised that there would be a day in the
future when the nations would bring their treasures to it in the times when God
would fill His house with glory.
There would be a day in the future when the glory of
the Temple would be even greater than that of Solomon’s temple. You see, the
Lord wanted the Jewish people, and us today, to clearly understand that when
our lives seem like “nothing in comparison” remember that God is in the midst
of the small things.
The Lord wanted the Jewish people, and us today, to
live their lives in a way that did not despise the small things. Instead, the
Lord wanted the Jewish people, and us today, to remember that the Lord was
present with them, even in the small things, and often worked in and through
the small things to accomplish great things in the future.
Friday, we will see Haggai deliver the third of four
messages from the Lord to the Jewish people...
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