Sermon Notes, August 14, 2016 P.M.
Minor Prophets with a Major Message – Haggai
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. How
many of you have visited the Washington Monument in our nation’s capital?
1. The monument opened to the public on
October 1, 1888.
2. The cornerstone had been laid forty
years earlier in July of 1848 after years of
debate, delay and designing (things
haven’t changed much in Washington D.C.
through the years).
3. In 1854 construction stopped when funds
were depleted and conflict erupted over
various issues.
4. For twenty-five years no work was done.
There were the years of the Civil War,
reconstruction and the monument was low
on the priority list. Finally, in 1879 work
resumed. It had been so long the
builders were unable to precisely match the
color of stone and today you can tell
there is a different shade of stone used in the
upper part. It was completed in 1884 and
dedicated in 1885. When it was
completed it was the tallest man made
structure in the world.
B. I
mention this because it is similar to a situation that occurred in Jerusalem as
the
Jews began returning from exile in Babylon
and Persia during the 6th century before
Christ.
1. The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem
and the temple of God in 586 B.C.
2. In 539 B.C. Cyrus of Persia defeated the
Babylonians. The following year (538
B.C) Cyrus issued a decree allowing the
various nations taken captive by
Nebuchadnezzar to return to their
homelands.
3. Over the next two years the first group of
Jews returned to Jerusalem led by
Zerubbabel. In 536 the Jews led by
Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel began rebuilding
the temple. After only a year of work
the enemies of the Jews were successful in
halting construction. For approximately
15 years not a stone was moved and the
temple remained incomplete. You can read
about these events in Ezra 3 and 4.
C. In
this setting God raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to spur the
people
on in rebuilding the Temple. In this
message we are considering the first of these,
Haggai.
I. BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK
A. One of the great blessings of the small
book of Haggai is the certainty that
surrounds it.
1. We do not have to speculate about its
authorship.
a. The prophet’s name is simple,
“Haggai” meaning “festival” or perhaps, “feast
of Yahweh.”
b. He is mentioned twice in the book
of Ezra – 5:1; 6:14. He is also mentioned in
Zachariah 8:9.
2. We do not have to speculate about the
date of the book. Six time in the book
Haggai makes references to dates on
which this prophecy occurred. The first of
these dates is the first day of the
sixth month (Hag. 1:1) and the last is the
twenty-fourth day of the ninth month
(Hag. 2:10,20). Thus, the prophecy of
Haggai occurred over a period of
about 4 months in their calendar. It would be
approximately 7 months in our
Gregorian calendar.
a. He tells us it was the second
year of the reign of Darius (1:1). We know that
Darius reigned in Persia from
522 to 486 B.C.
b. This was the year 520 B.C thus we
refer to Haggai a “post-exilic” or
“later”
prophet. He was, most likely one
of the Jews who returned from Exile in
Babylon.
c. The books of Haggai and Zachariah
correspond with the events we read in the
book of Ezra. All of these
events lead up to the completion of the temple in
516 B.C.
B. The two chapters of this book consist of
four messages by Haggai. Each of them is
specifically dated.
1. The first message is Haggai 1:1-11.
a. In this first message God commanded
the people to rebuild His temple.
b. The people responded in verses
12-15.
2. The second message is Haggai 2:1-9.
In this message God states why the
temple is so important.
3. The third message is from 2:10 – 19.
God promises His blessings on the people
as they obey Him and rebuild the
temple.
4. The final message is found in 2:20-23
where God affirms his sovereignty.
II. TIMELESS TRUTHS FROM HAGGAI
A. Haggai uses the phrase, “consider your
ways,” two times in this book (1:5 and
2:7). Even though he was addressing a
unique situation with the rebuilding of God’s
temple this phrase challenges us.
B. Haggai challenges us to review our
priorities.
1. When the people had returned to
Jerusalem they had their priorities in
order.
2.
From Ezra 3:2ff they rebuilt the altar so sacrifices could be offered. Through
verse 6 Ezra stressed the point that they
reinstituted the sacrifices and the
feasts that were such a vital part
of their relationship with God.
3. Ezra went on in verse 7 to describe
how the people gave money, food and
drink to the stone masons and
craftsmen who were rebuilding the temple.
They were excited. God was their
first priority.
4. Then, they began pursuing other
things. This is where Haggai enters the picture
after fifteen years of inaction. In
Haggai 1:1-4 the prophet said:
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then
the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is
it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” 5 Now
therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!
5. When Haggai said, “consider your
ways” he was saying, “stop and examine your
priorities.”
a. They had rebuilt fine houses for
themselves but God’s house was in ruins.
b. They had lost their initial
enthusiasm for God and become complacent.
c. Ultimately they were hurting
themselves. Verse 6 says, “You have sown
much, but harvest little; you eat, but
there is not enough to be satisfied; you
drink, but there is not enough
to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no
one is warm enough; and he who
earns, earns wages to put into a purse
with holes.”
d. God wanted their first priority
to be glorifying Him. Notice verse 7.“Thus
says the Lord of hosts,
“Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains,
bring wood and rebuild the temple,
that I may be pleased with it and be
glorified,” says the Lord .
6. What are our priorities today? Your
presence (and interest in reading) tells me
something about your priorities and
your interest in God and spiritual things.
How are we doing putting God first
in our daily lives?
a. Are we “seeking first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness” (Matthew
6:33)? Are we loving God with
all of our “heart, soul and mind” (Matthew
22:37)? Are we practicing the
spiritual disciplines of prayer and study of God’s
Word? Are we sharing the message
of Christ with others?
b. Concerning the priority of
seeking God first, Richard Shelly Taylor observed
in his book, The Disciplined
Life, “This requires the discipline to reject, day
by day, that great list of
activities that clamor for our attention and time, but
that would hinder the doing of
more important things.”
c. In Luke 10:38-42 Jesus went to
the home of Mary and Martha. As Jesus poke
Mary sat at his feet while
Martha was working. When Martha complained
about Mary not doing her share
of the work Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the
good part.” Martha was doing
something good but Mary had chosen
something better.
C. Haggai challenges us to avoid
procrastination and lethargy.
1. Ezra 3:5-6 describes the initial
stages of construction on the temple and
mentions that this was done
according to the decree issued by Cyrus, king of
Persia.
a. When the Persians made a law is
was a permanent law. It could not be ruled
unconstitutional by a judge and
could not be set aside.
b. This decree of Cyrus is also
referred to in Ezra 4:3 when the enemies of the
Jews sought to sabotage the
construction. Zerubbabel and Joshua said, “You
have nothing in common with us
in building a house to our God; but we
ourselves will together build to
the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king
of Persia has commanded us.”
2. As Ezra 4 continues we learn that
King Cyrus died and Ahasuerus or Artaxerxes
became the ruler. The enemies wrote
to him and told him the Jews were
rebuilding Jerusalem which they
refer to as a rebellious city. Artaxerxes
commanded that construction must be stopped
immediately.
a. Construction on the temple came
to a screeching halt.
b. At first there was great remorse
about this but as time passed the people
accepted it and became
lethargic. They rebuilt their houses and paneled the
walls. They re-established the
city and went about their lives. The temple site
was incomplete. This is where Haggai and
Zachariah tell the people, “get up
and finish what you started.”
c. President Ulysses Grant said that
one of his fundamental beliefs was, “when
you start something to never
quit or give up until it is accomplished.”
d. The New Testament equivalent of
this would be Galatians 6:9. “Let us not
grow weary in doing good for in
due season we will reap if we do not faint.”
D. Haggai challenges us to remain
determined in the face of criticism.
1. There were some who were saying it
was not time to rebuild the temple 1:2. God
countered this by saying, “You have
had time to build fine houses for yourself. “
2.
There were critics who said the temple wasn’t going to be as good as the first
one. Beginning in 2:3 - ‘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?”
a. There were people still living in
Haggai’s day (perhaps even Haggai himself)
who had seen Solomon’s temple.
Nothing would ever surpass it in terms of
glory and splendor in their
eyes. Remember two things about the past.
1.) It is always easier to hold
on to the familiarity of the past than it is to face
the uncertainty of the
future.
2.) The more time passes our past
becomes more embellished.
b. Haggai said in 2:4-, “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.”
3. It is easy to quit when someone is
critical of your efforts. Whatever your job or
position in life you will be
someone’s favorite person. You will also be
someone’s favorite target.
4. Abraham Lincoln said, “I do the very
best I know how-the very best I can; and I
mean to keep doing so until the end.
If the end brings me out all right, what is
said against me won't amount to
anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten
angels swearing I was right would
make no difference.”
E. Haggai challenges us to remember the source
of our glory.
1. He reminded them where the glory of
the temple came from.
2. In 2:7-9 God says, “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.”
3. It was not the size, shape or
splendor of materials used in construction that made
the temple glorious. It was the presence of
YAHWEH.
4. In the same way our lives find
meaning not in our physique or the clothes we
wear, houses we live in, or material
things we surround ourselves with. Our lives
are meaningful because we are a
temple of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-
20 Paul wrote, “19 or
do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from
God, and that you are not your own? 20 For
you have been bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body.”
E. Haggai challenges us to remember the
reliability of God’s promises.
1. Throughout the book he appeals to the
leaders of Israel to take heart and be
courageous. He promises that He will be
with them.
2. As God concludes his message through
Haggai he speaks of His control of
history and His ultimately authority
and Sovereignty. Haggai uses the term, “Lord
of Hosts” seven times. It is a
military term meaning the Commander of the
Heavens. In Martin Luther’s famous hymn, “A Mighty
Fortress Is Our God” he
used the phrase, “Lord Sabaoth, His
name. From age to age the same. On earth
is not His equal.” “Sabaoth” means
“Lord of Hosts.”
CONCLUSION:
A.
Isn’t it amazing how words that were spoken 2,500 years ago have such meaning
and relevance for us today? This is the
nature of the Word of God.
B. My
hope is that we will examine our lives (2 Corinthians 13:5) in light of the
exhortation given by Haggai to the people
of Israel to put first things first, finish what
we have started undaunted by human
criticism and honor the Sovereignty of God.
