But then on Tuesday, when I began to seriously study our text, I changed my mind. First of all, I discovered something wonderfully coincidental. For whatever reason, the four prophecies of Haggai are the most meticulously well dated and documented prophecies in the entire Bible. We know exactly when these prophesies were given. And guess when the second one, the great, little prophecy we’re looking at today, was given? On October 17th in the year 520BC! Isn’t that funny? Monday, October the 17th, was the exact day this week that I was staring down at our Scripture text wondering how it might possibly relate to us. Doesn’t God have a sense of humor? And then Nancy spontaneously came down the hall talking about how her Bible study group had just discussed Haggai as did speakers at the great Hebraic Roots Conference she and Pastor Chuck had just attended. She also talked about a great song from Handel’s Messiah inspired by a verse from our passage today – and before I knew it, Haggai was coming out of the woodwork at me! I still wasn’t sure how God intended to encourage us through this passage, but it sure seemed to me God had Haggai on the brain for us today!
And then, as I studied the passage further, some wonderful things emerged…
So here’s the biblical situation. After the Jewish exiles were allowed to return home, they began rebuilding their great Temple, but because of opposition and difficulty, they gave up on the job. For sixteen years, the Temple ruins stood as an embarrassment to the people of God. But then in 520BC, God moved Haggai to speak prophetically to the people about the situation and, amazingly, unlike any of the other mostly ignored prophets of the Old Testament, the people actually listened. Haggai prophesied that the reason God was not fully blessing their lives was simply because they failed to put Him first in their community. While they were busily building beautiful lives and homes for themselves, they shamefully allowed Almighty God to go homeless! The Temple, and the great and powerful God it represented, was mostly being ignored. The people heard the prophet’s stern words and responded. Their governor and one of their most prominent priests led the people to get back to work on the Temple project.
But then, just under a month later, it seems reality began to sink in. According to Ezra, a bureaucrat named Tattenai came along questioning their work and went back to King Darius with a potentially troublesome inquiry. The people had just spent an exhausting month moving around the enormous foundation stones of the ruins and were probably beginning to see the sobering enormity of the challenge facing them. Some of the older ones among them looked out across their building salvage project and were grieved at how utterly substandard this new Temple was going to be in comparison to Solomon’s great, gold and jewel encrusted one. The people realized they just didn’t have the money to build such a beautiful Temple. And then, like an annoyingly cheerful cherry on a depressing sundae, October 17th also just happened to be the very anniversary of the exact day King Solomon dedicated his great Temple years before. All this stuff came swirling together to discourage the people and that is precisely when God moved Haggai to step forward with these prophetic words of encouragement. Let’s listen in…
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the Lord. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the Lord, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the Lord Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the Lord Almighty. 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the Lord Almighty. 'The [final or latter] glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the Lord Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the Lord Almighty."
These are very practical words for us here at Elim Church and each of us individually. How many times have we found ourselves excitedly embracing a project of one sort or another, only to discover later we may have bitten off more than we can chew? How many times in life do we find ourselves exhaustedly looking at the temple wreckage around us, wondering how in the world we are ever going to make something glorious out of it? LORD, I love the glorious idea of restoring the temple, but I’m really wondering if this thing is ever going to amount to much. LORD, I heard the prophet speaking, I heard your initial, rebuilding instructions – but I have to tell you, I’m starting to have my doubts about how this thing is going to turn out. Our lives too are filled with difficult situations like that…so what does the prophet say to us? How does Almighty God fully intend you and I to “bring back the glory” to the world around us?
I see three blunt, simple answers to all those soul-searching questions in this prophecy.
Be Strong & Working
The first answer doesn’t really seem that helpful. The prophet simply tells everybody involved in the project to “buck up” and get back to work. Be strong Zerubbabel, be strong Joshua, be strong every single one of you folks who have stepped forward to help out with this project. Be strong and keep working. These folks are told, almost word for word, the same thing Solomon was told as he was building his temple and the same thing Joshua was told when he conquered the land. Be strong and keep working! This job isn’t going to get done unless all of us accept the fact that anything worth doing involves hard work. There is no microwaving yourself a new temple – there is no quickie path to God’s glory. Keep working.
I drink my coffee every morning from a demotivational mug with a funny, but very true message. It says simply “Get To Work: You’re Not Being Paid To Believe In The Power of Your Dreams.” Folks, God’s glorious calling on our lives is not some dreamy, pie in the sky, cuddle fest of luxury and ease – there’s some real hard work in this thing. Following Jesus is muscular! The sooner we realize that, the more gloriously Almighty God is going to be able to use us.
Be strong and be working. That’s some good fatherly advice, but it’s not completely helpful, is it? Where exactly do we find the energy and encouragement to do that when things get tough – when the temple wreckage looks daunting? I suspect all of us would love to be strong, courageous, joyously hard working people, but where does the energy to sustain that sort of positive attitude come from? This is where the rest of Haggai’s prophecy comes in…
Be Fearless & Confident
The second component of this prophecy should be thoroughly energizing to us. We can be strong and hard-working only to the degree we are utterly and fearlessly confident in God’s calling on our lives. We can be strong and hard-working, we can endure whatever our God is calling us to do because we know we’re doing what Almighty God wants us doing. Look again at verse 5. Why do you suppose God makes such a point of reminding people that the work they are doing is an ongoing part of the ancient covenant He made with them when they came out of Egypt? Why does God make an intentional point of reminding them of His presence with them? Why does Almighty God give them the clear impression that this is His work they’re doing, not their own? He lovingly does all this simply because the very best way to endure, to gloriously persevere, to be strong and keep working is to know we’re not alone in this thing.
And this is why it is so critically important that we know, in whatever we’re doing in life, that we are doing what God wants us doing – what God wants done. We cannot be fearless, we will not be confident and we simply will not have the strength or courage to complete any sort of glorious work unless we absolutely know God is with us and we’re doing God’s work.
Ultimately, there is only one vocational question that matters for us: is this thing I’m doing something God wants me doing or isn’t it? Is this temple project something God wants completed – some essential part of the covenant I have with Him? If it is, if this project I’m doing is something God wants me doing, well then the gates of hell will not prevail against me as I do my work! I’m going to accomplish something glorious! But if it isn’t, no amount of money, time, energy, hard work or good intentions in the world will result in anything glorious.
Nobody has to badger me into studying the Bible and writing sermons and studies. Even though it is always hard work, sometimes even painful, agonizing, frustrating work, I always have the energy to do it because I know it is what Almighty God is calling me to do. And when I’m genuinely doing what God wants me doing, I lose track of time because I’m enjoying myself so much – Maria can tell you I’m always late for lunch on Thursdays because I’m almost always excitedly getting that one last thought on the page before heading home.
In the wonderful words of the missionary and great Olympic runner Eric Liddell, “when I run, I feel his pleasure.” When we are working/running in the way Almighty God has created us and clearly called us to run, we feel His pleasure. We will accomplish glorious things!
Be Faithful & Expectant
And then the third and final component gets added into the picture. Haggai finished his prophecy by telling the people how God was going to shake the world and pour out glory on their temple and work such as the world had never seen. The silver and gold are mine, folks! The final glory of this temple will be far greater than the glory of the former. The feet of God are going to walk across the grounds of the temple you’re working on here today! Be strong and work hard not only because you know you’re doing God’s work and He is with you in this. Be strong and work hard because you, by faith, fully expect your God to do glorious things.
There’s something wonderful probably happening behind the scenes here, possibly even as Haggai is prophesying these words. Remember Tattenai the bureaucrat who went back to King Darius questioning the work being done on the temple? Darius ordered a search made of the archives of his predecessor King Cyrus and found the original decree for the Jewish people to return from their exile and rebuild their temple. Humorously, instead of becoming another obstacle, King Darius turned to Tattenai and said, “Not only are the Jews authorized to rebuild their temple, but we’re supposed to be paying for it!” And so, according Ezra 6, in one of the most immediate, glorious prophetic fulfillments recorded in the Bible, the bureaucrat Tattenai is then sent back to the Jews to become an agent of blessing on the project, not discouragement!
When we’re doing God’s work, when we’re doing things Almighty God intends us to do, our great God is going to pay the bills! Do we believe that? Do we believe that the silver and gold of this planet are the LORD’s? We must live and work in glorious, faithful expectation.
Isn’t that exciting? Boy, oh boy, are you hearing God’s tender voice in all this, Elim Church? If we’re doing what God wants us doing, if we’re embracing all the ministries and missions Almighty God wants us to embrace, we can faithfully expect God to pay whatever bills are necessary that His glory might prevail. We live in just such a gloriously faithful expectation.
Isn’t this just a rush? This is how God always intends to bring His glory back to the world and back into your life. Be strong and work hard, knowing God is in this thing and God is going to pay the bills for everything as long as we’re obedient. Wow! I just love this stuff!
Two thousand five hundred and thirty one years ago this very week, the prophet Haggai stood before his people, encouraging them in exactly the very same way I believe Almighty God does this morning. You hang in there, people! You be strong and keep on working. You keep doing what I want you doing and I’ll pay all the bills for it. By the way, did you know that just four years after Haggai said these things, their gloriously restored temple was already finished?
And to think Monday morning I didn’t think this passage would be very relevant!
May God reveal to each of us His will for our lives! May we live in such joyous, faithful expectation of glory that we will never lack energy or excitement for our tasks!
Amen.
