Thursday
Evening Bible Study
June 29,
2006
Introduction
The background to Haggai is found in the book of Ezra –
The nation of Judah
had been captive in Babylon for
seventy years. The day came when King Cyrus decreed that the Jews could go
back, and he even offered to pay for the rebuilding of their Temple
in Jerusalem.
A group of people were gathered, led by a Zerubbabel, of the line of David,
he was to be the governor. Alongside Zerubbabel was the high priest Joshua.
Over 42,000 people made the trip back to Jerusalem.
When they got to Jerusalem, they
set up an altar for sacrifice and celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles.
After settling down, the work began on the Temple,
starting with the laying of a foundation.
(Ezra 3:10-13 NKJV) When the builders laid the foundation of the
temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the
Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the
ordinance of David king of Israel.
{11} And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:
"For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel."
Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD,
because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. {12} But many of the
priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the
first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was
laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, {13} so that the people
could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping
of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was
heard afar off.
But after word got out to the surrounding people that the Jews had begun to
rebuild their Temple, the
opposition began.
At first some of the foreign people who had been living in the land since
the Assyrian captivity asked if they could help build the Temple.
When they were told “no”, these people sent a letter to the new king of Persia,
Artaxerxes, warning him about what the Jews were doing. They told the king that
he would have nothing but trouble because the Jews were a rebellious people. Artaxerxes
searched the historical records and found that the Jews had been rebellious,
and so he commanded that the work on the Temple
be stopped.
It’s at this point in history, where the Temple
work has ceased, that the prophet Haggai steps into the picture.
It’s now about 520 BC, and the Temple
building project has been on hold for about 15 years.
Haggai 1
:1-11 Message #1 – Wrong Priorities, Temple
neglected
:1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day
of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the
son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the
high priest, saying,
Darius – (da-ri'-us) Darius I Hystaspes, who became king in 522 BC.
It is August 19, 520 BC.
The contents of the book of Haggai are all given between August and December of
520 BC.
Haggai – Chaggay –
“festive”,
or “my feast”
Zerubbabel – Z@rubbabel –
“sown in Babylon”. He is the
grandson of King Jehoiachin, a descendant of King David. He is appointed
governor over Judah.
Joshua – Y@howshuwa‘–
“Yahweh is
salvation”. His father Jehozadak was the high priest at the time of the
Babylonian invasion (1CHr. 6:15). He is a
descendant of Aaron, the high priest.
:2 "Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: 'This people says,
"The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be
built."' "
: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, and
this temple to lie in ruins?"
paneled – Timber had to be imported, this was a sign of luxury.
(Hag 1:4 NLT) "Why are you living in luxurious houses while my
house lies in ruins?
The people had allowed the opposition to stop them from building God’s Temple,
but they didn’t allow it to affect their own comfort.
It was okay to allow the Temple
to be in ruins, as long as they lived comfortably.
Lesson
How much family first?
Illustration
The prospective father-in-law asked, “Young man, can you support a family?”
The surprised groom-to-be replied, “Well, no. I was just planning to support
your daughter. The rest of you will have to fend for yourselves.”
When it comes to serving the Lord we often are reminded that we need to
take care of things at home first.
Some people think that serving the Lord should be at the expense of their
family. They are at the church all the time taking care of other people while
their family is neglected.
But it’s not a case of “either/or”. You don’t serve God OR your family. We
serve both God and family.
And your family ought to take priority over other people.
When describing the qualifications of an elder, Paul says an elder is …
(1 Tim 3:4-5 NKJV) one who rules his own house
well, having his children in submission with all reverence {5} (for if a man
does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of
God?);
The implication is that a mature Christian is one who
takes care of his family.
But with these folks, they served themselves and didn’t serve God at all.
:5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!
:6 "You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have
enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves,
but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with
holes."
Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times in order to get our
attention.
I know for me that sometimes I get some crazy idea in my head that I want
some “thing”. And even though I don’t quite feel right about getting that
“thing”, I am determined to do it anyway. And so off I go to the store and get
trapped in one traffic jam after another. When I get to the first store, it’s
closed. So I go to another store. And they don’t have the item. I go to a third
store and they have something close, but not quite what I’m looking for.
Does this ever happen to you? Sometimes it hits me in time and I realize I
just need to forget about it.
Here, God allowed them to go through financial difficulties because they
had their priorities in the wrong things.
For some of us, it seems the more we earn, the deeper we go into debt…
Jesus said,
(Mat 6:19-21 NKJV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; {20}
"but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. {21} "For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
:7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!
:8 "Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I
may take pleasure in it and be glorified," says the LORD.
When Solomon built the first Temple,
one of the major materials used was cedar imported from the mountains of Lebanon.
But instead of using the cedar for the Temple,
the people had been using it to panel their own houses.
:9 "You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you
brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts.
"Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his
own house.
:10 "Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth
withholds its fruit.
:11 "For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the
grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men
and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands."
Lesson
Putting God first finishes the work
Jesus said,
(Mat 6:33
NKJV) "But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Our priority needs to be putting God first.
For some of us, the big issue is time. We will give God an hour and a half
on Sundays, but He better not expect to get any more time out of us because
we’re busy!
For others, it might be the wallet.
You can tell a lot about a person by looking at how they
spend their money.
(Mal 3:8-12 NKJV) "Will
a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed
You?' In tithes and offerings. {9} You are cursed with a curse, For you have
robbed Me, Even this whole nation. {10} Bring all the tithes into the
storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,"
Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to
receive it. {11} "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that
he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear
fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts; {12} "And all
nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land," Says
the LORD of hosts.
The word “tithe” means “tenth”. The idea of giving God your “tithe” is to
give God a tenth of your income.
Some feel this can be bordering on legalism. They will say
that the “tithe” is Old Testament, which is true.
But the “tithe” also predates the Law of Moses. Abraham
gave a tithe to a priest named Melchizedek (Gen. 14:20).
If a person is looking for a New Testament standard of giving, Jesus gave
us a standard to consider:
(Mark
12:41-44 NKJV) Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people
put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. {42} Then one
poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. {43} So He
called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you
that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the
treasury; {44} "for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of
her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."
The widow didn’t give a “tithe”. She gave everything she
had.
Personally, I think a “tithe” is a good place to start. I see it as a
beginner’s place, not as the final goal.
That may be something that causes some people to choke.
The truth is, statistics
show that the median income for households in Orange
County is $58,000. Our latest
directory had 74 listings in it. If just the “members” of our church gave a
“tithe”, the income of our church should be somewhere around $430,000. Our
income for last year was about $260,000. That’s a little more than half of what
it could be.
Is this just the complaining of a pastor who is frustrated
with the church’s finances?
It might be, but I certainly hope not. It’s simply the
truth.
I have to admit that I have always had a hard time talking about money in
church because of the abuses that some churches have been through. I know
plenty of people who are turned off because some church is constantly begging
for money.
But I’ve been thinking about it – I don’t get a “cut” from
the offering, my salary is set by the elders, not by me. I don’t have free
access to the money of the church, I have spending limits, limits that are set
and overseen by the elders.
And frankly, when we as a church haven’t been taught to
give, I see at least two things that are a result:
1) The church’s ministry will be limited.
The point of this passage is that the Temple
wasn’t being built, in part because the people weren’t supporting the work
financially.
2) We as individuals are much poorer spiritually if we are
so materially-minded that we aren’t able to let God direct our finances.
Personally, I believe that giving ought to be a part of
our worship of God. It’s part of how we serve the Lord.
Illustration
I like the bumper sticker that reads:
“Tithe if you
love Jesus! Anyone can honk!”
:12-15 Response to message – God put first, Temple
built
:12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak,
the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the
LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had
sent him; and the people feared the presence of the LORD.
:13 Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, spoke the Lord's message to the
people, saying, "I am with you, says the LORD."
:14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high
priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and
worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,
:15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King
Darius.
It seems it didn’t happen overnight. The message came on the first day of
the month, but they didn’t respond until the 24th. But it did
happen.
Sometimes we look for instant, overnight successes. But sometimes it takes
some time for the Word to take effect.
Ezra goes on to record that because of the ministry of Haggai and
Zechariah, that Zerubbabel and the people got to work and restarted the process
of building the temple. But this time
when the opposition started again, they kept on building. The pagan over-lord in the land sent a letter
to Darius telling him that the Jews had started work again on their Temple.
When he asked them what they were doing and under whose authority they did it …
(Ezra 5:11 NKJV) And thus they returned us an
answer, saying: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and
we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king
of Israel
built and completed.
They went on to say that they were just completing the decree issued by
Cyrus. When the overlord asked Darius to
check to see if this was correct, they found out that it was. And in the end, the Persians end up allowing
the Jews to rebuild their Temple,
and the Persian government ends up paying for it all!
Lesson
Walking by faith
Notice that Zerubbabel didn’t wait until he got his response from the
Persian government. He responded to God’s direction first, and then the answer
came later.
We need to know what God wants us to do, and do it.
He’ll take care of what happens after that.
Haggai 2
:1-9 Message #2 – Comparing Temples, this one greater
:1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the
LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying:
It’s now October 17, 520 BC.
21st of the 7th month – this would be the last day of
the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles was normally a time of happy, joyful celebration. It
was scheduled to take place at the end of the harvest season, when the crops
are in. It was intended to be a time of thanksgiving for God giving food
through the harvest.
But this year the harvest hadn’t been so good (1:6).
: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? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?
Remember how some of the people who remembered the old Temple
were weeping when they saw how small and insignificant the newer one was
looking? (Ezr. 3:12-13)
Sometimes the things we do don’t seem to be that important…
Some of us get caught in the past, looking back to the “good ol’ days”
:4 'Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,' says the LORD; 'and be strong, Joshua,
son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,'
says the LORD, 'and work; for I am with you,' says the LORD of hosts.
:5 'According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of
Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!'
:6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while)
I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
We know what earthquakes are all about in California.
There’s going to be a REALLY big one coming …
(Rev 16:18
NKJV) And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a
great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since
men were on the earth.
:7 'and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All
Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the LORD of hosts.
the desire of all nations –
This might be a reference to the Messiah. This is the traditional Jewish
view.
It also could be translated “wealth of all nations”
(Hag 2:7 NLT) I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of
all the nations will come to this Temple. I will fill this
place with glory, says the LORD Almighty.
This could be a reference to the “Millennial
Temple”, the one that will be in
existence when Jesus comes back. After Jesus returns, people will come from all
nations bringing gifts to the Lord in Jerusalem
(IS. 66:20)
fill this temple with glory –
When the Tabernacle in the wilderness was set up for the first time, God’s
glory filled the tabernacle and Moses couldn’t even go in because of the cloud
(Ex. 40:34-35).
When Solomon’s Temple was
dedicated to the Lord, the same thing happened (2 Chr 7:1-3)
Yet when just the foundation of Zerubbabel’s Temple
was laid, some of the people wept (Ezr. 3:12-13)
because it looked nothing like the glorious Temple
that Solomon built.
:8 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the LORD of hosts.
I would imagine that some of this talk of “glory” in the Temple
could get a little discouraging for some.
“Glory” must mean “spectacular”. And this new Temple
they were building was anything but “spectacular”.
And “spectacular” requires money, doesn’t it? How is all this going to be
paid for?
I have to confess that sometimes I get too concerned about where the money
is going to come from. We’ve been through a season as a church where we’ve been
in the “red” for a long time. From the “glory” days of having something close
to $90,000 in the bank, we’re down to almost a third of that amount.
At the Pastors’ Conference this year I felt like the Lord was reminding me
that I need to be asking Him to supply our finances.
Sometimes we talk about God “owning the cattle on a thousand hillsides”
(Psa 50:10 NKJV) For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the
cattle on a thousand hills.
And here God reminds the people that all the silver and gold are His as
well.
And as we’ve been praying for God to provide, He is doing just that. This
last month we were in the black for the first time in a while.
We don’t want to twist arms to make ends meet. We want to look to God.
:9 'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says
the LORD of hosts. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the LORD of
hosts."
Some might say that because Herod the Great came along and refurbished
Zerubbabel’s Temple during the time
of Jesus that this Temple would be
greater than Solomon’s.
But it would be greater in another, more important way.
It would be the Temple that God
Himself would one day stand in.
(John 1:14 NKJV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.
And this Temple would be the
one that Jesus would spend time in.
Jesus would bring peace with God through His death on the cross.
It could also refer to the Millennial
Temple, and the peace that Jesus
will bring when He comes back to rule the world.
Lesson
Looking forward finishes the work
The best is yet to come.
We may have had some great moments in our past, but if we don’t have our
lives pointed to the future, we aren’t going to get anywhere.
Paul had a lot of great things in his background, but he knew he couldn’t
look to the past.
(Phil 3:13-15 NKJV) Brethren, I do not count myself to have
apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and
reaching forward to those things which are ahead, {14} I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus. {15} Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and
if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Move forward.
The best is yet to come.
That’s how you build and not die.
What are you aiming at?
Sometimes we can fall into the trap of comparing the things that we’re
doing with the things that other people are doing.
It’s a common thing for churches to compare themselves with other churches.
And if you don’t have same thing happening here that is happening in
another church, then there must be something wrong.
But we need to be careful to look towards the things that God wants for us,
and do them.
(John 21:18-22 NKJV) "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you
were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are
old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you
where you do not wish." {19} This He spoke, signifying by what death he
would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow
Me." {20} Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved
following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said,
"Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" {21} Peter, seeing him, said
to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" {22} Jesus said to him,
"If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow
Me."
Don’t look at what God has called others to do, look at
what God has called you to do.
vs. 4-5 – God is with us. Is God with us? Then what better work could we be
doing that the work that God leads us to do?
:10-14 Message #3 – Uncleanness is contagious
:10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of
Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
It is December 18, 520 BC.
This was the time of year when the people would look for the “early rain”
to water the new crop.
:11 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Now, ask the priests concerning the
law, saying,
:12 "If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the
edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become
holy?" ' " Then the priests answered and said, "No."
This is a question for the priests.
The priests were given a portion of some of the offerings. It was a way of
payment for their work in performing the sacrifices.
But there was a requirement of just who could eat it. It could only be
eaten by priests or their families, and there was one further requirement:
(Lev 6:27a NKJV) 'Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy.
The question is now raised about a situation where a holy priest is carrying
holy meat in his robe, and he accidentally bumps up against something that is
not considered “holy”.
Does that “holiness” get transferred to the thing that was not holy?
The correct answer is “no”.
We might look at it as sanitary and unsanitary. If you are carrying some
good food and you bump into something unsanitary, do the germs disappear? No,
the germs get transferred to the thing that was clean.
:13 And Haggai said, "If one who is unclean because of a dead body
touches any of these, will it be unclean?" So the priests answered and
said, "It shall be unclean."
Again a picture for us might be disease. You don’t catch “healthiness” from
somebody, but you can catch their cold.
:14 Then Haggai answered and said, " 'So is this people, and so is
this nation before Me,' says the LORD, 'and so is every work of their hands;
and what they offer there is unclean.
They might be thinking that because they are offering holy sacrifices to
God, that this would make them holy.
But they’ve not taken care of their own lives first.
They are offering the sacrifices for sins, but they weren’t repenting of
their sins.
So their sacrifices were not “holy”, but “unclean” because the people’s
uncleanness was infectious.
Lesson
A pure life finishes the work
It’s not that God can’t use imperfect people. That’s all that God uses,
imperfect people.
But God doesn’t want us to ignore His work in our personal lives.
He doesn’t want us working to build His kingdom while we neglect our own
relationship with Him.
Jesus said to the Pharisees,
(Mat 23:25-26 NKJV) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they
are full of extortion and self-indulgence. {26} "Blind Pharisee, first
cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean
also.
Illustration
Soap and Water
A pastor was asked to dinner by one of his parishioners who he knew as
being an unkempt housekeeper. When he sat down at the table, he noticed that
the dishes were the dirtiest that he had ever seen in his life. “Were these
dishes ever washed?” he asked his hostess, running his fingers over the grit
and grime. She replied, “They’re as clean as soap and water could get them”. He
felt a bit apprehensive, but blessed the food anyway and started eating. It was
really delicious and he said so, despite the dirty dishes. When dinner was
over, the hostess took the dishes outside and yelled, “Here Soap! Here Water!”
I know you can still eat on a dirty dish, but when I know what “soap and
water” does … I’m not sure I’m too hungry.
Paul wrote to Timothy,
(2 Tim 2:21 NKJV)
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a
vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good
work.
God likes to use clean dishes.
:15-19 God is going to bless
:15 'And now, carefully consider from this day forward: from before stone
was laid upon stone in the temple of the LORD;
Start keeping records of your harvests …
:16 'since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were
but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press,
there were but twenty.
Before the Temple construction
was restarted, grain production was down 50% and wine production was down 60%.
:17 'I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your
hands; yet you did not turn to Me,' says the LORD.
:18 'Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the
ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid;
consider it:
:19 'Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the
pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I
will bless you.'"
God promises that the people can look forward to good things from this time
forward.
:20-23 Message #4 – Zerubbabel the signet ring
:20 And again the word of the LORD came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day
of the month, saying,
It is still December 18, 520 BC.
This word is going to be directed at Zerubbabel the governor.
If Zerubbabel was anything like most people I know in leadership positions,
he probably faced some times of wondering what he was doing being in charge. He
probably wondered how in the world he could do the things he was doing.
:21 "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah,
saying: 'I will shake heaven and earth.
:22 I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of
the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots And those who ride in them;
The horses and their riders shall come down, Every one by the sword of his
brother.
In Haggai's time the kingdom of Persia
was huge. It ruled more than 2,000,000 square miles of territory.
In contrast, the little nation of Judah
was pretty small. How could anything good come out of this?
But there will be a day when the whole world is going to be all shook up.
And all that counts is what we’ve done for Jesus.
:23 'In that day,' says the LORD of hosts, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel My
servant, the son of Shealtiel,' says the LORD, 'and will make you like a signet
ring; for I have chosen you,' says the LORD of hosts."
signet ring – chowtham –
seal,
signet, signet-ring
We’ve talked lately about the importance of the “seal” in ancient times. We
saw this because Paul wrote that we were “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
The idea is of a wax seal that has the impression of a ring on it.
The “seal” was a picture of a completed transaction, the deal is done. You
can bet God will keep His word.
It was a picture of ownership, God owns these people.
It was a picture of security, everyone else keep their hands off.
It was a picture of authenticity, God is a part of this.
The signet ring was the thing that made the “seal”. It was the piece of
metal that was pressed into the hot wax that left the impression saying, “the
master was here”.
Zerubbabel was being told that He left the mark of the Master. He had God’s
approval. He had God’s calling on his life.
Lesson
Confident calling finishes the work
God has a work for each of us to do. This is God’s “calling” on our lives.
We need to find out what that work is and then do it.