Ezra 5:1-2's intro to Haggai and
Zechariah
-1's prophecies result in 2a's renewal of effort to
rebuild the temple (I Cor 14:3)
-2b’s prophets ‘were with them, helping them’– not
just talk, but walk!
–> what was going on, in the interim, from Joshua
and Zerubbabel’s perspective?? complacent themselves vs. worn out trying to
motivate the people
Introduction to Haggai and Zechariah (H, Z, M in order; review
OT chronology thru II Chron)
-Persians sack the Babylonians in 539; Cyrus allows
Jews to return to rebuild the temple in 538 under Zerubbabel; work begins in
536, laying the foundation before faltering in the face of opposition and
discouragement; work stops until Hag and Zech preach in 520 (Hag from Aug to
Dec 520; Zech begins in Oct 520 and goes for two years); temple finished in 516
-MH’s ‘when the building of
the temple was both retarded by its enemies and neglected by its friends’ (see:
Ezra’s emphasis on external; Hag/Zech on internal)
-MH’s H&Z come ‘to
reprove them for being remiss and to encourage them to revive that good work
when it had stood still for some time’
-MH’s H&Z together– ‘that out of the mouth of
two witnesses the word might be established...[and] two are better than one’
-interesting that H&Z are the first recorded
prophets in awhile (Ps 74:9), fitting given the way the people had treated
them; God previously used the Spirit to stir His people to return to Jerusalem
(Ezra 1:5)
-both prophesied of Christ’s coming as well
Introduction to Haggai
-first of three post-exile prophetic books
-second
shortest book in OT (next to Obadiah)
-little known about Haggai except that his name
means ‘festal’, implying his birth during one of three annual religious
festivals
-because Haggai’s sermons are so carefully dated, we
know the very day they were presented! (messages on 8/29, 10/17, 12/18 * 2 of
520)
-four messages-- 1st & 3rd:
land’s lack of productivity and pseudo-contentment as a function of their
failure to rebuild temple; 2nd & 4th: encouragement
that God supported them and would prosper them (w/ app. to God’s pattern of
dealing with C’s and non-C’s)
-wrt style: like Mal, uses questions to highlight
issues (1:4, 1:9, 2:3, 2:19; see: Jesus and post-moderns)
-general emphasis on:
-the more subtle
consequences of obedience and disobedience
-the need to persevere,
count the costs, run the full race, finish well
-the need to choose God’s
best over the world’s good
-rebuking spiritual
complacency and rekindling spiritual fervor– personally, and in
ministry/evangelism
Haggai
1
1:1-4's intro
-1a's date:
-given in terms of a Gentile
king’s rule (a reminder of who was in charge– God and Persia)
-very specific (8/29/520);
connect to historical evidences of OT/Bible
-‘first day’ as a new moon
day– probably a religious festival, giving Haggai a large and rel. ready
audience
-1b’s recipients of the opening prophecy: thru
Haggai to Zerubbabel and Joshua
-implicitly to the people
also (1:3), but initially targets the leaders; see: the preeminent need for
vision and leadership from leaders
-2a’s ‘the Lord Almighty’ (lit. ‘the Lord [Yahweh]
of armies’)
-14x in Hag, incl. its last
words!; >90x in Hag, Zech and Mal
-title alludes to His power
in having delivered them and to accomplish His will wrt temple and walls,
history and military powers, etc.
-2b's thesis: the people had been saying that ‘the
time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built’ (with the implication
that it was and had been time!)
-use of ‘these people’ to
avoid identifying them with God– because of their sin
-‘to be built’ as passive
voice– implies their lack of interest in rebuilding (see: clues in one’s
language)
à 4's punchline: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in
your paneled houses, while this (God’s) house remains a ruin?”
-big emphasis on self
(‘you...yourselves...your’) vs. God; their focus on self vs. others/God
-a play on the word ‘time’–
they had found it an appropriate time to rebuild their own houses!
-living in them vs. merely
building them?
-ironic in the face of David
and Solomon’s passion to build God’s house before their own! (II Sam 7:2; I
Kings 6-7)
-odd in the face of the
relative importance of the temple for their worship
–> using temporal
circumstances as an invalid excuse to procrastinate—here, to avoid
rebuilding the temple
-see: Ezra’s external vs.
Hag/Zech’s internal
-used prophets to provide
counsel and circumstances to confound crops
-had quickly built an altar
and laid the temple’s foundation (Ezra 3:10),
but then yielded to outside pressure and had failed to return to the task once
the pressure subsided (at least in failing to petition Darius when he became
king)
-w/ app. to us, MH’s ‘Though
those who are employed by God may be driven off from their work by a storm, yet
they must return to it as soon as the storm is over.’
à didn’t
say they wouldn’t rebuild it (obvious disobedience), just that the time wasn’t right
-w/ app. to those who put
off becoming C’s or C’s who put off a deeper walk with God until difficult
circumstances pass or C’s who avoid evangelistic/ministry ops since not quite
everything is right or they haven’t been ‘led’ that way by God
-w/ app. to slippery slope
with excuses/reasons
-4’s “paneled” houses implies a degree of luxury (I
Kings 7:3,7, Jer 22:14);
may be fig., but the general point still holds
–> using supposed lack of material resources (money) as an invalid excuse
to procrastinate
-scarcity vs. abundance
mindset (revisited)
-neglected rebuilding God’s
house, apparently using own family’s welfare as an excuse (vs. I Tim 5:8) or
difficulty of having eternal perspective when cultural/worldly influences are
so strong
-w/ app. to finding one’s
way in the work-world before devoting oneself to ministry, buying household
goods, tithing, investing time in relationships and service
-prosperity often a greater foe for us than adversity (Dt 6:10-12—post-6:4-9!;
Lk 18:18-25)
-may signal how increased
possessions do not bring contentment– happy at first to have a house, then
wanted it paneled
–> w/ app. to us ‘waiting for the right time’--
moving into procrastination (Acts 24:25) or unnecessary delay and missed ops
-procrastination as “the
pickpocket of time”
-see: Lewis’ Screwtape and
busy-ness; the idea that ‘Satan doesn’t care what we do for the Lord as long as
we do it tomorrow.’
-what’s the difference
between borrowing indefinitely and stealing?
à don’t put it off– ops may disappear incl.
one may not have a tomorrow; unlikely that many tomorrows will be easier than
todays; often makes it harder to do the next time (more pressure; putting out
fires)
-typically, life gets busier
and more complex, with more responsibilities
–> ‘not enough time’ as a
myth– all have the same amount of time; as with these people, it’s just a
matter of priorities– temporal vs. eternal (Jn 9:4)
-see also: procrastination
until other big events are taken care of– w/ app. to getting thru college,
getting married, getting established at work, etc.
–> w/ app. to our calls to ministry: will we heed
the call or be intimidated by our enemies, hindered by sin, distracted by the
good (vs. the best), settling for complacency and comfort (J. Oswald Sanders’
‘the fur-lined rut’)?
–> we are called to build
God’s temple today– the church
-not that building houses is
wrong, but must have correct priorities
-more general app. to
pursuing other ministries
-see also: wonderful ops to
spread the gospel-- here and esp. around the world
-here, the gospel lived-out
stands in stark contrast to the world’s offerings
-around the world,
tremendous financial and technological resources, responsiveness to the Gospel
(see: Romania;
former Communist countries)
-Theodore Williams (from
Dwight): ‘We face a humanity that is too precious to neglect. We know a remedy
for the ills of the world to wonderful to withhold. We have a Christ who is too
glorious to hide. We have an adventure that is too thrilling to miss.’
1:5-8's consequences and command
-5’s ‘give careful thought to your ways’–past and why you’re “content” in the present
(1:7, 2:15,18*2; w/ app.;
Rom 12:2)
–> rebuked for what they
had not done and noting the fruitlessness of what they had done; then, what
they should be doing...
-7’s ‘give careful thought to your ways’
(revisited)–future; with 8a’s “go”,
5’s reflection is now accompanied by MH’s ‘reform’ and repent (vs. 5's
‘reflect’ [only!]; Lam 3:40, Ps 119:59)
-useful to think about motives,
etc.– half the battle; here, little thought given
-MH’s ‘reflect’: ‘It is the
great concern of every one of us...to apply our minds with all seriousness to
the great and necessary duty of self-examination, and communing with our own
hearts concerning our spiritual state, our sins that are past, and our duty for
their future.’
-analyze results: how’s that
workin’ for you?
-6's plant much but harvest little (Dt 28:38-42 vs.
Dt 6!, Lev 26:20; Hos 4:10-12); eat and drink but never satisfied (Is 55:1-2;
not filling or never content?); wear clothes but cannot stay warm (vs. Dt 8:4);
earn money but can’t keep it (akin to money burning a hole in one’s pocket; Lk
12:33-34; perhaps fig. for famine-induced high prices)
-lit. or fig. for lack of
contentment
-connecting obedience with
physical blessing
-not a good investment;
embracing a scarcity/exile/bondage mindset
-insulting to God and an
impractical way to live life (esp. in the OT; but also loss of spiritual and even
physical blessing in NT; Phil 2:21,
Mt 6:33)
-MH’s ‘As those who seek
first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof shall not only find
them, but are most likely to have other things added to them, so those who
neglect and postpone those things will not only lose them, but justly have
other things taken away from them.’
-but the people didn’t see
cause and effect; MH’s ‘They were sensible of the smart of the judgment...but
they were not sensible of the cause of the judgment.’
-MH’s ‘[they] either saw not
the hand of God in it (imputing it to chance) or saw not their own sin as the
provoking cause of it, and therefore turned not to him.’ (Is 9:12-13; futility
a la Eccl)
-but ‘bad things’ do happen
to good people; MH’s ‘We need the help of God’s prophets and ministers to
expound to us, not only the judgments of God’s mouth, but the judgments of His
hands, that we may understand His mind and meaning in His rod as well as in His
word.’
-w/ app. to us, esp. within
comfort/satisfaction; maintain vs. grow
-God’s punishment justly
fits their sin; MH’s ‘the poverty they thought to prevent– by not building the temple– God brought upon them for not building
it.’
-didn’t send them back into
captivity, bring a foreign enemy in to oppress them, or bring the Persians back
to slap them around
-see: God’s variety of
methods-- here, dealing with them thru nature
-were chasing after and
depending on material prosperity/security, so God took that away from them
à importance of reflecting on both bad past
and good past—in particular, God’s grace in our lives
-8a's exhortation to go to the mountains, get the
timber, and rebuild the temple
-8b’s so that God would be
honored and pleased (vs. Is 1:11,
Jer 13:11)
-again (1:4), may imply that
they had used the wood gathered for the temple (Ezra 3:7) for their own homes!
-misusing/wasting 2,4's
time, and here, resources devoted to the temple
-emphasizing their own
comfort over God’s glory
1:9-11's consequences (revisited)
–> elaboration on 5-6's paradox: 9a’s ‘you
expected much, but...it turned out to be little’
–> 9c’s first cause of
judgment: “Why?...Because” His house was a ruin while they were “busy” with
their own houses
-9b’s tool of commission:
‘what you brought home, I blew away’ (what a picture!)
-10-11's tools of omission:
‘heavens withheld their dew and the earth its crops’; ‘God called for a
drought’ and general barrenness in all areas
-11's grain, wine, and oil
as three basic crops– often mentioned in discussing blessing or curse (Dt 7:13,
11:14, 28:51, Hos 2:8,22, Joel 2:24)
-MH’s ‘they had gotten their
own land in possession again...but what the better are they for it, unless they
had the clouds at their command too?’
-see: God’s physical
blessings to us-- merely by withholding harm (w/ app. to our thankfulness for God’s
blessings of omission)
-reverses mercy and grace
1:12-15's rapid and repentant response[1]
--> a successful sermon!
-all obeyed God’s voice and
Haggai’s message– taking action
-obedience stemmed from
12b’s attitude: ‘the people feared the Lord’ (Dt 31:12-13; Mal 3:16 vs. Mal 1:6, 3:5's no fear)
-required God’s prevenient grace, Haggai’s participation, and the people’s open hearts and humility
-see also: Zerubbabel and
Joshua’s humility, despite their leadership positions-- and Joshua’s humility
and lack of jealousy, despite being a priest/teacher of the law
-interesting that leaders
are mentioned– may imply their sins of omission for not leading strongly enough
-MH’s ‘Prophecy was a new
thing with them; they had had no special messenger from heaven for a great
while, and therefore now that they had one, and but one, they paid an
extraordinary regard to him; whereas their fathers, who had many prophets,
mocked and misused them. It is sometimes so; when good preaching is most
scarce, it does most good, whereas the manna that is rained in plenty is
loathed as light bread. And because they so readily received this prophet, God,
within a month or two after, raised them up another, Zechariah.’
-13's Haggai’s message from God that God would be
with them (2:4,5; Mt 28:20b)
-see: God speaks thru Haggai
with a mix of rebuke and encouragement (w/ general app. and w/ app. to
parenting)
–> 14a's God ‘stirred up’
their spirits (lit. ‘moved their hearts’ as in Ezra 1:5)
-see: New Covenant,
prevenient grace (revisited)
-perhaps necessary to
counter 12's fear (w/ app. to parenting)
-in any case, to
empower/motivate; MH’s ‘When God has work to do, he will either find or make
men fit to do it, and to stir them up to it.’
-14b’s ‘began to work on the
house of the Lord’
-but 15's 23 days after 1's
message-- why the delay?
-vs. LAB’s app. to quick
responses to plan and then act!
-time to harvest figs
&/or time for planning, regathering lumber? (w/ app. to trying to make up
for lost time and making things worse)
Haggai
2
2:1-5's 2nd message
-1's date
-again, very specific (1:1)
-during the Feast of
Tabernacles (despite poor crops; the same time Solomon dedicated his temple; I
Kings 8:2)
-about two months after his
last (recorded) sermon (1:1) and about a month after the temple rebuilding
resumed (1:15)
-soon afterward, to
encourage them in the face of 3's discouraging sentiment
-again, emphasis on
encouragement post-rebuke
-MH’s ‘Those that are hearty
in the service of God shall receive fresh encouragements from Him to proceed in
it, as their case calls for it. Set the wheels a going, and God will oil them.’
-had gotten off to a good
start, but now struggling (w/ app. to initial inspiration as nice but
insufficient; see: Saul, Solomon; Christ on ‘count the costs’)
-2's message to Z, J, and the people (explicitly;
vs. 1:3)
-3's three rhetorical questions to address their
discouragement: who remembers the old temple; how does this one look; doesn’t
this one seem like ‘nothing’
-knowing the answer, a
candid assessment, and a strange way to start
-defeated before they really
get started
-apparently, a recurring
problem for them (Ezra 3:12, Zech 4:10a)
-as a function of their
limited individual roles and seeming unworthiness of their corporate project
-seeing or focusing on
rubble, imagining the inferior finished product, thinking about what the temple
represents (past deliverance, present worship, and future glory)
-God’s grace but
consequences
-with application to…
-reasonable disappointment about having to do what
should have been done properly the
first time
-under-estimating our work–
in light of what we suppose about its value
(vs. what others are doing or can do) or aiming for some unobtainable utopia (within marriage or spiritual
progress)
-if appointed by God, silly
to make comparisons or to question the value of the work (Hab 1:5, Eph 3:20)
-MH’s God wants only our
best, but our pride often will not settle for that, seeking to compare our
outcomes to others
-focusing on individual effort, short-term, and concrete vs. Kingdom
effort, long-term, and abstract
-w/ app. to anybody, but
esp. older people, looking back longingly–
even if accurately– to the glory days
(Eccl 7:10; w/ app. to
freedom/fun for married vs. single, kids vs. no kids; w/ app. to early days as
a Christian)
à for all of the above, import of a proper
perspective; idea that ‘where we focus our eyes will ultimately determine how
we live our lives’ (Mt 6:19-21)
–> loss of proper
perspective from: improper focus on the past (Zech 3; Lk 9:62, Phil 3:12-14),
improper focus on present tangible results (vs. potential for future &/or
unseen fruit; see: five loaves and two fishes; Is 49:4!; II Cor 4:16-18)
-4a's threefold command to all of them to ‘be
strong’; 4b’s command for them to ‘work’– courage and diligence
-combo to ‘be strong’ and
‘work’ in David’s 2x instructions to Solomon (I Chron 28:10,20; Josh 1:9)
-4c’s motivation: ‘for I am with you’ (1:13)
-repetition of this is
important to our walk
-motive (trust) for work is
that God is with them (vs. working when God is not with us; or not working when
God wants to be with us); see: God’s provision and their participation
-the word for God here is
‘Lord of hosts’ (NASB, KJV); MH’s ‘The presence of God with us, as the Lord of
hosts, is enough to silence all our fears and to help us over all the
discouragements we may meet with in the way of our duty. The Jews had hosts
against them, but they had the Lord of Hosts with them...’
-5a's reminder of His covenant with them, stretching
back to their deliverance from Egypt
(see: our need to remember God’s promises)
-although they weren’t
there, their recent miraculous deliverance from Babylon was a close proxy
-5b’s ‘my Spirit remains
among you’—even without Temple or Ark (Zech 4:6; Num 11:16-17,25, Neh 9:20a, Is 63:11,14's
Spirit with them after deliverance from Egypt!)
–> 5c’s ‘do not fear’
(vs. 1:12b!)– big/necessary focus on ‘be strong’ and ‘do not fear’ (Josh
1:6-9,18b’s 4x ‘be strong and courageous’; w/ app.)
-supported by good reasons:
God’s presence, promises, and Spirit
2:6-9's 2nd message
(cont’d)
-6's ‘in a little while’ God would ‘once more shake
the heavens and the earth’ (2:21)
-as God did in judging the
world (Gen 6-9) and S&G (Gen 18-19)
-as God did in delivering Israel from Egypt
(Red Sea) and at Mt.
Sinai
-as God had done and would
continue to do with earthly kingdoms (Dan 2)
-as God did in the birth and
death of Christ (Mt 2:3,16-18's fig.; Mt 27:51-53's lit.)
-as God did in establishing
Christ’s kingdom (quoted in Heb 12:26-28!)
-7's God would ‘shake all nations’– causing ‘the
desired of all nations’ to come to His house, filling it with glory
-‘shake the nations’
-in apocalyptic literature,
always bodes poorly for the powerful and the evil and bodes well for the church
(Job 38:12-13)
-w/ app. to contemporary and
end-times judgments (former as Persia’s
fall to the Greeks in 333; on latter, see: Joel 3:15-16, Mt 24:29-30)
-‘the
desired of all nations’ also trans. ‘they will come with the wealth of all
nations’ (see: NIVSB note)
-former as fig. for Christ
(Gen 49:10 in alt. NIV; Mal 3:1)
-latter as those who sought
and loved God (see: pre-dest.)-- and would give resources for the temple (Is
60:4-13)
-W&Z speculate that
Haggai may have meant both meanings!
-‘fill with glory’ can refer
to material or divine splendor (see: NIVSB note; Is 60:7,13; Ex 40:34-35, I
Kings 8:10-11)
-wrt Christ, differs from
(in nature) and exceeds the glory-filled tabernacle of Moses and temple of Solomon
-8's God’s claim on the silver and the gold
-had the people been
withholding their resources?
-God would meet the need
despite their poverty (Ezra 6:8-12's decree from Darius)
-God’s hand moving through
4's work and 8's resources
-9's promises:
-9a’s the glory of this
temple would exceed the former– vs. its physical appearance
-Herod would later expand
and spruce up the temple; by the time of Christ, it may have surpassed
Solomon’s temple in terms of physical glory (Mk 13:1)
-though maybe less gold,
clearly more glory thru Christ (Lk 2:32's
Simeon’s ‘glory’ in context of Jesus brought to temple as a baby; Ez 43:1-5)
-9b’s He would grant peace
in this temple
-very limited physical peace
for Jews
-spiritual peace available,
but ultimately fulfilled in Christ (Is 9:6b’s ‘prince of peace’, Eph 2:14's ‘our peace’; Zech 9:9-10, Jn 14:27)
–> both speak to necessity
of Christ coming while this temple stood! (as it turns out, pre-70 AD)
2:10-14's 3rd message
-10's date (about two months later)
–> 11’s questions from Haggai to the priests (vs.
a direct, prophetic statement)
-recognizing their authority
as teachers of the law &/or causing them to convict themselves for their
failure to adhere to the Law’s spirit
-12's 1st question: is consecration (clean)
contagious?
-no; unclean does not become
clean when it has contact with clean (vs. Lev 6:27, Ez 46:20)
-13's 2nd question: is defilement (unclean)
contagious?
-yes; clean become unclean
when it has contact with unclean (Num 19:13,22)
–> 14's by analogy, same held true for God’s
people at that time/place– and thus, most/all they had been ‘doing’ (incl.
building) and ‘offering’ was defiled
-holy with—vs. unholy
without—a Temple,
etc.
-implies they thought that
being in the Holy Land, working on a holy
place, or going to a holy place (doing holy things, observing temple rituals,
etc.)-- made them holy
-w/ app. to thinking that
going to church, acting moral, etc.– makes you a Christian!
-w/ app. to impure
hearts/motives defiling our work
-but see: bleeding woman
touching Christ’s robe, but her faith not her touch or Christ’s robe that
healed her (I Pet 3:1-2, I Cor 7:12-16, etc.)
-within ministry, w/ some
app. to impact of contact vs. compromise with the world; MH’s ‘The sum of these
two rules is that pollution is more easily communicated than
sanctification...There are many ways of vice, but only one of virtue, and that
a difficult one.’ (Gal 6:1ff)
-perhaps alluding to
problems later confronted by Ezra (Ez 9-10)
-note: a clear spiritual
application of a ceremonial law (with broader implications for proper OT
interpretation of the Law’s spirit)
2:15-19's 3rd message
(cont’d)
-15,18b,18c's ‘give careful thought to...’
(revisited; 1:5,7)
-again, focusing on the
disobedience and curses of the past (1:6-11)—15,18's post-foundation,
pre-rebuild the rest
-16's short grain heaps and
shallow wine vats
-19a's no seed stored up; no
fruit from vines or trees
-omission: both implicitly
withheld by God
-17a's blight, mildew, and
hail (Dt 28:22)
-commission: sent by God
–> 17b’s yet they did not
turn to Him (Amos 4:9)
–> an implicit warning
for them (and us) as well (I Kings 8:37-40)
-vs. 19b’s ‘from this day
on, I will bless you’ (Mal 3:7-9,10!)—for them and us
-what kind of blessings (Eph
1:3?)
-unconditional and as if a
fresh start; should motivate
-judgment and mercy; sin and
grace (1:5 vs. 2:3; Is 40:10-11, Mal 4:1-2)
-would bless them
immediately though the temple rebuilding was not complete (see: Lk 15's God as
eager to bless us vs. mandatory probation period)
-wants them to see cause and
effect vs. thinking it was luck as they had attributed their (mis)fortune
2:20-23's 4th message
-20's date: 2nd message on the same day
-21-23's message for Zerubbabel, the civil leader–
an especial need to encourage him (2:2 and why was a prophet necessary?!)?
-21's God would ‘shake the
heavens and the earth’ (revisited– 2:6; Zech 14)
-22a's macro: God would
‘overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms’
(revisited; Dan 2)
-22b’s micro: ‘overthrow
chariots and their drivers’ (Jud 4:15,
Ps 20:7); cause mounted soldiers to fall and be killed by the sword of their
brother (Jud 7:22, Ez
38:21, Zech 14:13)
-23's promise to make
Zerubbabel (His ‘servant’) into His ‘signet ring’ as His ‘chosen’
-‘servant’ as a terrific
complement
-‘chosen’ as wonderfully
endearing (see also: “take/make”; Eph 1:4-5, I Pet 2:4; w/ app. to pre-dest.)
-‘signet ring’ illustrates
authority and authenticity
-seems to reverse Jer
22:24-27's curse
-alludes to his genealogical
and leadership connection to Christ (Mt 1:12-13);
and fig. connection to Christ’s non-political reign (see: Zech 3's crowning of
Joshua)
-for us, Holy Spirit as that
seal (II Cor 1:21-22, Eph 1:13-14)
–> an eschatological ending– rebuilding the
temple as a way of preparing for the Messiah and understanding true worship–
not merely about reestablishing Jewish cultic worship (Mic 4:1-4)
–> Is 42:1,2-7 to close...
[1]Perhaps a different time
(and a 5th sermon), but unlikely given precision of dating elsewhere
and repeated use of ‘the Lord said...’ in same sermons.
