Study Notes Ed Underwood

Haggai: Finish the Task! “I will also shake up all the nations, and they will offer their treasures; then I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord who rules over all.” (Haggai 2:7)

The seventeen Books of Prophecy record the messages of the writing prophets (those whose messages are preserved in writing) God raised up to speak for Him following the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The failings of the Divided Kingdom Era prompted God to speak to Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They continued to speak to God’s people for over 400 years, including the exile to Babylonia and the return to the Promise Land. (1 Kings 12-Esther) The prophets spoke for God to His people concerning the enforcement of terms of their covenant relationship with God. Each spoke to a specific generation of Israel or Judah to enforce the conditional covenant (Mosaic) in the context of the unconditional covenants flowing from the Abrahamic Covenant. Their message can be summed up in these sentences: You are mine! (Unconditional covenants, Romans 11:29). Walk with me and I will bless you. Walk away from me and I will call you back to myself through loving discipline (Conditional covenant, Romans 9-11).

The Jews had been living in exile in Babylonia for 70 years. They had not been able to practice their formal worship as the Mosaic Law prescribed, because the Babylonians had destroyed their Temple and they had no authorized altar for sacrifices. They were forced to settle for private and public prayers while facing toward Jerusalem (Daniel 6:10). They gathered in synagogues to hear the Law read and worship God in exile.

Imagine their joy when King Cyrus of Persia allowed them to return to their land in 538 B.C. The first wave of 50,000 Jewish pilgrims returned under the leadership of Zerubbabel. They enthusiastically rebuilt the brazen altar and resumed offering sacrifices, and laid the foundation for the reconstruction of the second Temple. They even celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles that first year. Envision their discouragement when Samaritan leaders with ties to the Persian authorities resisted their Temple construction. The former exiles felt threatened and unable to accomplish God’s first priority for the returning remnant—reestablish worship that glorifies Him. They went about their daily routine, and concentrated on rebuilding their lives—their businesses, their homes, and their farms—while ignoring their mandate to rebuild the Temple.

Sixteen years later, God called Haggai and Zechariah to expose their misplaced priorities and challenge them to rebuild the Temple, because God had greater plans for them than they ever imagined. In 520 B.C. Haggai delivered four short messages in four months. His message was simple and focused: Rebuild the Temple, because God has chosen you to glorify Him worldwide. The Temple is described as God’s dwelling place on earth, a center of worship, and as a symbol to the nations of YHWH’s greatness. “Interestingly, Haggai’s message has none of the elements so characteristic of the other biblical prophets. For instance, he wrote no diatribe against idolatry. He said nothing of social ills and abuses of the legal system, nor did he preach against adultery or syncretism. His one theme was rebuilding God’s temple.” (Robert L. Alden, “Haggai,” in Daniel-Minor Prophets, vol. 7 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 573)

This little book is a reminder to God’s people of all generations to assess their priorities, and to persevere against discouraging opposition in doing His will: Haggai’s words are emphatically authoritative: “Thus says the Lord” occurs 26 times in 38 verses.

I. CHALLENGE TO FINISH THE TEMPLE: In his first sermon, Haggai calls the nation back to their God-given priority—build the temple—and tells them that they have been living with the wrong priorities (1:1-15). Then, a month later, the prophet promises that the glory of the temple they are about to build will be greater than Solomon’s! (2:1-9)

Haggai: Rearrange your priorities and get on with serving God!

Messiah: The promise in Chapter 2, verse 9, pointed ahead to the crucial role the Second Temple would

have in God’s redemptive plan. Herod the Great would later spend a fortune on the project by enlarging and

enriching this temple. And it would be filled with the glory of God incarnate every time Christ came to

Jerusalem and entered the Temple. This is the same Temple Haggai’s audience was being challenged to

build.

II. PROMISE TO RECEIVE GOD’S BLESSING: Now joined by the voice of Zechariah, Haggai explains the perverse nature of evil and the problem of defilement in his third sermon. He promises God’s blessing to be upon the people, but they must repent and obey (2:10-19). Then, in the final sermon, Haggai promises God’s future blessings of His people demonstrated in his destruction of the nations and the future recognition of Zerubbabel (2:20-23).

HAGGAI AND YOU: The path of a follower of the Lord Jesus isn’t an easy one. Though He always provides the power and He is always with us, He asks us to do some hard things. Nevertheless, there is usually an initial enthusiasm for following Him, but invariably opposition and hardship discourage us. Haggai’s call to the returnees to finish the task exposes four common problems discouraged followers of God face that may make us lose heart and abandon our assignment.

Think of that one assignment the Lord Jesus has given you that now seems unattainable. Or maybe that one goal you’ve abandoned because of discouragement, opposition, and failure. Here are four mistakes we make that sidetrack us from our goals in Christ and in life:

1.Misplaced Priorities: The returnees got busy with everything else in life but building the Temple.Their days were filled with good things, but not the most important thing. Initial enthusiasm is great for getting started. But if we’re thinking that the initial enthusiasm we have for any ministry assignment or worthwhile endeavor in life will sustain us, we’re dreaming. A sure sign of maturity in life and in Christ is the understanding that “it” is always going to be much harder than we first envision. If we’re not prepared for hardship, we’ll turn our efforts and time toward secondary priorities, and convince ourselves that they are far more important than they really are in the long view or from God’s perspective.

2. Loss of Perspective: During the first year of rebuilding the Temple they were discouraged by comparison and intimidation. Some of the older people were telling them that the foundation they were laying was nothing compared to the greatness of Solomon’s Temple, and the Samaritans were telling them that they would persecute them if they didn’t stop building. Forgetting that they were called by their great big God to build this Temple, not Solomon’s, and forgetting that He is the God of history, they stopped building. When times are tough our naysayers and enemies feel far more persuasive and powerful than they actually are. If we’re not growing in our appreciation of the power and presence of our God, we’ll blow up our problems in our mind and quit.

3. Excessive Fears: Suddenly it seemed as if everything and everyone had turned against them, and they began to imagine frightening scenarios. And then those scenarios became so real in their minds that it froze them. Their Gentile tormentors and enemies would do “this” or “that” if we resisted them. If we’re not spending time in our Father’s Word and with His Son, His promises become less and less real to us, and the lies of our enemies and the possibilities of our problems become more and more “real.”

4. Unrealistic Expectations: The postexilic community thought that returning to the land would solve all their problems. Instead, their problems just began. “Why is this so hard?” Why aren’t we having more success?” Why don’t I see results?” are questions that we all ask. But when we become sidetracked by our naïve expectations, we’ll begin to either blame God for not “blessing” us in this endeavor, or we’ll decide that He must not have been “in this.”

QUESTION: What is that one area of your life where you’ve allowed the discouragement of hardship to sidetrack you? Tell a friend or your HUB group your frustrations and sit down with the Book of Haggai for insights on how to get back on track.