Book -- "Lessons From the Bible's Shortest Books" -- Ch. 2 -- Haggai

Chapter Two – Haggai

     The next of the little books that we will turn our attention to is the prophetic book known as Haggai.  While Haggai actually contains two chapters, it is still a little book by Biblical standards.  Like the other little books that we will study, Haggai has an important message for us today.

     Let’s start with a little bit of historical background surrounding the events that are recorded in this book.  In 586 BC, the people of the nation of Judah were carried off into captivity by the Babylonians.  This was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah.  Readers can study more about this by reading the book of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah is one of the outstanding characters in the Old Testament, and there is much to learn from the way that he conducted his life. 

     Because the people had rebelled against God and decided to worship idols instead of the True and Living God, the Lord allowed the Babylonians to conquer Judah.  One of those taken into captivity was Daniel.  In spite of being a young man in a strange land, Daniel throughout his life remained faithful to the Lord.  Ezekiel the prophet was also taken away during the Babylonian invasion.  I urge you all to read and study Daniel and Ezekiel in the Old Testament.

     After a period of several years, the Babylonians were defeated by the Medo-Persian Empire.  During the reign of the Persian king Cyrus, the Jewish people were allowed to return to their own land in order to rebuild something of their former lives.  This is referred to in Biblical history as the Post-Exilic Period. 

     The historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah provide great information about the return of the people to the land of Israel.  Nehemiah was in charge of rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem, and Ezra helped to keep the people on the path of faithfully following the way of the Lord.

     One thing that I find especially interesting is the fact that the period of captivity in Babylon ended the people’s practice of following other gods.  Israel committed other sins, but the nation did not wholesale turn to the gods of the nations that surrounded them again.

     Part of Israel’s restoration was the rebuilding of the nation’s religious life.  When Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, they completely and utterly destroyed the Temple that Solomon built.  They carried away all the precious objects from the Temple back to their own kingdom.  When the people returned to Jerusalem, they set about to rebuild the Temple that had once stood so gloriously in the midst of the city.  The people were led by a man named Zerubbabel who was a member of the House of David. 

     A man by the name of Joshua served the high priest.  He was specifically consecrated by God to serve in this role.  The consecration of Joshua the High Priest is recorded in the book of Zechariah the prophet.

     As I mentioned, the people began to rebuild their lives in Jerusalem.  They cleared away all of the rubble and debris from the Temple Mount, but that is as far as things went.  The people became distracted from the work on the Temple, and they started building houses for themselves and pursuing their own business interests.  Into this situation, God raised up the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi to speak to the people.

     Just on a side note, Zechariah is an extremely interesting book to study.  In contains prophecies concerning the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, and there are prophecies in the book related to the Lord’s Second Coming.  Malachi is concerned with getting the people to remember that God loves them, and that God’s people should strive to give their best unto the Lord. 

     Back to Haggai.  We don’t know much about the personal history of Haggai.  He pretty much just shows up on the scene, although his presence and ministry is recorded in the book of Ezra.

     Haggai’s name means festive.  He began his prophetic ministry to the people in the second year of the reign of King Darius on the first day of the sixth month.  In this prophecy, we will see that the Lord had grown tired of people focusing on their own needs and concerns while they were neglecting the things of God such as rebuilding the Temple.

     In his short period of ministry, Haggai would bring a message of both rebuke and encouragement.  He sought to motivate the people to return to the work of the Lord. 

     In Haggai 1:3, the prophet begins His word to the people by stating, “Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses while this house remains in ruin?”  In verse 7 the Lord would command the people to go into the mountains to obtain the timbers needed to begin construction on the Lord’s House.

     Haggai preached to the people and Governor Zerubbabel for 23 days.  On the 24^th day of the month, the people began to work.  Haggai gave an encouraging word from the Lord in 1:11.  The Lord said to His people, “I am with you.”  This statement stirred the hearts of the leader and his people to rise up and build a new Temple for the honor and glory of God.

     There is much that we can learn and apply to our lives from Haggai chapter 1.  I believe that the first important message that we can learn from Haggai is that those of us who are followers of the Lord need to put Him first in our lives. The people of Haggai’s day had neglected God and doing the things that God wanted them to do.  They didn’t seem to have the time to repair the Temple, yet they found the time to repair their own homes and do the things that they wanted to do.  There is no place in the text that states that the people stopped believing in the Lord, they just couldn’t be bothered with following the commandments of the Lord or putting the things of the Lord first in their lives.

     Two passages from the New Testament come to mind when I think about the people of Haggai’s time.  I recall the passage from Revelation 2:4 that states, “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”  Jesus spoke these words to the people of the church at Ephesus.  The people at this church were living for the Lord, but they were not following Him with all of their hearts. 

    The second passage that comes to mind is from the words of Jesus recorded in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus said to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first, and all of these other things would be added unto you. 

     So, how does all of this apply to us?  First of all, I believe the many of us our becoming more concerned about ourselves and we are neglecting the things of God.  I believe that this applies in two important areas, namely giving and fulfilling the Great Commission.

     Giving and the tithe are usually controversial subjects, but that doesn’t mean that we should shy away from them.  On the contrary, it is required of a minister to preach and proclaim the whole counsel of God.

     Because of the way that many media preachers constantly beg for money and lay a guilt trip on people, the concept of tithing has gotten something of a bad rap.  However, the tithe is most certainly Scriptural, and Jesus our Lord speaks about giving the tithe.

     Giving in the church has become very lax as far as the tithe is concerned.  Some polls have stated that the average level of giving among church members is around 2 to 3 percent.  This is a far cry from the tithe. 

     Let’s just look at a few of the Scriptures that teach about tithing.  The first mention of tithing is found in Genesis 14:20 when Abraham gave King Melchizedek 10 percent of the spoils after the defeat of the kings of the valley. 

     The principle of the tithe was codified in the Law of Moses.  We see this in Deuteronomy 14:22 and 26:12.

     One of the most startling verses about the tithe is found in Malachi 3:10.  God said that the people had robbed Him because they had not brought the tithe into the storehouse of the Temple.

     The Lord Jesus Himself spoke about the tithe.  Matthew 23 records the woes that Jesus pronounced upon the Pharisees and religious leaders of His day.  Jesus states in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.”  In other words, do acts of justice, mercy and kindness, and give the tithe.

     What does all this have to do with Haggai?  Well, we often focus on our own needs, and we don’t give unto the Lord what belongs to Him.  One way this is manifest is through giving.  When we keep back what should rightfully go to the Lord and use it for ourselves, we are acting in the same manner as those in Haggai’s time.

     We need to give to the Lord.  Now, I am not promising as the faith teachers do that if you give you’ll get something in return.  I don’t believe in that sort of thing.  What I am saying is that the giving of our resources is an important area of demonstration of our love for the Lord just like working on the Temple was in Haggai’s day.

     Now, a second area where I think that Haggai has application is regarding how we are fulfilling what we have been called by the Lord to do in the Great Commission.  Jesus has called us to go into the world and tell others of His message of love and forgiveness.  However, much of this world remains unreached.  Seventy percent of the people on earth right now are not Christians of any kind.

     Jesus spoke about the need for evangelization in John 4:35.  He said that the fields were white unto harvest, but the laborers were few.  In Matthew 28:19-20 and in Acts 1:8, Jesus instructs His followers to go unto the uttermost parts of the earth and make disciples.  Matthew 24:14 says, “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all, and then the end will come.”

     The majority of people sitting in church pews today have not had the experience of leading one soul to faith in Jesus Christ.  Here in the United States where I live, the number of Christians continues to decline.

     We need all Christians to follow the Great Commission of Jesus and spread His message around the world.  It will take our time, talent and resources in missions to see people come to the Lord.  Just as the exiles had the mission of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah and rebuilding the Temple, we have a mission of taking the Good News to the lost of this world. 

     On this point, I want to say a few words.  Putting the Lord first in our lives can also have a very personal meaning.  I believe that the Lord calls each of us to minister for Him in this world in some way.  It is up to us to follow the Lord’s will for our lives or to go our own way.  We can follow the Lord and be yielded to His will, or we can be like the prophet Jonah and attempt to go 180 degrees from the way the Lord has shown us to go.

     You can attempt to go your own way in your life, but you will never find true happiness and contentment unless you put Jesus first.  Until Jesus is the Lord of every aspect of your life, you cannot know true joy and peace.

     The prophet Haggai gave important words of encouragement to the people after he told them that God wanted them to get back to work.  Haggai 2:4 states, “Yet now be strong Zerubbabel, says the Lord, and be strong, Joshua son of Jehozidak, the high priest, and be strong, all of you people of the land says the Lord, and work, for I am with you says the Lord of hosts.”

     The Lord had assigned the people a task, and He would be with them to strengthen them in order to accomplish His will.  With the Lord on their side, the people were able to complete the work on the Temple.

     This same principle holds true in our time.  If the Lord Jesus gives you a task to complete or a commandment to follow, He will be with you and will provide the awareness of His presence as you go about His work in obedience. Also, if Jesus calls you to a specific ministry, He will help you do whatsoever it is that He has specifically called you to do.

     In a general sense, we as believers in Jesus can take comfort from these words of Jesus Himself.  Jesus said that He would never leave us and that He would never forsake us.  He said that He would be with us to the end of the age.

     The Lord is with us.  Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord leads us through the difficulties of this life, and He walks alongside of us to provide the comfort of His presence and of His still, small voice speaking into our hearts to let us know the true peace that only He can provide.

     I would like to speak to you for a few moments about how important the presence of the Lord has been in my life.  A few years ago, I faced four hard blows in my life right in a row.  First, my Mother suffered a debilitating stroke.  My Dad and I had to take care of her 24 hours a day for over five years until she passed away.  Four months after my Mom died, my Dad passed away.  About three months later, I faced a great financial setback from which I have yet to fully recover.  Then, on top of that, I had a series of health problems.

     Let me tell you, it was hard coping with all this hitting me one right after the other.  The only way that I was able to make it through these difficulties was due to the fact that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was with me. Through it all, He has been the rock down deep in my soul not letting me slip down to the very depths of depression. 

     If you are going through a bad time, please take comfort from the words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Haggai.  Jesus is always with us.  One day, we will be with Him in person, and we will spend all of eternity with Him.  What a great day that will be.

     Now we turn to the third important lesson that we can learn from the book of Haggai.  When the people heard the word of the Lord through Haggai, they obeyed the word given to them.  This is an important component of the Christian life.  Jesus told His disciples that they would be considered His friends if they obeyed His commandments.  Friendship and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ requires living in obedience to the teachings and commandments of Jesus. 

     I personally do not understand how someone can be a Christian if they are not willing to be obedient to the Lord.  I know that it wouldn’t work for me. 

     There is a belief that is popular among many Christians that one can accept Jesus as Savior without accepting Jesus as the Lord of one’s life.  From the way that I read the Bible, being a Christian means following Jesus.  It means making Jesus Lord and obeying Him.  It means following wherever He leads.

     Much of what the Lord requires of us is recorded in the pages of the Bible.  However, as I mentioned, I believe that the Lord has a personal calling that He often places on our lives.  We will not find true happiness in life unless we follow what God has called us to do.

     There is one final thing that I want to focus on from Haggai.  The last section of the book deals with how God will use the leader Zerubabbel.  God made a promise to David that someone from the line of David would always and forever rule over the house of Israel.  Zerubbabel was part of this fulfillment, but he was not the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.   The ultimate fulfillment of this covenant is Jesus.

     One day, Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He will rule over all, and all of the world will know peace and goodness and righteousness.

      I find this passage from Haggai encouraging because it shows me that God always keeps His promises.  This is important because the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.  I can count on this because God has shown in history that He does whatsoever He says. 

     Jesus made two promises that I can have confidence in that He will keep.  Jesus said that He is the resurrection and the life.  My parents and most of my friends who believed in Jesus have died.  But, I do not have to grieve as those who have no hope.  Jesus will keep His word.  I know that my family and friends are alive right now with Jesus in Heaven.

     Jesus also promised that He has gone to prepare a place for us.  If we believe and trust in Him, one day, we will be with Him where He is.  I look forward to the day when I am with Jesus my Lord and reunited with my friends and loved ones who are in Christ.

     This ends our look at the teachings of the Lord from the book of Haggai.  Let us now turn our attention to the shortest of Paul’s epistles and see what we can learn from Philemon.