We are continuing on in our series on the prophet Haggai. Today we look at his second major message in chapter 2:1-9.
Introduction
As we saw last week in Haggai’s first message, God challenged the people to build the temple. They thought that bad economic times meant they should delay the work. But God told them that the hard times were a result of their not working; of their disobedience; of focusing on their own houses and not God’s house. So they should get to work on the temple. And this is what they did. They began to work about three weeks later.
Haggai gave his second message on October 17th, 520 BC. This was during the feast of tabernacles which was a time to remember how God brought them “out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:43). Everyone would have been gathered together in Jerusalem for this event. Once again the message is for Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the high priest (the two leaders) and “all the remnant of the people” – v 2.
The background to the message is that –
The people are discouraged
It had been about seven weeks after Haggai’s first message to begin work on the temple, and about three weeks after they began. And it was becoming clear to them that they would not be able to equal the glory the temple used to have, before its destruction. The building would be much the same in design and size, but it would lack the gold and silver – the carvings, items overlaid in gold, the numerous utensils and treasures. They simply didn’t have the resources to provide all this. So they felt their rebuilt temple would be shabby by comparison.
A part of this is that when Haggai spoke this message, as we saw, it was the feast of tabernacles. This was when Solomon dedicated his elaborately ornate temple – 1 Kings 8:2. And so this would have brought back memories of it, as well as the inevitable comparisons between what Solomon produced and their efforts. And the crowds gathered for this holiday may well have made critical comments about the building project. ‘It will never be the same.’ ‘It’s better to do nothing, than to do a poor job.’ ‘What are they thinking?’
And so, after beginning the work, the leaders and workers were now discouraged. This brings us to –
God’s message
Haggai asked the people gathered in Jerusalem, “Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?” – v. 3. There would have been a few old enough to remember the temple as it was before it was destroyed 66 years before.
And he acknowledges what these people were saying and thinking, this temple is “nothing” in comparison. It lacked gold and silver. It lacked glory; the glory suitable for the one true God.
But the Lord speaks words of encouragement to them. Despite all this, he tells them to keep up the work! v. 4 – “Yet 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.” He tells them to be strong three times, once to each of the parties that are addressed by the message. He is saying, even though your work looks insignificant, and others are criticizing it – don’t let that cause you to stop.
Rather, the Lord says, “Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.” – vs. 4-5. God has promised to be with them, according to the covenant. God has not abandoned them. And his presence is more than enough to sustain them and empower them to do his will, despite obstacles. And so they should not fear failure and thus give up, but continue to work.
After these words of encouragement to the people, comes an amazing prophecy that –
God will take care of the glory. God will provide glory for this temple. vs. 6-8: “For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.”
The basic point here is that God is going to do something “so that the treasures of all nations shall come in and I will fill this house with glory.” God is going to personally take care of what is causing them to be discouraged. What they don’t have, he will provide. As he says in v. 8, the silver and gold are all his, and so he can bring all that he wants.
In the background here is the Exodus out of Egypt, which Haggai has already mentioned, and the people would have been thinking about as they celebrated the feast of tabernacles. Two things in particular from this are highlighted:
1. At the Exodus, God shook the earth. This refers to how God “shook” up Egypt so that Israel could escape. Several Scriptures speak of this in terms of the whole earth trembling and shaking – Psalm 77:18; Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 68:8. God shook the order of things and caused his will to be done.
God is saying he will do this “yet once more,” just like at the time of the Exodus. (So here, as elsewhere, the return of the exiles is seen as a second Exodus). vs. 6-7 – “I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations . . ..”
2. At the Exodus, God brought forth treasures. When the people left Egypt, the Egyptians gave them gold and silver – Exodus 12:35-36. And it was no doubt from this that gold and silver was later given to make the original sanctuary in the wilderness – Exodus 35:21-29.
In the same way, God will shake the nations again. Why? v. 7 – “so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory.” So what they don’t have in resources – gold and silver – God will provide, just as he did at the time of the Exodus.
And finally, the Lord says in v. 9: “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.” The temple that they are working on, which seems so meager in comparison with the one before – will become more glorious than before! So, if the source of their discouragement was that their temple was not as glorious – God gives them a look into the future to say that it will be more glorious.
And God will give peace or wholeness through the temple. God will accomplish through it what it was meant to accomplish.
God shares all this with them, to encourage them not to give up, but to keep working.
The fulfillment. Just briefly, this prophecy was literally fulfilled in stages: 1. Within months of the prophecy, as it says, in “a little while,” Darius, the ruler of the nations of the world, paid for the expenses of building the temple – Ezra 6:8. So they had all that they needed to build and furnish the temple as it should be.
2. About 60 years later, Artaxerxes, ruler of the nations of the world, gave treasures for the temple – Ezra 7. He himself gave silver and gold, plus v. 16 speaks of “all the silver and gold in the whole province of Babylonia . . .” being available.
3. And then, still hundreds of years later, Herod made this temple literally more glorious than Solomon’s. It became a true wonder in the ancient world.
Let me also say very briefly that this prophecy will also be fulfilled in a spiritual way with the coming of the kingdom, with regard to the spiritual temple. Hebrews 12:26-29 applies this prophecy of shaking the nations (at least in part) to the coming of the eternal kingdom. And Revelation 21:26 says that “they will bring into [the new Jerusalem] the glory and the honor of the nations,” referring to Haggai 2 and several other Scriptures.
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Now there are lots of lessons in these verses – about God’s ability to look into the future, about God’s control over the nations, about God’s ability to provide – but I want to focus on the central theme, and say to you –
Be encouraged as you do God’s work
It is easy to become discouraged in the work of God, just like these people were. If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that we don’t have the resources to do God’ work like it should be done; that our work is as “nothing” like Haggai said their temple was as “nothing.”
We will be criticized, just as, no doubt, some criticized their work on the temple. And our work will be compared unfavorably to others, like their work was compared to the former temple and was determined to be not as glorious.
But as Haggai said, we too need to “be strong” – v. 4. We need to keep working – v. 4 and not allow our lack of resources, criticism and comparisons to stop us from doing God’s work. And we need to stop fearing failure or set backs – v. 5.
For just like with them, God is with us to help us, to empower us and to sustain us. And God will provide what we lack. Here it was material resources, but whatever it is – inner strength, talents, skills – God will make up for our lack of resources if we are doing his will and work. And even if it looks meager now, we can know that God will give true significance and value to our work. God is able to do that.
So be encouraged. It’s not about what we do or can do. It’s about what God can do and will do through us. Let’s keep this lesson in mind as we prepare to do God’s work in Kentucky this week and next week with Vacation Bible School.
William Higgins
Christian teaching 