The book of Haggai has FOUR messages for the people of God, to encourage them to return to the rebuilding of God’s house.
• Today we will end this book with Haggai’s fourth and last message.
- The first message was a wake-up call for them to return to God’s work.
- The second message was an assurance that God is with them and will help them.
- The third message was a reminder to stay clean and obedient to God.
- In this last message God spoke to Zerubbabel to assure him of a great future.
Let’s read Haggai 2:20-23. The shortest of the 4 messages.
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Haggai gave his first Word from the Lord on the 1st day of the 6th month (1:1).
• The second was given on the 21st day of the 7th month (2:1), 1½ month later.
• The third on 24th day of the 9th month (2:10), nearing 4 months, and the fourth message was on the same day, God spoke a second time on the same day.
• Haggai gave 4 messages from God over a span of 4 months. Short but significant.
They started work on God’s house on the 24th day of the 6th month (1:15), and the message we read came on the 24th of the 9th month; that just 3 months into the work.
• How long did they take to complete this Temple? 4½ years (Ezra 6:15). They completed it on 12th month of King Darius’ 6th year. It’s now in the King’s 2nd year.
• It was at the early stage of the rebuilding and clearly the challenges were there.
But God did not abandon His people. He spoke to address their needs.
• Haggai was there for 4 months but God had another prophet Zechariah, who spoke throughout the rebuilding until its completion, and even beyond.
• We will be looking at his messages beginning next Sunday, the book of Zechariah.
Ezra 5:1 “Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.”
Ezra 6:14 “So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.”
Don’t undermine your ministry even though you think it is SMALL and SHORT.
• Haggai’s work was significant, almost life-changing. Many significant works of God were short but life-changing, like John the Baptist and Jesus.
• God speaks to encourage His people and urges them into doing His will, THEN AND NOW. He is doing the same today. We respond to His call to serve and do His will.
The difficulties will be there and we can be discouraged. The remedy to that is to HEAR the Word of God again, like what is happening here.
• God speaks to His people to get them back to His work, to stay on track and finish it, despite all the difficulties.
• Not that the task is easy but that this is the will of God for them.
The fourth message was specifically given to Zerubbabel, the leader of the group.
• God directed his attention away from the present problems to the glorious future He has planned for Israel and particularly through Zerubbabel’s family.
• God states what He will do (six times he says I WILL). One is to establish His Kingdom, the other to make Zerubbabel like His signet ring.
• And no earthly powers can stand in the way of what God has planned.
FIRST PROPHESY OR PROMISE
From the words that the Lord used about shaking heavens and earth, overthrowing royal thrones, shattering of the power of foreign kingdoms, overthrowing chariots and drivers, horses and riders, there are terms familiar to Zerubbabel.
• They were warfare references about the powers of the nations that Israel has been contending with over the centuries.
• They were formidable forces and Zerubbabel was likely intimidated. A leader of a small nation that has just returned from captivity, surrounded by bigger nations and under the rule of a huge empire, Judah looked really small.
• Coupled with the difficulties of rebuilding the Temple, we could imagine how Zerubbabel might have felt. We heard it already in Haggai’s second message.
If we listen to what Zechariah says, we will have a clearer picture.
(I’m not going to say much because we are covering the book of Zechariah, but just want to quote you two verses from Zechariah 4.)
• Zech 4:7 "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of `God bless it! God bless it!'"
• Zech 4:9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
• “Don’t worry. It will be completed. You will finish it.” And 4:6 “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
The task was daunting and the future uncertain, but Zerubbabel was God's chosen man and this is the work of God! Ultimately the success would not be really his. It’s God’s.
Back to Haggai, God spoke to say He has a future for this place. He will establish His Kingdom. God knows what He is going to do. God is sure what He will do.
• It does not matter how powerful the foreign kingdoms are, or the number of chariots or drivers, horses or riders they have.
• God will restore His rule through His Kingdom and no earthly powers can stop it.
And more specifically came the second prophesy.
SECOND PROPHESY OR PROMISE.
2:23 “‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, `I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, `and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty.”
On that day, at a time in the future, a day God has determined, He will take Zerubbabel and make him like His signet ring.
• Now we know what a signet ring means, having gone through the book of Esther.
• It’s a seal used by the monarchs then to approve decrees and edicts. It signifies the authority of the King. It denotes the power of a King.
• Through Zerubbabel, God says the power and the authority of a King will be restored.
In giving this promise, God addressed him as “His servant” for the first time.
• Zerubbabel has been referred to as the governor of Judah all the time, but now he was called “His servant”. And God has CHOSEN him for this purpose.
• It has to do with his descendants. Zerubbabel was the direct descendant of King David and the Lord says through this family will come someone who will rule as a King, over his kingdom
ON THAT DAY. One day in the future. It’s not going to happen in Zerubbabel’s lifetime.
• He did not see anyone in his family ruling on a throne. He did not live to see any foreign kingdoms being overthrown.
• Who is this person? Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of David, the descendant of Zerubbabel.
Look at the genealogies of Jesus and we can see that (Gospel of Matthew and Luke):
• Matt 1:12 “After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel…” Listing from Abraham to David to Zerubbabel to Christ.
• Luke 3:27 “the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel…” Tracing back from Jesus to Zerubbabel to David and Adam.
God will usher in His Kingdom through Jesus Christ, not a physical one but a spiritual one. He will rule as King, not over a political kingdom, but in our hearts and lives.
• Through Zerubbabel, His servant and chosen one, God will ultimately fulfil His plan of salvation for mankind through the coming of Jesus Christ, His Son and our Saviour.
This promise was given to Zerubbabel to give him comfort and hope. He has to believe God and see this by faith.
• If he heard these words and hoped that it would be fulfilled in his lifetime, he would have died a very disappointed man.
• He has to take God at His Word and trust that in God’s perfect time, the King will come. God will fulfil what He said here ON THAT DAY.
In the meantime, Zerubbabel has to stay strong and work. He will, by God’s help, finish the work he started.
• Whatever he was doing has great significance in God’s scheme of things, the salvation plan for the world.
The future is God’s future. He has a plan and He is in control of His plan.
There was this typo error in a church’s ad promoting an event in their church: “Our God Reigns”. The typist typed in an extra S in the middle. The title becomes “Our God Resigns”.
One letter makes all the difference! And many today are living with this typo error intact, God has resigned!
Someone said it well, our faith is not in knowing what the future holds, but in knowing who holds the future.
• Our God has not resigned. He reigns!
• No matter what happens, we stay faithful to God and do the work of God.
Over the study of the past few books, we have seen how God guarded His salvation plan for us.
• He was determined to bring Jesus into our world to save us from sin, from the sin of not wanting God.
• I hope you can see His love for you. Don’t take it lightly. Your salvation in Jesus Christ is His utmost concern. Do not ignore Jesus.
[Close with the story of the hymn BECAUSE HE LIVES.]
PRAYER:
Thank you Lord for the reminder that You are seated enthroned and sovereignly in control. The future is Your future. You reign and we trust You. AMEN.
