Haggai 2:20-23 - Tearing Down to Build Up
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
A man purchased a home. This home was an older home, but it was in the exact location that he desired to live. Because he was so excited about the location and because the housing market was booming at the time, he refrained from having a home inspection performed.
However, a little while after moving in, he noticed his nose was running all of the time. He cleaned the house from top to bottom but seemed to find no relief. He changed out the filters of his HVAC and even swept out the duct work. Still, no relief.
Then a few days later he noticed some dark spots around his baseboards. After doing some research he figured out that he was dealing with mold. After using some primer and paint, he covered the spots. That should take care of it, right?
Weeks later, he continued to have allergy issues, and his breathing even started to become affected. Every time he would come home he would start wheezing and gasping for air. And after doing some further exploration, he noticed that some other dark spots were developing near where he covered up the others.
He realized that this problem was much larger than he initially anticipated.
So he called in a professional to evaluate the situation. Upon a detailed home inspection, it was noted that there was mold throughout every single wall of the home. The inspector suspected that this home had previously had flood damage and the damage had been covered over in order to sell the home. The inspector recommended that the home be completely torn down and rebuilt from the ground up due to the severity of the problem.
The entire home would need rebuilt. There was no salvaging this home in its current state.
As we read our Scripture for today, we are going to see what God had to do for sinful man. Mankind needed a Savior. And the only way this Savior could save them was to completely make them new. The old had to go and the new had to come. We will get into more about this later in our sermon.
And we also see in our Scripture for today that God will need to rebuild this entire world as well. The sin of the world is so deep that it must be destroyed and remade in the glorious state that it was meant to be.
Join me as we read these four power-packed verses to end our journey through Haggai.
Read Full Scripture:
The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month,
“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth,
and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
Prayer
We are going to hear this word ‘shake’ many times today. And when you hear this word, don’t think of shaking in a disordering type of way. Think of shaking like one who is working with a strainer. Yet the goal of this strainer is to keep that of substance in the container and allow the chaff to go through the holes. In the end, a pure substance remains. God’s shaking in today’s Scripture is meant to be purifying in nature. Yes, there is destruction involved, but the end goal is restoration of a pure creation and a pure and holy people set apart for His glory.
Today we will see two promises of God played out in the last four verses of the book of Haggai. The first is…
I. God Has Promised to Shake the Nations (20-22)
I. God Has Promised to Shake the Nations (20-22)
The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month,
This is the 5th time that the word of the Lord has come through Haggai. But interestingly, this Word of the Lord comes on the same day as the Word that we discussed last week! The people are given two prophecies in one day! We discussed last week that this was a day for Israel to remember - it was a day of blessing. And now we see that this day is a day to remember even further because it is a day of promise as well!
One other thing to note before moving into the meat of this passage is that there is a curious absence of King Darius in this date given. Three out of five dates in this book (Haggai 1:1, 1:15, 2:10) mention Darius. Note that his previous message of the same day did include the name of King Darius.
Yet this last message is one of both eschatological (meaning end times) and Messianic purposes. King Darius will be far removed in the pages of history when these prophecies are fulfilled. Haggai is focused on a lasting King and not one who will fall off of the pages of history. He is focused on the King of Kings.
And the Word of the Lord starts in verses 21:
“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth,
The Word of the Lord begins by addressing Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. This initial greeting must have reminded the people of where things currently were in their nation. As we mentioned before, Zerubbabel was of the line of David. He was the grandson of King Jehoiachin and would have likely been king had the exile had not come. But instead he is governor. He is a glorified figurehead of Judah, and he carries no real power or authority.
Yet God does address this man of line of David and no one else in this message. Joshua the Priest was left out. The remnant of Israel was left out of this message. Only Zerubabbel is addressed. Why? Because this is a message that will be fulfilled through the royal line of David and not the priests - namely this is both a Messianic and eschatological message that points to Jesus Christ who came from the line of David with Zerubabbel being an ancestor of Christ (Matthew 1:12-13).
Moving forward we are told that the Lord is about to shake the heavens and the earth. It is clear that this is a cosmic statement. It is overarching and bigger than just one small area. This judgment is far reaching and will affect everything and everyone. This judgment is more than just a physical shaking. As we will see in a moment, all of creation will be shaken.
And the Lord’s use of the phrase ‘about to shake’ or ‘will shake’ in some translations points to imminence of this promise. It will happen. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it is happening currently or in a few moments. But it is a promise that is sure. You can count on this. God will take care of business. He will shake the heavens and the earth.
Verse 22 gives us some more detail about what effects that this shaking produces. There are four effects that we should note. The first is:
Haggai 2:22 (ESV)
and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
1. Overthrow the throne of kingdoms - namely Satan’s throne.
Note that the term throne is singular in nature. There are many so-called thrones on earth. There are many leaders who lead their people corruptly.
Consider the ungodly, dictatorial leaders who rail against God and persecute His church such as Xi Jinping of China and Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Listen to the Psalmist discuss men such as these and others like them:
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
These wicked men rage and set themselves up against the Lord. They have set themselves up against the Lord and His Anointed. They seek to be liberated from their accountability before God. They seek to be liberated from having to worship anyone but themselves.
What is God’s response? He laughs and holds them in derision - meaning ridicule! Who do these tiny men think they are in the presence of Almighty God! He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury. There will be a time where there will be no evil any longer. God will judge evil and cast all of those who are evil into the Lake of Fire - namely Hell.
And the evil throne above all other evil thrones on earth is that of Satan. Listen to one of the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation - namely the letter to the Church in Pergamum.
Revelation 2:13a (ESV)
“ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.
Hear that again - I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. My friends, the wicked rulers of this world are not authoritative in and of themselves. They are pawns of Satan. When world leaders push agendas such as sexual deviance including homosexuality and transgender ideologies or child murder under the guise of pro-choice or atheism and other false religions - they are acting under the authority of their father the Devil.
But God promises to one day shake the heavens and the earth. And He will overthrow the throne of this world. No longer will Satan have power. He will be eternally judged.
Moving back to our scripture we come to the next promise from God in His shaking of the nations.
Haggai 2:22 (ESV)
and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
2. He will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations.
God has done this time and time again in the history of our world. Nations have arisen and nations have fallen. At the time of Haggai’s prophesy, Persia was in power. Yet by 330 BC, this once great empire fell to Alexander the Great. In the future, all of the great nations of the earth will be shaken and destroyed. God will remove all wickedness from the earth.
Next we see that God will…
Haggai 2:22 (ESV)
and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
3. Overthrow the chariots and their riders.
This statement is one of remembrance of Israel and the Red Sea crossing that we mentioned last week. He drowned all of Pharaoh's army in the depths of the Red Sea as the waters collapsed on them (Exodus 14:27-31). No earthly army can withstand the power of the Lord.
And finally we see another way God will shake everything…
Haggai 2:22 (ESV)
and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
4. He will destroy evil persons by the sword of his brother.
God reminds Israel yet again of His previous works as He makes His promise to shake the heavens and the earth. In the book of Judges we read of the account of Gideon. The Lord calls Gideon to lead an army against Midian. Gideon and his people had been mistreated by the nation of Midian for years. The Midianites would steal their grain and plunder them time and time again. But at last God raised up Gideon to lead the people of Israel to fight against Midian. In an amazing display of His power, God sent home all but 300 men after starting with 32,000 men of age for battle! And one must realize that the Midianite army consisted of 135,000 soldiers (Judges 8:10)! So they were vastly outnumbered even before God sent the majority home!
In a remarkable display of His sovereignty and power, we see the outcome of this battle in Judges 7:22:
Judges 7:22a (ESV)
When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army…
At the blowing the trumpets, the people of Midian turned on one another and ended up killing each other.
As God shakes the nations in the future, evil will turn upon evil. God will again thwart the plans of the evil one and show His mighty power.
Note that all of this work of overthrowing evil is done by God. God will do it all. All glory and honor and praise is to Him alone.
My friends, God will fulfill what He promises. This initial promise is an eschatological promise - meaning that it has to do with the end times. God will wipe out evil. He will overthrow all of the evil kingdoms of this world and set up His own kingdom that will never end. His final judgment will be swift, thorough and complete. Evil will be gone forever.
Brothers and sisters, I am sure we can all get frustrated and downcast as we look at the world around us. The rulers of this world are vastly corrupt. Many have obtained their leadership by unjust means such as usurping power and gaining power by using force. Many leaders of the nations fleece their people and live as kings while their people starve. Others corruptly handle matters through the unjust means of assassinations, poisonings, and threats.
And a great many rulers either persecute the church directly or defame Christ by false teachings that sinful behaviors are okay with God.
With all of this going on around us, we can be tempted to feel as if we have no hope. We can be tempted to be complacent and quit fighting the good fight.
But I pray that as we read this Scripture today we do two things:
Remember what God has done in the past and look forward to what God has promised to do in the future.
Hope comes from reflection and remembrance.
We must reflect on what God has done and remember what God has promised He will do!
And my friends, God promises to take care of evil once for all one day. We can count on Him as His promises are sure and He never fails.
As we await the final eschatological fulfillment of this great passage of Scripture, Haggai reveals to us another great promise of God as well...
Scripture References: Haggai 1:1,15, Matthew 1:12-13, Haggai 2:10, Psalm 2:1-6, Revelation 2:13a, Exodus 14:27-31, Judges 8:10, Judges 7:22
II. God Has Promised to Offer Salvation to the Nations (23)
II. God Has Promised to Offer Salvation to the Nations (23)
On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
Haggai starts with the phrase ‘on that day.’ This future promised day is mentioned some 25 times in the book of Zechariah and 8 times in the book of Malachi. We see it mentioned even by some of the earlier prophets such as Hosea, Joel, and Amos as well. So what is this future day that the prophets speak of?
Time would fail us to do a thorough study of the ‘Day of the Lord’ that is to come. This speaks of the eschatological promise that we saw in our first point. He will shake the nations and everything will be made right. This day of the Lord is a time of judgment on the ungodly and evil and a time of blessing for the righteous.
Yet, this day does not come without One who comes from the line of David coming first who shook the heavens and earth as well.
God will one day shake the nations and make everything right. This is a coming promise of God. But there was another promise to come before the final and complete shaking of the heavens and the earth. We mentioned this a couple of weeks ago already, but we see it mentioned here again.
When Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross - He shook the heavens and the earth.
This first shaking by Christ’s death and resurrection was both literal (Matthew 27:51) and spiritual (Revelation 1:18).
The shaking was literal as we see in Matthew 27:51
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
The heavens and the earth were literally shaken. Even the sun refused to shine that day (Matthew 27:45)!
And it was spiritual in the fact that the keys of death and Hades were given to Christ. His death atoned for the the sins of the world - namely for those who would humble themselves before Him, admit they are a sinner and in need of a Savior, repent of their sins, and place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. See Revelation 1:18:
and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
He died but now He lives Church!
Listen to that again, my friends.
He died but He is alive forevermore!
Do you believe that? Do you truly believe that He is alive forevermore. Do you truly believe that He has the power over death and the grave? That in His name there is salvation for your soul?
I pray that you do brothers and sisters. There is no more important decision that you have to make than whether Jesus Christ is who He says He is.
Christ’s first coming wasn’t the final shaking that we see coming during the day of the Lord. But the earth was certainly visibly shaken and the trajectory of lost souls was shaken for all eternity. God brought salvation to all of the nations through Christ. The Gentiles - or those who are not Jews (namely us!) - were given access to the Father through Jesus Christ.
And this all came through this signet mentioned in Haggai 2:23
Haggai 2:23 (ESV)
On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
If you recall, Darius was not mentioned in this section. Yet see his signet pictured here:
This signet was extremely powerful during King Darius’ reign. It was a legal guarantee that symbolized the authority of the king. The words on the side actually say:
“I am Darius the great king.’
Note it didn’t say the humble king!
The picture shows King Darius hunting wild lions under the protection of his patron deity above him.
When people saw this signet, they knew it meant business. Whatever contained this seal meant it was not negotiable and was as if it was written in stone.
Yet, Darius’ signet has nothing on God’s signet. Darius’ signet would eventually pass away and have no authority. Today, if you tried to sign something using his signet, it would mean absolutely nothing.
But God’s signet, or in Hebrew His hotam (hoh-tawm), is eternally authoritative. And here we see Zerubbabel, chosen as a signet ring unto the Lord. The Lord has sealed him with a promise that his lineage would bring about salvation. His line would be protected. God would give confirmation of His choosing of Zerubbabel at that time by the completion of the temple around 515-516 BC.
But this governor of Judah who had no real power was not the true Savior to come. Through his line would come Jesus Christ.
And for those who would come after Christ and place their faith and trust in Him, they can now be sealed by the signet ring of God. By believing in Jesus Christ, we are sealed by God. We are given the Holy Spirit and the authority of God Himself rests upon us.
I pray that each person in this room today has been sealed by God. I pray that all of us have the guarantee of eternal life offered freely by Jesus Christ through His death on the cross.
But if not, God stands ready to give you a guarantee of eternal life. See this promise given in 2 Corinthians 1:22:
and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
When you come to a saving knowledge of Christ, you are given the Holy Spirit and you are born again. The old is gone and the new has come. He gives you a new heart. How amazing is this promise from God.
Friends, be sure that you have been sealed by the signet ring of God - namely through Jesus Christ. Because He is the only way of salvation. John 14:6 states:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Scripture References: Matthew 27:51, Matthew 27:45, Revelation 1:18, 2 Corinthians 1:22, John 14:6
Conclusion:
As we come to a close today, I pray that you have a clearer picture of the plans and promises of God. I pray that you have examined your own heart to see if you have been born again and if you have been sealed and saved by Christ.
And I pray that you have hope in the fact that God will make everything right one day. This world is evil. But one day, God is going to shake the heavens and the earth in such a way as to remove all evil and rebuild everything to perfection.
Until that day, persevere my friends.
Continue fighting the good fight. And love and serve your Savior.
Prayer