The Bible Series Haggai
Notes
Transcript
Webster defines TIME this way: a non-spatial continuum that is measured in terms of events (priorities) which succeed one another from past through present to future
“I don’t have enough time”
“I will get to it when I find time”
“I wish I had more time”
Quotes on time
Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back. Harvey Mackay
The key is in not spending time, but in investing it. – Stephen R. Covey.
The philosopher William James once said, “The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
It was once stated that in order to know one’s PRIORITIES all you need to do is look at their bank statements and observe how they use their time!
As we look at the book of Haggai we are going to see God’s Priorities!… and I hope we will reflect on our own priorities.
26 times in this short 38 verses we see Haggai use the phrase “Thus says the Lord of host” or as the NLT states it “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says.” phrase similar to this!
God is speaking and Haggai makes this very clear… We need to listen!
In this brief book we are going to see a great deal of common sense!
Haggai is short, clear and concise!
We don’t see the graphic imagery of other prophets
The Setting of Haggai
The Setting of Haggai
Israel has returned from their 70 year exile in Babylon
They are rebuilding their lives… 14 years of neglect has occured with the Temple
Zerubbabel is Governor but not king (descendant of David)
The Messiah is also portrayed in the person of Zerubbabel: “ ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel…and I will make you as a signet ring; for I have chosen you’ ” (2:23).
Zerubbabel becomes the center of the messianic line and is like a signet ring, sealing both branches together.
Solomon’s line and Nathan’s line (descendants of King David)
Joshua is the High Priest
Haggai is the first prophet to go to the people after their exile
Haggai records 4 unique messages from the Lord...
Haggai is set apart as unique in the fact that the people actually heed these messages!
My prayer is that we too will heed what God has to say to us, looking at His
Priorities
Perspective
Purity
Promise
Haggai 1:1-11 Haggai states God’s reproof of the people… God’s Priorities
On August 29 of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord gave a message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’ ” Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. I have called for a drought on your fields and hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.”
Haggai Overview
Haggai Overview
God’s 1st Message August 29, 520 B.C.
Refocus Your Priorities!
God is scolding Israel here… he addresses the leadership first (they lead the people)
Yet the people are induced here with the message
Proverbs 3:12 is crucial for us to remember here… NLT
For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
God poses questions for consideration… Scrutinize your ways and thinking people
Are your homes, things, and priorities more important than your worship & relationship with God?
Are you going to slack in your worship of me?
Is what you are doing really working out for you?
I will continue to oppose the work you do for selfish ambitions
God must be put first and foremost in our lives
This was a testimony to watching nations and people
These people did not put a great deal of priority on their God or worshiping Him!
God is a jealous God!
God says WORK! Our relationship with Him deserves and requires effort from you and me.
Haggai 1:12-15 is a beautiful response of the people...
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of God’s people began to obey the message from the Lord their God. When they heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom the Lord their God had sent, the people feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord: “I am with you, says the Lord!” So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, on September 21 of the second year of King Darius’s reign.
They obeyed! Oh how our God loves obedience!
They began Refocusing their priorities and renewed their priority to God!
The spirit stirred within them! When we obey, and work at our relationship He works in us!
Consider what Romans 8:9 NLT
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
We need to realize… if the Spirit is not working in and through you… CONSIDER THIS: You may not be His!
Haggai 2:1-9 goes on to share the second message from God...
Then on October 17 of that same year, the Lord sent another message through the prophet Haggai. “Say this to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of God’s people there in the land: ‘Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all! But now the Lord says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.’ “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
God’s 2nd Message October 17, 520 B.C.
Renewed Perspective!
The leaders and people are discouraged… REMEMBER Solomon’s Temple!
Comparison brings discouragement!
GOD RESPONDS
Take Courage! Don’t grow weary of working forward, don’t look back… I Am With You (My Spirit)!
We don’t work alone church… He is working far harder in this relationship than you or I ever will!
Something Greater is coming…
First, as Paul declared to the church in 1 Corinthians… You and I are now the Temple of the Spirit of God!
Secondly, when Christ returns and establishes His throne… That temple will be magnificent!
Church, don’t grow discouraged in comparison games… don’t look at the past, start today looking ahead to what God wants to do!
He who began a good work in you (Jesus’ salvation) will complete it!
Haggai 2:10-19 declares from God a picture of true worship and purity...
On December 18 of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord sent this message to the prophet Haggai: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says. Ask the priests this question about the law: ‘If one of you is carrying some meat from a holy sacrifice in his robes and his robe happens to brush against some bread or stew, wine or olive oil, or any other kind of food, will it also become holy?’ ” The priests replied, “No.” Then Haggai asked, “If someone becomes ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person and then touches any of these foods, will the food be defiled?” And the priests answered, “Yes.” Then Haggai responded, “That is how it is with this people and this nation, says the Lord. Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin. Look at what was happening to you before you began to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple. When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty. I sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy everything you worked so hard to produce. Even so, you refused to return to me, says the Lord. “Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.”
God’s 3rd Message December 18, 520 B.C.
Spiritual Purity!
Our disobedience renders our worship of God useless and unacceptable
There is a challenge… “From this day forward”!
We cannot have one foot in the world, enjoying its empty pleasures… with one foot with God desiring His True riches!
God wants and demands our full worship of Him
Haggai 2:20-23… God delivers the same day a promise of Hope...
On that same day, December 18, the Lord sent this second message to Haggai: “Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, that I am about to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow royal thrones and destroy the power of foreign kingdoms. I will overturn their chariots and riders. The horses will fall, and their riders will kill each other. “But when this happens, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, I will honor you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant. I will make you like a signet ring on my finger, says the Lord, for I have chosen you. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
God’s 4th Message December 18, 520 B.C.
Promise of HOPE! Response…
As God looked down, seeing the leaders, the people responding in obedience to Him He encourages them in their work with HOPE...
One day the Messiah will come… He would build a new temple (His Church)
One day the Messiah will rule… The Son of David will once again sit on the throne and rule forever!
Your Priorities...
Your Priorities...
God cares about how you prioritize your time, life, and efforts...
How are you prioritizing your time?
It is time to WORK in your relationship and worship of God
STOP comparing with others, the past, or temporal things
CONSIDER what God expects from you!
It is time to consider where we have been disobedient, REPENT, and then OBEY, and take some action, give effort in our worship of Him
We are a Temple … there is a requirement for purity in how we live!
Let us take the TIME and effort to live in the power of the Holy Spirit!