In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, '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? 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. 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. 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 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.'" Haggai 2:1-9 ESV
Discouragement is something that all of us face at one time or the other. As we have seen in the book of Haggai, it hit the Jews hard as they were rebuilding the temple. But God had a plan for the Jews and He has a plan for you. God has a design for your life and God promises to take your life and what you are doing, fill it with his glory, and make your labors with a million times more than you ever imagined. So to help the discouraged Jews God has said:
1. Be strong (verse 4)
2. Fear not (verse 5)
3. Work! (verse 4)
II. Why can God give these three demands upon the Jews and us?
1. He is the Lord of hosts
First, who was telling these people, "Be strong," "Do not fear," and "Work"? Notice that Haggai used one particular name for God six times in these nine verses? It’s the name translated as “The LORD of Hosts.” If you look closely at the text, you’ll discover the word “LORD” is capitalized because it refers to the Hebrew word Yahweh, which is God’s personal name. The word “Hosts” translates the Hebrew word sabbaoth, which means “the armies of earth and heaven.” Literally, meaning “He who is sovereign over all the powers of earth and heaven.” It’s an extremely strong name for God. You might even call it a “military” name because it means that He is the God who is greater than all the forces of earth and heaven. No one can stand against him. No one can defeat his purposes. No one can hinder him in the least. When the LORD of Hosts goes out to do battle on your behalf, you’re going to win because he’s never lost a battle yet.
2. The Lord of Hosts is with us
"I am with you." This is the second time that phrase appears in the book of Haggai. We find it first in Haggai 1:13 and now in Haggai 2:4 we read, "’For I am with you,’ declares the Lord of Hosts." God, the Lord of Hosts, is with us/you! He is not sending an angel or some other agent to strengthen us in our task. He will not leave us or forsake us in the middle of our task. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He is the ever-vigilant, almighty, good shepherd who cares for us.
Therefore, we may lean on him, listen to him, and rest in him who says to us, "I am with you!"Do you think God can help us build? Oh, yes.!Our God is the great builder, the one who said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." He is the first builder, and we are but secondary agents. So God told the people of Haggai’s time and he tells us, "Listen, the reason for not fearing, the reason for building, the reason we should be strong, is that I am with you--to guide you, to strengthen you, to encourage you, and to provide you with all your needs."
The assurance of His presence should lift our discouragement and enable us to press on. After many years of hardship and danger in the heart of Africa, David Livingstone received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow. On that occasion, he said, “Would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude toward me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this: ‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ On those words I staked everything, and they never failed.” How could we ever, then, belittle a work when God says He is with us in it? When the LORD of Hosts is working at your side, nothing is trivial.
3. God’s covenant was still operative
In Haggai 2:5 God says, "according to the covenant I made with you when you came out of Egypt" These people could take courage because the covenant of God, God’s plan to save his people, was still functioning. Things did not look all that promising to these people. There were just a few of them and they were under Persian control. Materials were scarce, money was tight, and their enemies were many. They knew that the temple they were trying to build could never match the magnificent temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. I am sure these people thought that maybe God had forgotten his promises and abandoned them. But, no, God was still on target. He was committed to his covenant, and in due course he would exalt and save his people.
So Haggai was exhorting the people to rely on God’s promises, rise up, and work. Brothers and sisters remember that God is committed to His ongoing New Covenant promise working for you! Jeremiah 31:33-34, “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Ezekiel 36:26-27 adds, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
4. God’s Spirit was remaining among them
In Haggai 2:5 God tells his people, "My Spirit remains in your midst" God’s promise is not only that he will be at your side; he will also be in your heart encouraging you and strengthening you. Look back at the end of 1:13, " I am with you, declares the LORD." And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, "
If we will ask him and trust him, God not only works with us, but he moves in to stir up our spirit and give us a heart, a will, and a desire for the work and the power to do it. He doesn't want crusty diehards in His work; He wants free and joyful laborers. And so He promises to be with them and stir them up to love the work and also enables His people to do their work. God’s work ultimately depends on God Himself. He must give the orders, he must give the energy, he must give the desire, and then he must stir up the spirits of his people before anything good will be done.
The other prophet who prophesied at the same time as Haggai is Zechariah, and in Zechariah 4:1-7 we read about the Holy Spirit helping Zerubbabel complete the temple. In verse 6 we read, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty." God is telling Zerubbabel and the people of Israel that the work He called them to do will not be completed by human energy. God will give them the strength and power to do the work through His Spirit.
IV. Divine Promises to Live By
God is saying, I understand that compared to the past, the present is bleak. Yes, there was former glory and the loss hurts, but now I want to show you in verses 6–9. I wrote a few weeks ago that God only sends his people in one direction: Forward! He never sends them back to the past, and he never lets them stay in one place too long. The people of Haggai’s had romanticized the past and completely forgotten about the future. What was God telling His people? The best is yet to come! Because the perspective of the people was wrong, they believed that nothing would ever compare to the glory of Solomon’s Temple. Their longing was a nostalgic, "oh for the good old days".
God wants the people to see His perspective; look to the future with hope! God says, “The silver and gold all belong to me; if I wanted you to build an elaborate temple better than Solomon’s then I could give you more than you needed.” God tells the people, “My glory will fill this house; it will be greater than anything Solomon ever experienced.” Don’t look back; the best is yet to come! It’s a new day, a new beginning. Not the same, but new and good and full of possibilities and hope and you will rejoice!
Zechariah told the people the same thing. He writes in Zechariah 4:10, "Who despises the day of small things? “ Oh reader, do you you believe that what your doing won’t amount to much; that it is just a small thing.? Well, you don’t see what God sees; that the best is yet to come! The temple that Zurubbabel and the people completed was visited some 500 years later by Jesus Himself. Jesus Christ who embodied the presence and glory of God honored that Temple with His presence. The desired of nations had come announcing Peace.
God kept His word, the best really was yet to come! God encourages those who were discouraged thinking their work only produces paltry results by encouraging us to be strong, work, and fear not, because you build more than you see. All you see is a paltry temple. But God promises to take your work, fill it with his glory, and make your labors with a million times more than you ever imagined. Dwell on what new things that God has done and is going to do in the sufficiency of His power and grace! Be strong, Lighthouse; you build more than you see. And so it is with every one of us. Nothing you do is a trifle if you do it in the name of God.
Ajith Fernando tells the story of a godly missionary who faithfully served in a village in Sri Lanka over along period of time. He did not see anyone from that community come to Christ during his lifetime. After his death a young missionary came to the village to take his place and was surprised to see almost the entire village respond to the call of same gospel his predecessor had proclaimed to them for so many years. Perplexed and humbled, the young man asked the villagers why they did not respond to the gospel during the time when that great and godly man lived among them. They responded that the old missionary had told them that “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” And if they became followers of Jesus Christ they would not need to fear death. What he said impressed them, but they needed to see if what the man said was really true. So they watched him live and waited till he died. In seeing the way that he lived and the way that he died; it made them all want to become Christians.
Do you see disarray or God's design in your life in these amazing days? He is with us, He is the Lord of Hosts, He is powerful, His Holy Spirit is with us, and He is almighty, and His power is working. He will shake heaven and earth to fill your labor with splendor. Oh Lighthouse; It is a new year; a new beginning, full of possibilities and hope. Rejoice! Be strong, do not be afraid, and work, you build more than you see. Don’t look back, look ahead. The best is yet to come! THE LORD OF HOSTS IS IN US AND WITH US!
Pastor Bill
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