Category: Haggai

Dedication, Defilement, And Destiny (2:1-23)

Neal Pollard

Haggai preaches three sermons to end this book. When the book closes, the temple is still not finished but substantial progress will have been made. The motivational prophet fuels their efforts with some powerful exhortation.

The Glory Of A Giving God (1-9). What would help renew Judah for the task of rebuilding the temple? It was the resources which God would give them. Haggai says that divine resources ought to move them to keep working.  First, be encouraged (3). Nothing good comes when distracted by nostalgia. God knows they are discouraged, that this temple is not as glorious as the original (3; Ezra 3:12). But remembering how great things used to be would not lay a brick or set a stone. Second, be courageous (4-5). There’s an admonition–“take courage” (3 times) and “do not fear.” Then, there’s a promise–“I am with you” and “My Spirit is abiding in your midst.” Have we believed the lie that nobody is interested in truth? Have we accepted the idea that we must compromise truth to attract anyone? God says work, not whine or worry. Third, be ready (6-9). The future is as bright as the promises of God. Don’t be discouraged by what is or what has been. God will make good things happen. Specifically, there will be four things. He will shake creation. He will shake the nations. He will fill the temple with glory. He will bring peace there. That makes sense physically, but especially spiritually. These verses are Messianic, quoted by the writer of Hebrews and applied to Christ. God was going to shake the world in a way more dramatic than Sinai. It would happen in a little while, just a few hundred years from the time of writing. The darkness happened at Christ’s death and the shaking happened at His resurrection. Then, Pentecost would begin a spiritual upheaval unlike the world had ever known. 

The Blessings Of Holiness (10-19). Haggai illustrates this with a point about defilement. You don’t accidentally catch holiness or become holy by contact with the holy. It is much easier to defile and be defiles (Lev. 6:27; Num. 19:11,22). The defilement is more likely indifference than idolatry. It is easier to discourage people from doing God’s work than motivate them to do it (14). This defilement (17) seems to be what Haggai condemned in Haggai 1:10-11. They suffered because they put their wants ahead of God’s word. God wanted them to repent and return. So, Haggai presents the cure (18-19). The people got back their zeal and had gotten back to work, so God promises to bless them again. The produce was now abundant and stored in the barn (cf. Mal. 3:10). What is true materially applies to everything!

The Unshaken Kingdom (20-23). The book of Haggai ends with tremendous hope and promise! Perhaps only Revelation ends in a more optimistic way. The kingdoms of this world will not endure (21-22), but God’s kingdom cannot be shaken (23). Zerubbabel would be God’s servant, a signet ring in God’s hand (God’s signature!). Matthew quotes this sermon and applies it to Jesus, God’s chosen (Mat. 12:18-21). Zerubbabel is also in Jesus’ genealogy (Mat. 1:12-13; Luke 3:27). 

Due to Haggai’s motivational preaching, Judah is well on its way to fulfilling its purpose. It is a reminder of God’s plan which, remarkably, includes preaching (1 Cor. 1:21)! He still motivates us to do His work through the means of messages brought by mere men. 

Their Work: Prioritize (1:1-15)

Neal Pollard

Whenever it is time to call people to their work and purpose, there should be no more powerful persuader than appealing to God Himself. That is how Haggai begins, with a “thus saith the Lord.” Notice how many times the prophet mentions God in this first sermon: “the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai” (1, 3), “Thus says the Lord of hosts” (2,5,7), as well as 11 more mentions of Him in this brief sermon. Haggai made it absolutely clear that God authored his message, and therefore it could not be ignored. It was the Lord their God challenging them to get to work. How does Haggai go about this?

He calls attention to the issue (1-4). Essentially, they were self-centered. They were giving plenty of thought, but not to God’s work. It’s not that we don’t have priorities in our lives. We all do. But the question is, “Is the things that should be the main thing our main thing?” Improper priorities showed itself in three ways in Haggai’s day:

• Procrastination (2). They weren’t saying “no.” They were saying “later.” Do we ever do that (cf. Js. 4:13-14).
• Materialism (4). They weren’t sacrificing for God. They had faith enough to uproot from Babylon to come back to their native country, but now they lost refocus due to material things. They were building lavish, luxurious houses (cf. Jer. 22:14; 1 Ki. 6). They were building their dream homes while neglecting God’s house. The New Testament repeatedly warns against such a relationship with money (1 Tim. 6:9-10; Luke 12:15). 
• Neglect (4b). God was the casualty of their selfish pursuits. We can tangibly measure if our priorities are straight. How much time, energy, money, and heart do we have left for Him? 

Haggai wants them to stop and ask about their priorities. Was He in the proper place in their lives. This is the question we must regularly ask. 

He asks them to consider where they are (5-11). That’s the first question God ever asks man (Gen. 3:9). Twice, Haggai tells Judah to consider their ways. Frank Chesser once said, “Many have 20/20 vision regarding their neighbors’ sins, but they are nearly blind about their own” (cf. Mat. 7:1-5; Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 4:16).  The Jews at Rome passed judgment on others, but they practiced the same things (Rom. 2:1). Haggai wants them to examine themselves and see if they are in the faith (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5).

They were not enjoying real success in their misplaced priorities (6,9–11). God had caused their earthly work to fail and had withheld physical blessings. One of the best things that can happen to us is to face trials and failures. My dad often says, “Some have to be knocked flat on their backs in order to look up and see God.”

They were not engaging in the most important work (8). Haggai calls for works of obedience–“Go, bring, build.” All the grace in the universe does no good if we fail to believe and act on God’s word.

They were not entertaining how it affected God (8-9). God wanted Judah to do this so He could be pleased, glorified, and appreciated. It is always right to ask, “Based on my priorities, is God pleased with and glorified by me?”

We’re blessed when we see our dependency on God and let it move us to serve Him!

He reveals the remedy (12-15). Haggai will later teach that man is miserable and filthy in sin (2:13-14). Haggai 1:12 is one of the most exciting transitions in the Bible. The people were guilty of misplaced priorities. Haggai preaches. What happened then?

They obeyed (12). This summarizes and previews their actual deeds. They don’t mobilize until verse 14, but they resolve in verse 12. We will never change until we settle in our heart to do so. 

They showed reverence for God (12). They believed Haggai’s message, which gives them a healthier view of God. When we do, we will revere Him. When we revere Him, we will honor Him and that will show in what we value and prioritize. 

Their spirits were stirred (14). They were roused, stimulated, and motivated by God’s Word. 

They got to work quickly (14). The logical conclusion to an obedient, reverent, motivated heart is action! “They came & worked on the house of the Lord…” If the worldly is a higher priority than the spiritual, we won’t get to work. 

Haggai preaches a hard sermon, but it brought revival and restoration. It shows us that we can turn it around, and we can change our lives. We don’t have to stay on the hamster wheel, running at high speed & burning lots of energy but making no progress.

Background And Introduction

Neal Pollard

The last three Minor Prophets write in a different time period than their predecessors. The first nine wrote before captivity and exile, admonishing and warning either the Northern Kingdom about Assyria or the Southern Kingdom about Babylon. Haggai writes during a time of international turmoil and change, with the Persians still working to establish their grip on their newly conquered world empire. Darius Hystapses (522-486) treated the Jews favorably (Ezra 6:14-22).

We know nothing of Haggai’s personal life, whether he was from Judah or Babylon or if he was born before or during Babylonian Activity.  It is his work that God highlights. We have the precise dates of his writing (1:1; 2:1; 2:10,20). Besides the Bible, we can verify the dates by Darius’ reign as they are detailed in several archaeological discoveries–an inscription Darius had made in three languages and found on Mt. Behistun, texts and documents from Persepolis, a cuneiform tablet, a letter from Darius to Gadates, and an inscription in the foundations of the Apadana Palace. Scholars have computed Haggai’s first message as August 29, 520). We have the theme, focusing on rebuilding the temple. For 70 years, Judah had been in captivity in Babylon. Haggai is the earliest of the three “post-exilic” prophets, preceding Zechariah by a couple of months (see 1:1 and Zech. 1:1). Malachi would do his work in the following century. 

Cyrus was God’s instrument to release the Jews from captivity, and he sends a remnant back to Judah (2 Chron. 36:22ff; Ezra 1:1ff; 6:13ff). At first, under Zerubbabel’s leadership (536 B.C.), Judah was zealous to rebuild the temple, but the Samaritans frustrated their work and they ultimately stop rebuilding (534 B.C., Ezra 4). Ezra 6:14 tells us that Haggai and Zechariah urge the people to get back to work on the temple, and they overcome well over a decade of complacency (520 B.C.). It was “moving” preaching at its finest, to the point, and clear in message. That is always the kind of message God wants and people need to hear. The overwhelming majority of the world is lost and God has His people here to try and prevent that. Too often, we are not due to improper priorities.

The book opens with a problem (1:2) and closes with a promise (2:23). In between, Haggai preaches four messages centering on the work the people needed to do and the work God pledged to do. Key words include consider, “Word of the Lord,” Lord of Hosts, house, and glory.