The book of Haggai focuses primarily upon the temple
of the LORD. In chapter one, the LORD rebukes the people for allowing His house
to lie in ruins, while they themselves “dwell in paneled houses,” (see Hag.
1:4). While the LORD, indeed, gives the command for His people to rebuild the physical temple, is He not truly
concerned with the spiritual temple?
“’Thus speaks the LORD of
hosts, saying: “This people says, ‘The time has not come, the time that the
LORD’s house should be built.’”’ Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the
prophet, saying, ‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled
houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?’ Now therefore, thus says the LORD of
hosts: ‘Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat,
but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you
clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to
put into a bag with holes.’ Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Consider your ways!
Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take
pleasure in it and be glorified,’ says the LORD. ‘You looked for much, but
indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’
says the LORD of host. ‘Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one
of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew,
and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for a drought on the land and
the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the
ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your
hands,’” Haggai 1:2-11, NKJV.
All throughout Scripture,
God uses physical elements to typify spiritual truths. In chapter one of
Haggai, we are warned against spiritual indolence, to which we, all too often,
succumb. We see the Christian who, the foundation having been laid, puts off
the building of the Lord’s temple; who, rather, builds up the flimsy “paneled
house” of fleshly pleasure—leaving the temple to lie in ruins; who, having
received the Holy Spirit and been placed upon the solid rock, is not
satisfied—“brings in little,” eats and drinks, but “is not filled,” clothes
himself, but is not warm, and “earns wages to put into a bag with holes” (the
world)—because he neglects the temple of the Lord. “Consider your ways!” says
the LORD of hosts. “Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build this
temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified…You looked for much,
but indeed it came o little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?
Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own
house.” Are we not all guilty of this? Running after the world, while the
temple of the LORD lies in ruins? Seeking satisfaction elsewhere, when God has
placed all we need—and more—directly before us? Are we not all guilty of, at
one time or another, “running to our own house”? And doubtless many of us have
seen the LORD blow it away. It comes to little, does it not? Indeed, the Lord
warns us against the results of our neglect:
“Therefore the heavens
above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for
a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the wine and the oil,
on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor
of your hands,” Haggai 1:10-11.
We are not called to
furnish our own house—to live for ourselves—but to build up the temple of the
Lord, that He may “take pleasure in it and be glorified”; that we may bear
fruit. How can we glorify God in spiritual drought?
“Then Zerubbabel the son
of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the
remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of
Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared
the presence of the LORD. Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s
message to the people, saying, ‘I am with you, says the LORD.’ So 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…” Haggai 1:12-14.
We must obey the voice of
the Lord, fear His presence, and He will indeed be with us and stir up our
spirit. When our faith is newborn, are we not aflame for our Lord? And how
glorious the temple is then! Beware, new believers, lest the following verse be
realized in your spiritual walk:
“Who is left among you who
saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison
with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?” (Haggai 2:3).
But, as the Lord
admonished the Israelites concerning the temple, so He admonishes us:
“’Yet now be strong,
Zerubbabel,’ says the LORD; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high
priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the LORD, ‘and work;
for I am with you,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘According to the word that I
covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you;
do not fear!’” (Haggai 2:4-5).
Even in our indolence, the
Holy Spirit remains in us—the Lord simply commands us to be strong “and work,
for [He] is with [us].” Then the promise shall be fulfilled:
“For thus says the LORD of
hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea
and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire
of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of
hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The
glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of
hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts,” Haggai
2:6-9.
How much more glorious is
the Lord’s temple in a mature Christian than in an inexperienced one! So the
Lord will strengthen us to overcome our flesh and rebuild the temple, that He
may be glorified. After all, the seed is
still in the barn.
“Consider now from this
day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that
the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider it: is the seed still in
the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree
have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you,” Haggai 2:18-19.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Now, ask the priests
concerning the law, saying, “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his
garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food,
will it become holy?”’ Then the priests answered and said, ‘No.’ And Haggai
said, ‘If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will
it be unclean?’ so the priests answered and said, ‘it shall be unclean.’ Then
Haggai answered and said, ‘”So is this people, and so is this nation before
Me,” says the LORD, “and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer
there is unclean,”’” Haggai 2:12-14, NKJV.
If holy meat touches other
food, that food will not became holy; but if an unclean person touches that
food, it will become unclean. God uses this as an illustration of Israel. They
carry “holy meat”—i.e., the covenant of the LORD, His law, etc.—but they are
not holy. Rather, they have allowed the ways of the Gentiles to enter their
midst and have become unclean. True holiness is transferrable only by the blood
of Christ, but if we allow uncleanness to enter our midst, we become unclean.
And who is this “who is unclean because of a dead body”? Did not Adam sin,
becoming spiritually dead and thus unclean? And did he not “touch” us with his
curse? Therefore we are unclean! Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus became unclean
for us, that we might be made holy. The Law was holy, but its holiness could
not be transmitted to the Israelites. Neither can it be transmitted to us—save
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing
before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose
him. And the LORD said to Satan, ‘The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has
chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?’ Now
Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, ‘Take away
the filthy garments from him.’ And to him He said, ‘See I have removed your
iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.’ And I said, ‘Let
them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head,
and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by. Then the
Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “If
you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also
judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places
to walk among these who stand here. Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, you and
your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign; for behold, I
am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. For behold, the stone that I have laid
before Joshua: upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its
inscription,” says the LORD of hosts, “And I will remove the iniquity of that
land in one day. In that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “Everyone will invite
his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree,”’” Zechariah 3:1-10, NKJV.
Here we see the awesome
work of the LORD: we see Joshua, clothed in filthy garments, standing before
the Angel, with Satan at his right hand to oppose him (the Lord Jesus stands at
the right hand of God to intercede for us, while Satan stands at our right hand
to oppose us!). We see the LORD remove Joshua’s filthy garments and clothe him
with rich robes, and proceed to admonish Joshua—that, if he keeps the LORD’s
commandments, he will walk among the heavenly beings in the presence of the
LORD. Are we not all as Joshua? Filthy, we stood before the Almighty, but He
has rebuked Satan, cleansed us, and clothed us with the rich robes of His
righteousness! In the final verses written above, He gives Joshua the promise
of redemption: the prophecy of Christ.
The book of Zechariah is chiefly prophetic of the
Messiah—as chapter 3 indicated. Note the following verses, taken from nearly
every chapter:
“Therefore thus says the
LORD: ‘I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,’
says the LORD of hosts, ‘And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over
Jerusalem.’ Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “My cities
shall again spread out through prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion,
and will again choose Jerusalem,”’” Zech. 1:16-17, NKJV.
“’Sing and rejoice, O
daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says
the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall
become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the
LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as
His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem,’” Zech.
2:10-12.
“This is the word of the
LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the
LORD of hosts,” Zech. 4:6.
“The hands of Zerubbabel
have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it. Then
you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you,” Zech. 4:9.
“Behold, the Man whose
name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the
temple of the LORD; yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear
the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His
throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both,” Zech. 6:12-13.
“Thus says the LORD: ‘I
will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be
called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the LORD of hosts, the Holy
Mountain,’” Zech. 8:3.
“Thus says the LORD of
hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp
the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that
God is with you,”’” Zech. 8:23.
“Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming
to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt,
the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse
from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off, He shall speak peace to the
nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends
of the earth.’ As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will
set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, you
prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you. For
I have bent Judah, My bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your
sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and made you like the sword of a
mighty man,” Zech. 9:9-13.
“I will strengthen the
house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back,
because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them
aside; for I am the LORD their God, and I will hear them,” Zech. 10:6.
“Then I said to them, ‘If
it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.’ So they weighed
out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, ‘Throw it
out to the potter’—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty
pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter,”
Zech. 11:12-13.
“And I will pour on the
house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication;
then they will look on Me who they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one
mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn,”
Zech. 12:10.
“’Awake, O sword, against
My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,’ says the LORD of hosts.
‘Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand
against the little ones,’” Zech. 13:7.
“And the LORD shall be
King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—‘The LORD is one,’ and His
name one,” Zech. 14:9.
“’Say to all the people of the land, and to the
priests: “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during
those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me? When you eat and when
you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? Should you not have obeyed
the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem
and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the
Lowland were inhabited?”’ Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion
everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien
or poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.” But they
refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they
could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the
law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the
former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts,’” Zech. 7:5-12,
NKJV.
“’For thus says the LORD
of hosts: “Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to
wrath,” says the LORD of hosts, “And I would not relent, so again in these days
I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.
These are the things you shall do: speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; let none of you
think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,” says the LORD.’ Then the word of the
LORD of hosts came to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “The fast of
the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast
of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of
Judah. Therefore love truth and peace,”’” Zech. 8:14-19, NKJV.
Note the contrast here: in
the first case, the Israelites adhered to religious ceremony but did not obey
the word of the LORD—therefore, the LORD’s wrath came upon them. In the second
case, the LORD is “determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of
Judah.” Is not the LORD ruler of the hearts of men? Therefore, if He is
determined to do good, He will see to it that His people heed His
commandments—that, in obeying His word, their ceremonies may become no longer
fasts and mourning, but “cheerful feasts.”
“’Who is there even among you who would shut the
doors, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no
pleasure in you,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘Nor will I accept an offering from
your hands. For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name
shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to
My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations,’
says the LORD of hosts. ‘But you profane it, in that you say, “The table of the
LORD is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is contemptible,”’” Malachi 1:10-12,
NKJV.
The LORD set His glory
upon Israel—but they despised it. We see their rejection of him all throughout
Scripture—building up from the days of Moses and culminating in the days of
Jesus, who “came unto His own and His own received Him not.” Therefore, the
LORD, through Jesus Christ, sets His glory upon the Gentiles (see Mal. 1:11).
God forbid that we should despise His amazing gift! God forbid that we should
profane His name!
“’But you profane it, in
that you say, “The table of the LORD is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is
contemptible.” You also say, “Oh, what a weariness!” and you sneer at it,’ says
the LORD of hosts. ‘And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you
bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?’ says the LORD. ‘But
cursed by the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but
sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished—for I am a great King,’ says the LORD
of hosts, ‘And My name is to be feared among the nations,’” Mal. 1:12-14.
Rather, let us “take to
heart” the commandment He has given us:
“’And now, O priests, this
commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to
heart, to give glory to My name,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will send a curse
upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already,
because you do not take it to heart,” Mal. 2:1-2.
And, in verses 6-7, we see
the LORD’s desire for us, as Christians:
“The law of truth was in
his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace
and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should
keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the
messenger of the LORD of hosts,” Mal. 2:6-7.
Is it not our duty to keep
the law of truth? To turn many away from iniquity? Are we not messengers of the
LORD of hosts? Ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven? Sadly, many modern
Christians fall into the following verse: “’But you have departed from the way;
you have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of
Levi,’ says the LORD of hosts,” (Mal. 2:8).
Corruption in the
church—sounds familiar, does it not? Note Malachi 2:10-12:
“Have we not all one
Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one
another by profaning the covenant of the fathers? Judah has dealt
treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in
Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the LORD’s holy institution which He loves;
he has married the daughter of a foreign god. May the LORD cut off from the
tents of Jacob the man who does this, being awake and aware, yet who brings an
offering to the LORD of hosts!”
For shame, if we, as the
church, marry into the world! As the body of Christ, have we not one Head? Yet
we are divided. God calls it “profaning the covenant of the fathers”;
“profaning the holy institution which He loves,” and “an abomination.” We
attempt to marry the “body of Christ” to the daughter of a foreign god—then
bring an offering to the Lord and expect Him to accept it! “May the LORD cut
off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this!” Have we not one Father? One
God? Are we not “awake and aware”? Then
let us keep the covenant! God forbid that it be said of the church: “And
this is the second thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears,
with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor
receive it with goodwill from your hands,” (Mal. 2:13).
But note Malachi 3:3-4,
which say of the LORD: “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He
will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may
offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD, as in the days of old, as in former
years.”
The Lord has purified us
with His blood—let us then keep His commandments, that He may take pleasure in
our offering.
“’Bring all the tithes
into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in
this,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of
heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to
receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not
destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you
in the field,’ says the LORD of hosts; ‘And all nations will call you blessed,
for you will be a delightful land,’ says the LORD of hosts,” Mal. 3:10-12.
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one
another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was
written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name.
‘They shall be Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘On the day I make them My
jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’ Then
you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who
serves God and one who does not serve Him,” Mal. 3:16-18.
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