God-Centered Localism (Haggai 1)

Today, we begin a two-week study of the book of Haggai, the third from the last book in the Old Testament. To find the gospel of Matthew, we will go back three books.

Let’s read all of Chapter 1. 

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

12 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 Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 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, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

It’s rare for churches to do sermon series in books like Haggai. 

Really, the entire Old Testament, with perhaps the exception of the Psalms, is undervalued and overlooked. 

That goes especially for the grouping of Old Testament books we call the Prophets.

The Prophets include 17 books: five belong to the Major Prophets, and twelve to the Minor Prophets. "Major" and "minor" refer to the length of the books, not their importance.

All of these books are important.

The twelve Minor Prophets can be divided into two groups: nine pre-exilic books (before the exile) and three post-exilic books (after the exile).

Now, it’s easy to confuse the exodus with the exile. The exodus refers to God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt and His leading them through the wilderness into the Promised Land. The exile happened many years later.

Here’s some historical background.

The first king of Israel was Saul, who ultimately proved to be a bad king. He was succeeded by their first good king, King David. All future kings were judged by whether they walked in the ways of David, who worshiped God rightly. David’s son Solomon succeeded him on the throne, and it was Solomon who built the first and magnificent temple of God. Under these two kings, Israel experienced her best years—her golden years.

However, after Solomon's reign, during the rule of Rehoboam, Israel became a divided nation.

Ten tribes formed the northern kingdom, which retained the name Israel, while two tribes—Judah and part of Benjamin—formed the southern kingdom, known as Judah.

Judah had some good kings who, like David, worshiped God rightly and hated idolatry. The northern kingdom, however, did not. Almost immediately, it turned to the worship of false gods.

This period is covered in the books of First and Second Kings, as well as First and Second Chronicles.

The Northern Kingdom's idolatry led to its judgment. The Assyrian Empire sacked it, and a large portion of the population was resettled elsewhere. These tribes became known as the lost tribes of Israel because they were absorbed into the culture of the lands where they were resettled.

About 135 years later, Judah also faced judgment for its idolatry. The Babylonian Empire sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and carried the people of Judah into exile in Babylon. God had told Judah that they would remain in exile for 70 years. Books like Esther, Daniel, and Ezekiel address this exilic period.

Unlike the northern kingdom, Judah was not fully absorbed into the ways of Babylon. They maintained their worship of God—imperfectly, but they kept their faith and longed to return home to rebuild.

God makes promises and keeps the promises He makes. Seventy years into the exile, the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persian Empire, led by King Cyrus. The Persians ruled differently, often placing high-level spies among their subjects to monitor for uprisings. With this approach, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, as foretold by prophets like Jeremiah. They returned in three significant waves, spread out over several years, which is covered in five books: Ezra, Nehemiah, and three post-exilic Minor Prophets—Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

These prophets are sometimes called the Prophets of the Restoration because they dealt with the Jews returning to Judah to rebuild after the exile.

And there was much to rebuild. Jerusalem had been in disrepair for years—the houses were leveled, the walls were broken down, the gates were destroyed, and the temple was a heap of burnt stones.

But the people initially went to work with enthusiasm. As with any new venture, it began with excitement, energy, and eagerness.

Then came the setbacks—the difficulties and discouragements.

And the work that had started with such enthusiasm slowly turned into apathetic drudgery and eventually ground to a halt.

And that’s where we pickup in Haggai. It’s a short book, one of the shortest in all the Bible. It’s only two chapters and total of 38 verses. Let’s get to chapter 1.

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest… (v. 1)

Zerubbabel, a descendant of King David, along with Joshua, the high priest, led the first group of Jews back to Jerusalem. As I mentioned, the people worked with enthusiasm—for a time. In fact, they worked for four years. So why did they stop? There was a problem: the people who already inhabited the land didn’t want them to succeed and did everything they could to frustrate the work. This is all laid out in Ezra chapter 4, and their methods are noteworthy.

First, in Ezra 4:2, they tried to join the work—likely in an attempt to corrupt it and redirect it toward their own ends. It's a reminder that not everyone who joins a new effort has pure motives. That’s why the Jews refused their offer.

Second, in Ezra 4:4-5, they tried to demoralize and frighten the Jews. This didn’t completely work, so...

Third, they wrote a false accusation to the authorities—the king—about what the Jews were doing, and the king forced them to stop.

Notice those methods: corruption, demoralization, and false accusations. These are still the primary tools used by the enemies of God.

Haggai picks up the story: “In the second year of Darius the king.” That’s 14 years later. They had been in the land for 18 years, with 14 of those years spent in inactivity.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” (v. 2 )

Says who? The people say. Not the Lord. The people. 

God moved the heart of Cyrus for very particular purpose. We read Cyrus’ decree in Ezra 1:2-3:

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

God had given them a mission: return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. They laid the foundation, but they allowed their enemies to halt the work.

Now, 14 years have passed, and they still say, “It’s not the time yet.” Notice, they aren’t saying they won’t build; they’re just implying that they’ll get to it eventually. They’ve cloaked their unwillingness in spiritual language: *We’re waiting for the right time.

Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? (v. 3-4)

The people had the will to work, and they were working hard. They didn’t just live in tents or simple huts—they had invested time and effort into building houses with paneled walls—nice houses.

In verse 2, the Lord says, “these people” instead of “my people,” and that’s intentional. Their priorities were slipping, and they had distanced themselves from God's purpose. So, God emphasizes His distance from them.

These people were willing to work, but not on the house of the Lord. They were focused on building their own houses. In contrast to Solomon, who completed the temple before finishing his palace, these people allowed the temple to lie in ruins.

Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. (v. 5)

Essentially, God is saying, "So, how’s that working out for you? Let’s take a look."

Verse 6 echoes a few passages in scripture, especially Deuteronomy 11 and 28.

Deuteronomy 11:16-17 reads:

Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.

And Deuteronomy 28:15-20 says:

But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.

As far as I can tell, these people weren’t actively worshiping false gods. They weren’t false brethren, nor were they apostates. Quite the opposite—they were devoted. They were the first to return to Jerusalem, and they had worked hard to lay the foundation of the temple.

And yet, the curse of God was upon them because they had functionally broken their covenant with Him through apathy and misplaced priorities.

It’s easy, even for the most committed Christians, to slowly drift away from a heart and life centered on the worship of God. It’s easy to be lulled into a kind of spiritual sleep.

But in His mercy, God often withholds blessings and even sends adversity to wake us up. He wants us to reflect and consider our ways...

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” (v. 7-11)

What was the source of their problems? What does it say?

Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 

These people had become too busy for the worship of God.

So, what was the solution to their problems? What does the text say?

Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 

To busy themselves with the worship of God. Not to the neglect of their homes but to center themselves on the worship of God. 

Now, this isn’t the prosperity gospel, which says, “If you obey God, God will make you rich and healthy.”

That’s clearly not true. Many prophets, apostles, and followers of God have obeyed the Lord and have experienced great adversity, poverty, and even painful suffering. 

That being said, righteousness is often accompanied with physical blessings. Not always, but often.

But the proper worship of God ALWAYS gives the spiritual blessing of clear conscience, a sure confidence, and an abiding strength. Always. 

When worship is at the center of life, you can face the most difficult situations. 

When you fear God, you have no need to fear anything or anyone else. 

So, the worship of God is its own blessing. It is its own reward. 

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 Lord. Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” (v. 12 -13 )

This is an uncommon situation. As Christ said, "A prophet isn’t welcomed in his own country." That’s generally true, but here we have an exception.

Notice the change in how the people are referenced. It’s no longer the impersonal "these people." Instead, the text says, "they obeyed the voice of the Lord their God," and the Lord declares, "I am with you." Do you hear the sweetness in that?

It’s the sweetness that comes from being right with God. It’s what allows you to say, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 34:8,"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

Is there anything more encouraging than knowing that God, the God of heaven and earth, is with you?

As Paul says in Romans 8:31, *“If God is for us, who can be against us?”* No one.

Before we move on, I want you to notice that Haggai’s words weren’t just for the people—they were for their leaders as well. Just as it’s easy for followers to fall into apathy, the same can happen to leaders.

We all need a good Holy Spirit "kick in the butt" from time to time.

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, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (v. 14-15 )

They obeyed God, and God blessed them by stirring up their spirit. You can have all the knowledge and skills in the world, but if you lack the heart, nothing will be accomplished.

So, God stirred their spirits. As Matthew Henry says, "When God has work to be done, He will either find or make men fit to do it."

They responded quickly—just three weeks passed from Haggai's initial words to the people getting back to work.

In conclusion, I chose to study Haggai because it speaks directly to our time and to our church.

I don’t want to over-spiritualize it, but we are a church of refugees, and this is a church of restoration.

We are only formally 19 months into this project. This didn’t even exist 20 months ago. Think about that. Sometimes we ask if people are new here, but let’s be honest—we are *all* new here at East River. Just a short while ago, most of us were at different churches. Many of us lived in different neighborhoods or even different states. We had different jobs, and our friend groups, in many cases, have drastically changed.

A lot—a whole lot—has changed in the last two years. So, everyone here, to varying degrees, is restarting. And if you belong to this church, you are involved in building something new.

But it’s not new in the sense that it’s never been done before.

We are trying to plant a church that is faithful to historical biblical Christianity, that deals rightly with the issues of the day, equips the people for the work of ministry, and does so in a way that is accessible to everyday people.

Sadly, churches like that are uncommon today. They used to be more common, but many have fallen to the fads of the day—to the spirit of the age.

They replaced the gospel with a social gospel.

They replaced ministry with therapy.

They replaced worship with entertainment.

They sought the world’s approval instead of calling all to repent of their sin and bow before King Jesus.

And so, in many cases, we had to find a new church—and you found us.

I’ve thought about planting a church in Clermont County since I was 19. When we returned home to Cincinnati in 2019, I wasn’t sure if that was the right path for us.

But when churches closed their doors during the pandemic and told people to stay home and watch a screen… that pushed me over the edge.

It wasn’t the reason we planted East River, but it was a reason, and it greatly sped up our timeline. We wanted people to have a place to gather for the public worship of God. So, David and I accelerated things.

Now, our nation is under judgment. Tough times are here, and they may get tougher. The economy, supply chain issues, inflation, political instability, sexual perversion—it’s all rough.

We, as a church, are especially committed to biblical localism. By that, we mean giving priority and attention to the time and place where God has sovereignly placed us.

We care about all those issues, but we want to address them first at the local level. That’s why we host the County Before Country conference. We bring in people who have actually done this kind of work so we can learn from them.

But there will be no biblical localism without planting thriving biblical local churches where the public worship of God is prioritized.

Many of you are bold risk-takers.

Many of you won’t put up with compromise.

That’s why you’re here.

But God forbid that we drift from what brought us together. And it’s easy to do.