God-Centered Localism Pt 2 (Haggai 2)

Last week, we studied Haggai chapter 1. It’s a short chapter—a mere 15 verses—but it holds significant insight. Haggai 1 is set in Jerusalem, about 18 years after the first group of Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity.

So, what is the Babylonian captivity? It’s also referred to as exile, meaning the same thing. God judged the Southern Kingdom of Judah for years of idolatry at the hands of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar’s forces destroyed Jerusalem and the temple at its heart, taking the people as servants back to Babylon.

In this sense, the Jews were exiled from their land by God and held in captivity in Babylon, yet they weren’t left hopeless. God made promises to them. In Jeremiah 29:10-14, we read one of these glorious promises:

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

God promised the Jews that the exile would be temporary—only 70 years. He wasn’t done with them; He made covenantal promises to Abraham, Moses, and David.

He promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the beach.

Through Moses, He prefigured a coming perfect priest, prophet, and sacrifice.

He promised David that one descendant would rule from the throne forever.

These promises hadn’t been fulfilled, and God always keeps His promises. He couldn’t be done with His people; they were His people, and He had plans for them: to give them a future and hope, to regather them, and to keep all the previous promises made to the patriarchs and through the prophets.

Seventy years passed, and as promised, Darius, moved by the Lord, instructed the exiles to return home and rebuild the temple of God.

The first group to return was led by Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, and Joshua, the high priest, the son of Jehozadak.

When they arrived, they set to work with vigor. However, setbacks followed. In verses 1-11, we see that those who returned from exile had failed to rebuild the temple. Yes, they built an altar and laid the foundation, but they grew discouraged and stopped. It had been about 18 years since their return.

While they continued to build their houses, the house of God—the center of worship—lay in ruins. They told themselves it just wasn’t the right time to build yet. They wanted to build but felt they lacked the resources. They were scraping by in the ruins of their once-great nation. They believed that once they had the resources, they’d begin construction.

But God tells them they have it all backward in verses 7-9:

“Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.”

In other words, their lack of resources stemmed from not seeking the kingdom of God. They were disobeying God’s command to rebuild the temple, making public worship a secondary concern. They had time for their own houses, their own little kingdoms, but not for the kingdom of God.

What does Jesus say in Matthew 6?

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

This is what God is saying, “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified.*

In verses 12-15, the people respond in faith: they “obeyed the voice of the Lord their God.” God replies, “I am with you,” and stirs up their spirit to work.

That brings us to chapter 2, which continues the major themes of Haggai. Namely, public worship is at the center of seeking God's kingdom. The only building projects that will stand the test of time are those built on God's promises, through God's power, and for God's glory.

This is especially relevant for our church, which is filled with doers and risk-takers. We are committed to getting involved in the local community; we want to build.

But all these efforts must be centered on God. Psalm 127 is a Psalm of Ascents that the Jews would sing as they journeyed to the temple. It says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

That’s the right attitude as we approach worship. God is the only one who can build a house that lasts. Any labor not springing forth from the worship of God is ultimately in vain, leading to nothing.

Looking at Haggai 2:1-9, we see that even as God works through our labor, He often uses human means to accomplish His will. Building is tough, and it’s easy to lose heart. Just a month into their renewed commitment to rebuild the temple, the people faced discouragement.

In verse 3, the Lord asks, “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?” This question highlights the difference between the old temple, built by Solomon, and the new one.

Ezra 3:11-13 gives us more insight into why the Lord asks these questions:

“And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid. However, many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.”

To the naked eye, this new temple seemed insignificant compared to Solomon’s magnificent structure. The work appeared small and unimpressive, causing discouragement among the older Jews and those influenced by them. They had labored for a month, but their progress seemed negligible.

So, what does the Lord do for these discouraged people? He encourages them. In verses 4-5, He says:

“But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts. ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’”

God, as a loving Father, provides the courage needed to continue the work. He declares, “I, the Lord of Hosts, am with you.” The title “Lord of Hosts” signifies His supreme power. God also reminds them of the promise He made when He brought them out of Egypt, assuring them of His continued presence through His Spirit.

We see a similar reassurance in Zechariah 4:6-7:

“Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

Great things for God are accomplished not by human might or power but by the Spirit of God. God loves to work through those who seem weak or insignificant because it is evident that the success is due to His power, not human strength.

In verses 6-9, God promises something greater than the former temple:

Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the desire of all nations, 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 will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

God promises a future glory for the temple that will surpass the former. This prophecy points beyond the immediate rebuilding to a time when God will bring ultimate fulfillment and peace.

We know what this is talking about because it is cited in Hebrews 12:22-29.

Listen:

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

They were looking backward at the old kingdom of Israel and the old temple of Israel. But that was just a shadow of the substance that was to come. God was building the ultimate, final, and better kingdom—one that can’t be shaken by the works of men. All that would be removed would be ruled by King Jesus Christ, the true and better David, the desire of all nations.

What of the greater “latter glory” temple, the house of God? Ephesians 2:12-22 says:

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We, the people of God with Christ, are that temple. We are the dwelling place of God.

So then, church, here is the first takeaway:

We can build with courage because God is creating something greater through his covenant people.

I’m going to be relatively brief with the rest of the verses. In 10-19, God uses this picture of holy things and unclean things to show that holiness is not "contagious," but impurity is. One commentator put it this way:

A sick child cannot catch 'health' from contacting a healthy child; but the healthy child can become sick. The principle of transmission really only works one way far more than both ways.

God also uses the picture of unclean things spreading to make another thing unclean as a way to help them see that the temple left in ruins made all of life in Jerusalem a heap of ruins. Pastor Doug Wilson writes, “[here] we learn that touching an unclean thing contaminates the holy. And in the same way, the prophet showed that Temple ruins contaminated all of life. When worship is ruined, so will everything else be.”

Listen to that: "When worship is ruined, so will everything else be.”

Nonetheless, God ends this section in v. 19 with, “Yet from this day on I will bless you.”

Takeaway: We can build confidently because God blesses people who prioritize worship.

In v. 20-23, we read:

Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another.’ 23 ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’” declares the Lord of hosts.

This is very messianic language. The scope is massive; it shakes the heavens and the earth. He doesn’t just overthrow a kingdom but kingdoms. This is something that may have started in Zerubbabel's life, but we know it wasn’t finished.

God says, “I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you.” The signet ring symbolized royal authority, much like a throne or a crown.

Zerubbabel was a descendant of David and the last person to belong to the Mary line (the blood lineage of Jesus - Luke 3:27) and Joseph (the legal lineage of Jesus through Joseph - Matthew 1:12).

God had promised that a Messiah king would come from the line of David, and he does so through Zerubbabel.

The theologian Paul Achtemeier said it well:

God always keeps his promises. So, when the Kingdom of God began to come among us in the person of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1, 14, 15), that One born of the house and lineage of David came as the descendant of Zerubbabel (Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27) and as the beginning of the fulfillment of this word to Haggai the prophet. He introduced God’s Kingdom, which has no end (Luke 1:32–33), which will overthrow every rule and authority and power (1 Cor. 15:24–26), and which cannot be shaken or ever pass away (Heb. 12:28). The word of God spoken by Haggai the prophet began to find its fulfillment in Jesus Christ our Lord. When the Lord returns to complete his Kingdom, may he find us working to build up his church.

Final takeaway: We must build with a vision of ultimate things because God will keep his promises. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The church is unstoppable. Keep God's worship at the center of all things, and watch him spread his kingdom throughout your life and this world.