The blessing takes an additional facet
On December 18, 520 BC God came to Haggai and announced to the people the end of the economic decline and crop failures. He said, "from now on I will bless you."
On the same day, God sent a personal word to the governor, Zerubbabel. To Zerubbabel, when he heard this prophecy, it must have sounded like the end of the world. A couple of months ago, Haggai had told him that God was going to shake the heavens and the earth, and now he is saying it again.
What is a Signet Ring?
For us, in these days of DNA and fingerprints, signatures, endorsements and notaries, the idea of a signet ring is kind of odd. Different cultures have done different things to set official approval on documents. In China, today, they still use a chop. A chop is a rubber stamp that is uniquely designed for an individual. In order to "sign" something, instead of a written name, a chop is used.
My Chinese name is Tang Rong-Drew (though I could not spell it or write it). For a gift, a close Chinese friend had my name and Dawn’s Chinese name (Tang Chen-Xei) made into our own chops. If we were in Taiwan we would use these to endorse official documents, and it would carry the weight of a signature. We would guard these very carefully, because stealing one would be a powerful part of identity theft.
Signet rings in ancient days were used in a similar way. The raised design on the ring was used to stamp the king’s sign in clay on official documents. Signet rings were signs of power and affluence. They were used by kings and high officials to conduct official public business, but they were also used by rich merchants and powerful business concerns. In Moses’ day the wealthy gave up their signet rings as part of a great offering to God. In Isaiah’s day, signet rings were part of the luxury driven arrogance that God promised that he would take away. So, just like fine cars and big houses today, they became status symbols, owned by people who had no use for them.
In Biblical times, signet rings worked both ways too. Proud posers could have one made and try to look good. But a true person of power had signet rings and used them to exercise that power with care. An official of the king might be given the king’s ring, but it was a high honor and a sign of special trust. Joseph was given the signet ring of the pharaoh.
The most significant use of a signet ring in the Bible is in the book of Esther. The king gave his ring to Haman who used it to order the genocide of the Jews. He took it back from Haman and gave it to Mordecai who used it to save his people. When Daniel was placed in the lion’s den, the den was sealed with the king’s signet. These high level policy decisions were reserved for the king and his most trusted advisors and representatives. Haman and Mordecai served as prime ministers in their time and, like Joseph, were trusted so much that their word was like the word of the king himself.
Haggai is the only time that God ever named a person as his own signet ring as a sign of His own power among people. It was a well known image. He actually said of one king, that even if he were the signet ring on God’s hand, He would pull him off his finger.
So for Zerubbabel to be called "God’s Signet Ring" was a significant thing, not to be ignored.
Now consider this
David’s throne has ended. The last king was carried off into Babylon and a governor had been set in his place then assassinated. After the 70 year exile, Cyrus the Persian sent the Jews back to their homeland and made Zerubbabel the new governor.
Zerubbabel was not a king, though he was the "Son of David." He was a foreign emperor’s underling. He was missing the natural legacy, the assumed power and respect due to the heir of David, because he was not a king.
When the project of continuing work on the Temple began, Zerubbabel was one of the first to become discouraged. No surprise since Zerubbabel was pushing the envelope of his power. Haggai’s second message was directed partially at him.
Zerubbabel would have struggled for the following he needed to lead. He would have lacked the people’s confidence, which was at a low point anyway, since the economy was bad, they were refugees in their own land, and struggling to make ends meet.
• Who was this guy who was no king, but just a government lackey for a foreigner?
• Why should anybody take him seriously?
• He’s nobody special
• a true son of David, would have more clout
As a leader of the Jews, Zerubbabel must have felt like the biggest joke in history.
Oh, yes! I’m number one in the refugee camp! King on a string! Stuffed lion in the Island of Misfit Toys! Well, actually, I’m number two, number one isn’t here. He’s in Persia.
He would have felt like a poser and the people of Judah would have had no trouble validating his perception of his own status.
God is reassuring Zerubbabel in a couple of odd ways
God is showing Zerubbabel his status by pointing out a few key facts:
The movements of nations are not at the discretion of kings
God has already said this, back in the second message of Haggai, but here He is repeating and elaborating. The heavens and the earth will be shaken. In some regards this means that the nations will face war. But the war will not be the making of kings, but of God Himself.
Even the minute workings of the wars and the tactics are in God’s hand, not man’s. Wars will be won and lost, not by strategy and power, but by the mistakes of foot soldiers who in confusion shoot at their own troops. God will make this happen.
The powerful do not hold their positions by their own right or might
God makes it clear that as future kings fall, it will be He who brings them down. No king sits on his throne due to his personal ability. His ability may be great, but that does not explain how incompetents come to their place. All rulers are in their place because God has put them there. This fact is reiterated throughout the Bible: First Testament and New Testament.
On a side note: this is important, for us because our own political leanings tend to get in the way of our faith. God is not out of control. He is never out of control. His hand is the one who places people in power whether we agree with His decision or not, whether we think it is true or not.
• If you don’t like president Bush, that’s ok, God put him there
• If you don’t like president elect Obama, that’s ok, God put him there
• If you think McCain should have won, that’s ok, God decided who lost, not the electoral college
For Zerubbabel, it meant that the emperor of Persia was in his place because God put him there, and Zerubbabel was in his place for the same reason. It meant that when God decided to take down one of these leaders, the job would get done, and it was not up to the most powerful rulers, even the house of David.
Zerubbabel’s power was not a product of his own personality or resources, but of God’s will
When you are the only person in history that God called His "signet ring", the sign of His own authority and the tool of His will, that is very large. Zerubbabel may have felt insecure in his power, but God was saying, "when My hand is on you, it doesn’t matter if you are an Emperor, a king, or a governor, God’s power in you is absolute and ultimate."
So the truth of the last message of Haggai is this:
It doesn’t matter who you are or how humble your position, if God has His hand on you, you are significant and important.
In all practical ways, this happened again, centuries later. Jesus said to Peter:
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19 TNIV)
In effect, Jesus was telling Peter that His decisions had eternal and holy ramifications. I can’t say for sure if the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s Signet Ring are dynamic equivalents between Haggai and Matthew. What is true, though, is that the power being delegated is similar.
This power is not limited to Peter. Jesus said the same thing again to all the disciples:
"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
(Matthew 18:18-20 TNIV)
This context clarifies the power of binding and loosing that is left a little vague in the earlier passage. The gathering of Jesus’ followers invokes His presence among them. His presence influences their desires and as a result, their prayers have a powerful presence before the throne of God.
What is more to the point is this, not just Peter but all of Jesus’ disciples have this power. You too are chosen by God. You too are being given the authority to do God’s will and to know that He is behind you when you do it.
Some years back there was a Christian speaker who said something that I liked and have always remembered:
When Jesus comes back again, I want to be doing something for Him. I don’t care if it’s making mistakes! (Mike Warnke)
Well, I do care, but I would rather be making mistakes than doing nothing. He has endowed us with authority to work in His name to do His will. That is huge.
I don’t think we always realize the extent of the authority given to us by God, the degree to which He trusts us to exercise godly judgement and decision making. Paul makes a very strong point:
If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! (1 Corinthians 6:1-3 TNIV)
Paul’s main point is that we should be confident of the judgement of God’s people to settle disagreements between us. But in the process he makes an incredible revelation.
• The entire world
• Angels themselves
Someday, will stand before the people of God, subject to their discernment.
• Subject to our discernment
• Subject to your discernment
I do not make this point to encourage arrogance or to say that all your decisions will now be good. They are dependent on your continuing relationship with God. The fact is, though, that as you embark more on His path, He will empower you with more of His thinking.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 2:14-16 TNIV)
Later, Paul makes the case that not every Christian has achieved this goal. Some are still in formation.
What does this mean?
Take your opinions seriously
God is at work in you and changing you into the image of His Son. As that change happens, you will be naturally and spiritually inclined to more godly thinking. You will know the thoughts when they come. If you are uncertain, check the Bible and see if there is alignment. If you still have doubts, ask a spiritual person you trust. They will help you discern.
Take your opinions seriously enough
Although you should take your opinions seriously, that does not mean give them out to everyone. Consultants get paid for a reason, because their opinions are valuable. Good advice is worth what you pay for it. In other words, when you give your advice away too freely, it is devalued. There is a reason that a quiet person is considered wise.
Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. (Prov 17:28)
So feel free sometimes to keep your opinions to yourself, even if you are right.
Move ahead with confidence
Your involvement in this church and its ministries is the work of the Kingdom. It is an expression of your Divine calling. Be very active in that work. Show initiative in it. Allow it to absorb a little more of your spare time. Don’t worry about making mistakes. You will make them. So do all of us. That risk is part of life. As a child of God with His authority behind you, doing His work according to His will, you are on good footing. Any mistakes you make, err on the side of love and God will take care of it.
Remind yourself that you are a useful, precious ornament on the hand of God
This may sound silly, but a Signet ring was a prized possession. It was important and guarded. The king went nowhere without his signet ring. If he gave it to a person, it was a status symbol. The person would have worn it proudly and slept with it to protect it.
You would have had to kill him to take it away.
And that is just what Satan tried to do. He incited Jesus’ enemies to kill Him in order to take you away. But he failed to take into account what Jesus had so clearly said:
I and the Father are one. No one can take them out of my Father’s hand.
When God claimed you as His own, you became inextricably connected to Him. And that is just the way He wants it.
He loves you, and cherishes you, and cannot be forced to give you up.
Live in that comfort and joy.
