10On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, 11"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: 12'If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?'" The priests answered and said, "No." 13Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?" The priests answered and said, "It does become unclean." 14Then Haggai answered and said, "So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. 15Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD, 16how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the LORD. 18Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider: 19Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you."
Let’s look at these verses and break down the message that Haggai is bringing to the Hebrew nations at this time… beginning with v.10:
10On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet,
Some interesting observations I see in this particular message from God…
As it has been done throughout this entire book, the prophet makes yet another announcement. He stresses the time of the announcement and from whom the message is coming…
Finally the prophet does let the readers and listeners know who is delivering the message of God, and it is the prophet Haggai…
The message is not directed immediately toward the leadership and then to the people but it seems to be directed straight to the general population, almost as if God were addressing an attitude that was prevailing among the people at the time...
The timing of this message is noted, it comes to the people after they had been working on the Temple for over 3 months and over 2 months since God had promised great things for the nation if they would be obedient. It could be that during these 3 months some attitudes had arisen and God wanted to address them and eliminate the negative attitudes that may have been prevailing within the hearts of the people.
11"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: 12'If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?'" The priests answered and said, "No." 13Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?" The priests answered and said, "It does become unclean."
The scenario is being set… the message from God is laying out a scenario that asks questions from the people (answered by the priests)… questions that ALL the people would have known and fully understood. These were very basic, elementary questions, almost child-like in their appearance... questions that almost the youngest child could have answered.
God was asking these questions, NOT to learn the answers, but God was asking these questions to open the eyes and hearts of the people. The questions God uses in this scenario are questions of ‘clean’ or ‘holy’ VS ‘unclean’ or ‘unholy’…
The term ‘holy’ here is the Hebrew term, Koh-desh which represents a separateness, set apart for the purpose of God. The Greek word that is used for this is Haggioss which we translate as holy or saint… either means to be set aside for the express purpose of God.
The term here refers to ‘holy’ meat, or meat that has been sacrificed on the altar and has been made sacred through the sacrifice. That meat was not thrown away but it then became food for the priests… but it was still considered to be holy or clean!
The nation understood the difference between clean and unclean… between holy and defiled… so God’s questions were not to educate, but it was to draw a mental picture for the nation… an illustration to get a point across!
So the basic scenario is that if things have been set aside as holy unto God, if they brush up against other things does it make them holy too… the priests answered, NO, which is correct. To make something holy it had to be consecrated to God in ceremony, like the meat…
However, just the opposite was put forth as well, if something that was considered unholy or unclean were to come into contact with this holy meat, would it be then considered unclean or unholy and the answer from the priests is yes… Once the meat was consecrated to God it was to be kept in a special way and away from what was considered unclean.
Let’s just suffice it to say that all the people would have been in agreement with this answer… this was NOT a scenario from God that took anyone by surprise. We also see that God is asking these questions and painting this picture to get to a larger issue… what God was getting at had nothing to do with ‘holy’ meat, but it was about the hearts of the people, the attitudes of the people toward God.
Haggai continues with God’s scenario in that God wants the people to know that He is holy and what they have done in the past is unclean and unholy and God is seeking a changed heart and attitude from the people.
14Then Haggai answered and said, "So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.
“…so it is with this people…” Harsh words from God here. Basically God was sharing with these people that they were spiritually unclean and not holy unto God. They had trespassed the covenant, they had been disobedient, they had strayed from their walk with God.
God wanted them to know that He was holy and just because they associated themselves with Him that did not make THEM holy. God can make them holy, but merely associating oneself with God does not bring about holiness and a sacred separation from this world… that takes an intimate and personal relationship with God, a solemn ceremony of dedication and commitment on behalf of the people toward God.
By simply rebuilding the Temple, that would NOT make this nation holy, but holiness came from God and God demands obedience and faithful service.
God wanted Israel to know and understand it was NOT about a building, but it was all about their relationship with Him. What God was saying thru Haggai was only He can make things clean, and no amount of ceremony or hard work on the part of the people will bring about holiness because holiness comes from God…
15Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD, 16how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the LORD.
To prove His point, God uses an example of what had happened recently to the Jewish nation since their return from exile. In v.15-17 God lays out what has been happening in that time…
First God says to take what He has to say to heart and put it into practice in their lives… but God then points back and He tells them while you were NOT building the Temple (as you were called to do) how did it go for you? Basically God points out that they always came up short… they always seemed to be lacking… and God tells them that because of their unwillingness to be obedient He had actually prevented success on their part because they were focused on themselves and not Him.
This is a challenge to the people to separate themselves from where they have been and move forward in obedience in their relationship with Him. In other words, stop doing things YOUR way and begin to live and serve in obedience to My will and My way. Then as the next verse begins, God tells them to take that word of advice and put it into practice in their lives…
18Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider: 19Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you."
Make submission and obedience your desire in life, surrender to My will and serve Me as your God. Here God paints one more grim picture to the people as He says, ‘…is the seed in the barn?...’ which is a Hebrew idiom or saying that is similar to our saying, “…don’t count your chickens until the eggs hatch…” and we know that means not to expect success until you’ve done the work.
God is cautioning these people to NOT see their initial obedience as the end-all of their spiritual recovery. Yes they were being obedient at the time of this message, but God’s message was that they must continue in that obedience and they can count of His blessing, but the implication here is that the ‘seed’ or ‘grain’ (as some translations say) is the blessing of God. God HAS promised blessing to these people, but that blessing cannot be experienced without their continual obedience.
So in looking at these verses we can see such a tremendous parallel with our lives today. We all face trouble, we all who are saved, have been trapped in our sinfulness and God has freed us and promised us blessing and an abundant life.
We have all experienced the calling of God on our lives and the disappointment when things don’t go our way… But God calls us to consistent and perpetual obedience, not simply a onetime event. Our obedience must become a lifestyle that we live out each and every hour of each and every day.
So the question becomes one of personal introspection… Am I living out what God has called me to become? Am I serving Him or am I serving myself first and giving God the leftovers of my life?
God does not want and does not deserve the leftovers of our lives… He deserves and DEMANDS the first fruits of our lives. What are you giving God? Is He getting leftovers? OR is God receiving His just due from you?
God called the Hebrews back from exile to follow Him and place their trust in Him to rebuild their city and Temple… they did NOT see how it could be done, they only saw the obstacles standing in their way, but God calls on them to Trust in Him and know that He is going to deliver on their promise… their trust in Him is revealed in their obedience to His calling…
Do you trust God? If so your actions will show it… As Solomon taught so many, many yrs ago, ‘…5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.…”
Where is your heart today? Trusting in Him and serving Him with abandon? OR are you tentative in your service, apathetic in your walk, and lackluster in your obedience? Let’s come BACK to God and serve Him as we have been called by Him to serve. PRAY!!
