Confidence in God's Control and Choice - Haggai 2:20-23
The God who is in control is the God who chooses us.
Have you ever had that dream when you're driving a car and suddenly you lose control? The steering wheel comes off in your hands, the gas pedal sticks and the brakes don't work. People who study dreams say that this kind of dream might indicate that you feel like you are losing control of some part of your life. Maybe in you feel like your life is out of control. You're not in the cockpit and as far as the pilot goes, this is how you feel (show picture of pilot outside of plane).
I wouldn't be surprised if Zerubbabel had that dream. Maybe not driving a car or flying in a plane, but maybe riding a runaway chariot. We have been looking at the book of Haggai and today we reach the last message. Let me give you a recap.
The city of Jerusalem has been destroyed because of the Israelites persistent sin and idolatry. God sends the Babylonians who capture the city, kill most of the people and burn the city to the ground. The survivors are brought to Babylon as captives where they remain for 70 years. At this time, the Persians take over and a new king makes a decree that all the Jews who want to return to their homeland can. They are given the task of rebuilding the temple and starting worship again and to pray particularly for the good of the Persian empire.
About 50,000 people respond and they return to Jerusalem. They find the city a ruin and it takes them a couple of years before they start rebuilding. They lay the foundation with great celebration. But soon the surrounding people oppose them and even send a protest letter back to Persia. They force the Jews to stop and for 16 years nothing is done on the temple. But then God acts. He sends two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah to challenge and motivate the people to start the building again. This book records Haggai's message.
We saw in chapter one how God challenged the people to return to their true purpose, to rebuild the temple. And at the end of the chapter we see the response of the Jews. They begin working and the power of God falls on them. In chapter 2 we see that after about a month of work, the project is threatened by discouragement. The people fight with comparison. The new temple is nothing compared to Solomon's temple. But God redirects the people back to the building project. He tells them to be strong, to work and to not be afraid. Then He reminds them of these three great encouragements, God's presence, God's power and God's purpose. And then God promises them His blessing. The Jews could expect to see bumper crops that year.
In this final message, the Lord directs His words, not to the people, but to one individual. Zerubbabel was the governor of the people, their leader. The weight of leading these people fell on his shoulders. Even with all of these encouragements and promises by God, I'm sure he still had his doubts. Would God really bring an end to the drought? Would there be food, especially since they had to cut back on time spent farming because of the work on the temple? And there was still the treat of the people around them. Would they conspire to stop them again? And not only was Zerubbabel concerned about the nation of Israel, I could imagine he was uncertain about his own standing before God. It was true, he had taken a step of faith by leading the people out of Babylon to travel to Jerusalem. But he had failed in his objective of building the temple. Under his leadership the project had ground to a halt. He had failed God. Would the Lord still accept him as the leader of the Jews? Would the Lord still chose to use him in God's service? In this last message, God answers Zerubbabel's fears. Specifically I want to look at two points this morning: 1) God's control; and 2) God's choice. But before we look into God's Word, let's look to God. Let's pray (pray).
The God who is in control is the God who chooses us. First let's look at God's control. Look at verses 20-21 (read verses). This passage clearly states that there is a plan for history and there is a Person who is in control. Look at the number of times God says, "I will" in this passage. He says it five times. The reason God knows the future is because He is the One who conducts the future. He shapes it and directs it the way He wants. In this passage there are two areas where God has control of. First God has control over nature. Take a look at verse 21 (read verse). This is the same thing that God prophesies in Haggai 2:7. What does the heavens and the earth cover? It encompasses all created things. The heavens covers the stars in the sky. The earth is the planet we live on. God is in control of the created universe. And the Lord says that He will shake it.
I don't know if you've ever been in an earthquake before, but it's a terrifying experience. I'm not talking about the earthquakes you feel around here. There's a little tremor and you go around and say, "Did you feel that earthquake?" "I think I did, I'm not sure." And then you buy T-shirts saying, "I survived the earthquake of 2015". I'm talking about real earthquakes. We felt some big ones in Papua New Guinea. What made them worse was that the houses were often on stilts and that made the shaking even more evident. I remember one particularly bad one the house started shaking and you just waited hoping that it would die down, but it didn't. It just got bigger and bigger. That's when we ran outside and we hoped the shaking would die down. You feel completely helpless at that point. You have no control whatsoever.
It's when we face the untameable forces of nature that we see how powerless we are. The greatest manmade structure falls before an earthquake. The great unsinkable Titanic hits an iceberg and slips under the waves. Whole cities are swallowed by the mighty eruption of a volcano. Against those great forces of nature our technology and human power are shattered. But God is in control. He will bring about the greatest shaking of all.
When the Lord talks about shaking the heavens and the earth it will be the greatest shaking in history. Hebrews 12:26 says: "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain." This will happen at the end of the age when the old heavens and the old earth will be removed and there will be a new heavens and earth.
You know sometimes I look at the big houses around or the fancy cars and I think, "One day they're all going to be burned up." For all of the emphasis we have on saving the planet, on preserving the environment, of being eco-conscious, we won't ultimately safe this earth. The Lord Himself will bring it to an end. You see this earth has a time expiry stamp on it. It has been on a path of decay since sin entered the world and the solution isn't to rehabilitate it, but to make it anew. Romans 8:19-23 says: "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."
When we are redeemed, the whole of creation will be redeemed as well. When we receive our new bodies, our resurrected bodies, then creation will be new as well. It will be perfect and holy. That's God's plan, and nothing is going to stop it.
But not only does God have control over nature, He has control over nations. Look at verse 22 in Haggai chapter two (read verse). Not only can we feel powerless before the forces of nature, but we can feel as equally helpless before the march of nations. I don't know about you, but when I read the news about the wars around the world, about different countries coming into conflict with each other, with terrorists and ISIS, with the financial crisis in Greece and other countries around the world, I just shake my head. And even in our own country we can feel powerless as laws are being passed that legislate against our Christian beliefs. Canada is becoming more and more inhospitable to those who claim to follow Jesus Christ.
But the good news is that our politicians aren't in control, the terrorists aren't in control, President Obama isn't in control. God is in control. These verses state clearly that God is the one who will put human rule to an end. He will overthrow every earthly power. These men and nations may think they are powerful and they can rule and exert their will on others, but they are all under the absolute control of the heavenly Father. Listen to Isaiah 40:15-17: "Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing."
You know it's the Pan Am games and you see people driving around with Canadian flags flying. I think that it's good to be patriotic, just like it's good to be environmentally conscious. But we have to put our nation in perspective. Canada is a great nation, but it is a manmade nation. And it will not last. Did you notice that in Haggai 2:22 it says that the Lord with overturn thrones and shatter kingdoms. It doesn't say that God will raise up any new rulers. You see at this time, at the end of the age, not only will there be a new heaven and a new earth, but there will be no longer any human government. We won't need human rulers any longer. The Lord Himself will be our king and He will rule over a people who follow Him joyfully, immediately and without any question.
The Lord is in control. What difference does that fact have on your life. For Zerubbabel it made all the difference. It gave him the courage to forge ahead with the building project even though there were many unknowns. We learn in the book of Ezra that Zerubbabel did indeed experience opposition from the surrounding people. Again these enemies of the Jews sent a letter to Persia to get the Israelites to stop, just like last time. But this time their plan backfired. The current king, Darius, issued an order for the royal archives to be searched. And they found a scroll with the original edict from King Cyrus. After finding this decree, Cyrus sends a response to those people opposing the building. It's recorded in Ezra 6:6-12:
6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:
Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed--young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem--must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.
11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble. 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.
I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
Isn't that great? Not only did the Jews not have to stop, but those opposing them had to help them by paying for the expenses of the building and the sacrifices that had to be offered. It's so obvious that God is in control. The best thing we can do is obey God, even if we don't understand how it will work out. We may have doubts and questions, but we trust that the Lord is in control. And He will make circumstances work out to accomplish His purposes.
When the new church began in Jerusalem they were confronted with opposition and persecution. After Peter and John were arrested by the elders and chief priests and warned to stop preaching about Jesus Christ, they returned to the other Christians and prayed. Acts 4:23-31 records what happened (read passage). Because they early disciples believed that God was in control, they were empowered to obey God and continue to proclaim the gospel boldly. We're in exactly the same situation. The key is to know that is in control. If we can trust Him, then we can obey Him.
But not only does this passage underline God's sovereignty but it also speaks of God's individual choice. We have seen that God is in control of the heavens and the earth and the fate of nations. But the question we may have, is what about us? How do we as individuals fit into God's plan for creation? Take a look at verse 23 (read verse). After God addresses the big issues of the fate of creation and the destruction of worldly powers, now the Lord turns directly to a single person, Zerubbabel.
Now put yourself in the place of Zerubbabel for a moment. How would you feel if you received this word from God? How would it make you feel? Let's try it out. "On that day," declares the Lord Almighty, "I will take you, my servant Vinson son of Hoe, or Joshua son of John, or Charlotte, daughter of Kester," declares the Lord, "and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you," declares the Lord Almighty. How does that make you feel? It's a powerful thing to be chosen.
You know that when you're a kid and you're playing soccer with your friends at recess. They pick two captains and they each take turns choosing players. You just hope you won't be the last one picked. And then you hear your name. How do you feel? You know that when you're at a middle school dance. You know how those dances go, the guys all end up on one side of the gym and the girls on the other. Then the dreaded slow dance comes, and the guys have to make the treacherous journey across the dance floor to ask that girl. And as a pre-teen girl, you have to stand and wait and hope that one boy comes and asks you and your pray it isn't yucky old George. And then you look up and Dan, the captain of the basketball team asks you. How do you feel?
We all want to be chosen. We all need to know that we are wanted, that we are significant to someone else. Zerubbabel needed to know this. And he needed to know that he wasn't just chosen by any old person, he needed to know that he was chosen by God. Why was that so important for Zerubbabel to know? He was in the line of David. He was in the direct line of the kings of Judah. In fact, if Babylon hadn't conquered Judah, he could very well be king instead of governor. But there was no king. It seemed like the promise given to David had been broken. God had made some great promises to David. In 2 Samuel 7:16 God says: "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever."
But it seemed that this promise was rescinded, cancelled by God when the descendants of David, the kings of Judah went from bad to worse. It got to the point where the prophet God spoke to the then king Jehoiachin in Jeremiah 22:24: "'As surely as I live,' declares the Lord, 'even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.'" Jehoiachin was Zerubbabel's grandfather and we find out his fate in 2 Chronicles 36. He was taken off to captivity to Babylon and he never returned to Jerusalem.
That's why this word from God through Haggai must have been so powerful to Zerubbabel. During his grandfather's time, the Lord removed him from power as He would remove a signet ring from His hand. But in Haggai 2:23, the Lord says that He is going to put that ring back on and He will Zerubbabel into His signet ring. The Lord was restoring the promise He had given to David. That promise now rested squarely on Zerubbabel.
I love the picture of a signet ring. The signet ring is the most important piece of jewelry that a king possessed. It was so valuable not because it was made precious metal and costly gems. It was valuable for what it represented. The signet ring represented the authority and power of the king himself. It was his seal of authority. When the king sent an official letter, he would write his message on a scroll, roll it up and then drop a dollop of melted wax on the seal. Then he would take his signet ring and press it on the soft wax to fix its impression on the seal. That seal identified that the letter was genuine and guaranteed that it wouldn't be opened until it reached the proper person.
In 1 Kings 21:8, the evil Queen Jezebel took King Ahab's signet ring and "wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal." The ring's stamp gave her letters the king's authority. In Daniel 6:17, a signet ring was used to seal a stone covering a lions' den: "A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel."
Because the ring held the king's authority, the signet ring was guarded closely. Typically the king kept it on his finger, never letting it out of his possession. If that ring was stolen then the thieves could impersonate the king and start issuing royal edicts. The Lord says that He is has chosen Zerubbabel to be His signet ring. Zerubbabel was precious to God. And he would be the one who represented his king.
How do you think that made Zerubbabel feel? You know I think that for many of us we think that God doesn't really care about us individually. Sure we know the He loves us, but He loves the whole world. Does God really care about us individually? Does He think that we are valuable? Does He have an individual plan for us? Are we significant in His sight? The answer is yes.
I remember the first time I met with God, or should I say, God met with me. I always believed there was a God, but I thought that He was just this great power who made the universe and set everything into motion. I didn't think He cared about someone as insignificant as me. But one night while I was walking through the woods, agonizing over my future, uncertain about my relationships and not happy with the person I was becoming, God met me. He silenced my fears and quieted my heart. And for the first time I was confronted by the personal care and love and God for me. That, for me, was life changing.
After that I was motivated to find out more about this God. I attended a retreat at a local church and at the end I received and New Testament. I started reading it and I was impressed by the main character, Jesus Christ. Now I had heard about Jesus before. I attended Sunday school as a child, but I always thought the stories about Jesus were fairy tales. But as I read them in the Bible they didn't seem like fairy tales. They were just like stories of things that actually happened. I actually was very impressed by Jesus. He was so powerful, walking on water, feeding thousands of people with a handful of food, healing people and even raising the dead. And He was so loving. He was always reaching out to the people who no one wanted to be with, the prostitutes, the tax collectors and lepers. And yet they killed Him.
At first I couldn't understand why they killed Him, but as I continued to read I found out that Jesus came to earth to die. Jesus says in Mark 10:45: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." I realized that Jesus came to die for me. I knew that I had broken God's laws and I was afraid to stand before Him on the day of judgement. But Jesus died as my ransom. He suffered in my place. He died to pay the penalty of all of my sin. I remember understanding that and realizing that if God had done so much for me, I had to respond. So one night I rode my bike out to the beach and I gave my life to Jesus Christ. That's when my relationship with Jesus Christ began. It all began with the realization that God cared about me personally.
But as a Christian for over 30 years, sometimes I forget this foundational fact. Sometimes I think I feel a lot like Zerubbabel must have felt. I think that God isn't pleased with me, that He has abandoned me because of my sin. He no longer will accept me because too often I have disobeyed Him and refused to follow the path He has shown me. I wonder if God will ever accept me back, if He will ever use me again. Can we ever come to the point where God just won't accept us? In the movie Fiddler on the Roof, Retrevia has three daughters. Each one chooses to marry men that stretch the father. The eldest daughter chooses a poor tailor, but Retrevia comes to terms with that. The second falls in love with a radical Jew who wants to rebel against the government. After a struggle, Retrevia reconciles with that idea. But then his youngest daugher, Chava marries a Russian, a gentile. This clip shows the father's reaction. (show video from Fiddler on the Roof)
What about God? Is He like Retrevia? Is there anything we can do that will drive us away from Him where He turns His back on us? The answer is no. That is what grace is all about. We looked before at God's message to the Jews in Zechariah 1. After all that the Jews did against Him, and they did a lot. They worshipped idols. They practiced witchcraft and divination. They even sacrificed their own children as burnt sacrifices to these idols. It says that in 2 Kings 21:16 that Manasseh, Zerubbabel's ancestor, killed so many innocent people that their blood filled Jerusalem. But even with all of this evil, God says to the Jews in Zechariah 1:3: "Return to me and I will return to you." Are you ready to return to God? If you are, then He will be waiting for you with His arms held open wide. Won't you come back to Him today?
Zerubbabel heard the words of God: "I will take you, my servant and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you." That's what he needed to hear, and I think for many of us we need to hear exactly the same thing.
Now you may object and say that "I'm not Zerubbabel. I'm not the governor and I'm not in the line of king David. I can understand how God would choose someone like that, but why would He ever turn His attention on me?" Let me read you a passage from Ephesians 1:3-5 and 11-14:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- (down to 11) 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.
Do you hear what those verses are saying. If you are a Christian, if you have the Holy Spirit living within you, then you are chosen by God. In fact, you were chosen before the creation of the world. We have a place in God's eternal plan. The reason we were chosen is to give glory to God. Do you see, just like Zerubbabel, if you are a Christian, you are chosen to be God's servant, to be His representative on earth, to give God glory. In a very real way we are called to be God's signet ring. We are His representatives on earth and our lives must reflect His glory.
