Someone once said, “Build. Destroy. Rebuild. I’ve mastered the art of bouncing back. Now, to master the art of not having to” (Dau Voire). This is probably how a lot of us feel. We’re tired of striving and struggling, and we’re tired of having to rebuild. But rebuilding is necessary in order to move ahead with life. The other option is to give up, which leads to an early grave. It’s been said, “Never be afraid to start over. It’s a chance to rebuild things right!” As a church, rebuilding is an opportunity to do things right according to God’s design, rather than our own.
Allow me to share another quote: “When we rebuild a house, we are rebuilding a home. When we recover from disaster, we are rebuilding lives and livelihoods” (Sri Mulyani Indrawati). Right now, the church is positioned to do more than just build the comforts of home. We have an opportunity to really change lives and impact people with the gospel, as they find themselves searching for answers in these difficult times. Through the power of Christ our church can help rebuild lives and livelihoods.
God is calling the church at large to rebuild; and He wants our church to rebuild as well. But amidst the challenges, it takes uncommon trust and surrender to tackle what God is asking. This morning, we’re going to look at how God called Israel to rebuild and see some of the challenges that His people had to overcome back then. So, let’s begin by reading from Haggai 1:1-8:
The Command to Rebuild (Haggai 1:1-8)
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, the time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built’.” 3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! 6 You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD.
This passage was written to the people who had returned from the Babylonian Exile to Jerusalem. Much of the nation’s infrastructure lay in ruins and they were in the process of trying to “build back better.” Commentator John Tullock says, “Haggai challenged the people to get on with the job of rebuilding the temple. If you expect the Lord’s blessings, then do the Lord’s will. In reaction to the people’s excuse that the time had not ‘yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house’ (1:2), Haggai reminded them that they had not let anything stop them from building their own homes. Yet, despite all efforts to meet their own needs, they still were not prosperous. Their efforts in agriculture had brought in little produce, and they never seem to have enough to eat and drink. Inflation also had taken its toll. Haggai’s picturesque way of saying it was ‘you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes’ (1:6). They needed to rebuild the temple if they expected the Lord to bless them. Otherwise, drought would continue to devastate their crops.”(1)
The people had faced some challenges which led to a time of great difficulty. For the exiled Israelites, this time of difficulty was that they were deported from their beloved homeland of Judah and Jerusalem to dwell in a strange and ungodly place. Granted, their problems were much different than ours; however, like us, their problems resulted in a fallen glory in their community of faith and a rift in their relationship with the Lord. Our trials have included being shut down for months, losing touch with those in our fellowship, and seeing some develop apathy toward coming to church once we reopened. We have also seen people leave our fellowship. Some of us are still feeling the effects of these trials, and we’re having a hard time seeing past them. We feel hurt and helpless, and are not sure if we can push past those trials to regain our former glory. We are probably feeling somewhat like the exiles when they returned from Babylon and saw their beloved city of Jerusalem lying in ruins.
The temple was destroyed when the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, and now the Lord said that He wanted the temple rebuilt. The people said, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.” The people said this because they were emotionally and spiritually exhausted, they were living in fear, and they couldn’t muster the faith to believe that this huge task could be accomplished. Commentator Lawrence Richard’s asks, “How could a destitute people, struggling to make ends meet, ever raise the funds necessary to complete God’s temple?” and this is how they felt about the situation. However, the Lord pointed out that it was not right that the people were living in nice paneled houses and that God didn’t have a place in which to dwell. He said, “It is time for my temple to be built. Now, go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple.” And then, when we look down in verse 12, we read, “Then . . . the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God.”
This reminds me of where some of us are right now. Some of us, out of fear, have come to the same conclusion: “The time has not come . . . that the LORD’s house should be built.” Maybe we’re afraid of investing money for outreaches or afraid that we don’t have enough volunteers – or maybe we’re afraid to volunteer ourselves! But even though many of us are afraid, we know that God has said, “Bring wood and build the temple,” or “It’s time to begin rebuilding!” We don’t know how God will provide, but we do know that since He wants us to rebuild that we have to do it, and we also know that somehow He will make it possible.
In Haggai 2:8, the Lord said something to encourage the returning exiles. He said, “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine.” The Lord was saying, “I own everything there is, even the silver and the gold, and if I say that this temple is going to be rebuilt then I will provide the gold and the silver to make it happen.” This is the truth that we must focus on right now if we are to ever take a step of faith: That God owns everything, and that if we are faithful to Him then “He” will provide the resources, the know-how and the miracles!
The people of Judah took that step of faith in rebuilding the temple, not knowing where the resources would come from, and I believe that we also must take a step of faith. Some people want all the answers before they will do anything, but we don’t have to know it all. All we’re required to do is trust that our God will supply. God already knew ahead of time where the resources would come from for the temple project, and I want to show you that right now. So, let’s turn back a ways in our Bible, and look at Ezra 6:1-4:
The Lord Provided (Ezra 6:1-4)
1 Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus: 3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury.”
At the same time that the people began rebuilding the temple, King Darius, who was the ruler of Babylon, had made a search of the archives in Babylon and discovered that King Cyrus had earlier made a decree that the temple in Jerusalem be rebuilt. What’s surprising is that he commanded that the funding for the temple be paid from Babylon’s treasury! We read back in Ezra 1:7-10, where King Cyrus counted out the money from the treasury to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah when his initial decree to rebuild went out.
Do you see the significance here? Many years before the temple was to be rebuilt God had spoken to King Cyrus about funding the project, and then He reminded King Darius. In other words, God knew ahead of time that the temple would definitely be rebuilt, and He knew ahead of time how He would provide the financial resources that the people needed in reconstructing the temple. The people didn’t know, but God did. The Lord also knew ahead of time that we would need to rebuild our fellowship (after the pandemic), and I believe that He also knows how He’s going to provide. It doesn’t matter whether or not we know. What counts is that God knows, and we need to trust that He has a plan and that He will provide for our needs.
Lawrence Richards states, “This incident teaches us an important lesson. ‘Where will the money come from?’ [or where will the provision come from?] is an important question. But not knowing should never deter us from acting if we are sure of God’s will. The message from God that Haggai shared so long ago is still true. The silver is the Lord’s. And the gold is the Lord’s. When we commit ourselves to do His will, the Lord will provide.”
Alphonsus Liguori said, “In building, we need not act as the people of the world. They first procure the money and then begin to build, but we must do just the opposite. We will begin to build and then expect to receive what is necessary from Divine Providence. God will not be outdone in generosity.” So, if we follow the Lord in obedience He will meet our needs concerning finances, volunteers, church growth, and anything else needed to restore the former glory of this church. So, I want to ask you, “Did the returning exiles complete the reconstruction of the temple?” The answer is “Yes!” So, how did they do it? Well, let’s now look at Zechariah 4:6-7 and find out:
Completed through Grace (Zechariah 4:6-7)
6 So he answered and 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. 7 “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of grace, grace to it!”
Commentator Matthew Henry said of this passage, “The general intention of this vision is to assure the prophet that this work of building the temple should, by Providence, and divine grace be [completed], though the enemies of it were many and the friends few. This vision was to illustrate a word to Zerubbabel, to encourage him to go on with the building of the temple.”(2) Just to fill you in, Zerubbabel was a governor of the province who helped lead the first wave of Jews to return from the exile and begin rebuilding the temple.
Here’s what the Lord wanted him to know: 1.) God will carry on this work, not by human might or power, but by His own Spirit. 2.) All the difficulties and opposition that lie in the way shall be removed, even those naysayers who seem impossible to overcome. 3.) The same hand that has begun this good work will perform it. 4.) This shall effectively silence those who looked with contempt on the beginning of this work; and 5.) those who despaired of the finishing of the work shall rejoice and magnify God’s providence, which is always employed for the good of His church.(3)
So, was the reconstruction of the temple completed through man’s might and power? No! Was the task accomplished by human logic, planning and reasoning? No! So, how was it completed? “Not by might nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” The temple wasn’t completed by human reasoning or strength, but by the Spirit of the Lord; and in verse 7, we see that it was by means of God’s grace. This word “grace” here can also be translated as “gift.” The completion of the temple was a gift of God. And the funding for the temple was a gift of God as well. I believe that the Lord will supply all our needs by means of His gracious gift; and all we have to do is trust that He will provide, and then step out in faith and move forward in ministry and outreach in rebuilding this church.
Time of Reflection
Did you know that God is also in the business of rebuilding lives? But before a life can be rebuilt, that individual must first reach rock bottom. He or she must experience something that results in looking up unto God instead of looking to oneself or looking to others. J. K. Rowling said, “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” But none of us can truly rebuild our own life. We need help. Jesus said, “On this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18) – the Rock of Himself. And upon the solid foundation of Christ, people’s lives can be rebuilt when they put their faith and trust in Him as Savior and Lord.
We read in Romans 10:9-12, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For . . . whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame . . . for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.” God is rich in both spiritual rewards and provision when we choose to call on the name of Jesus as Savior and Lord. But the spiritual aspect is the most important. When we confess the name of Jesus Christ, we will be forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life.
NOTES
(1) John Tullock, The Old Testament Story (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000), pp. 301-302.
(2) Matthew Henry, The NIV Matthew Henry Commentary in One Volume (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), p. 1214.
(3) Ibid., pp. 1214-1215.
