Haggai: The Best is Yet to Come
Haggai 2:20-23
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
10-29-23
Intro
As a professor at Moody Bible Institute, I often talk to students who are completely overwhelmed. They are taking classes, writing papers, reading books, and working (sometimes full-time), and many have families to take care of.
It’s easy to get down and discouraged when there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel and every day is the same as the last.
I get the joy of reminding them that this too shall pass. They are in an incredibly busy season right now but school will come to an end. They will graduate and will be able to read books because they want to not because they have to.
Some who graduate will already have jobs or internships lined up. Some wait until they graduate to get married or have children.
I always remind them that the future is so bright they need to wear shades! But it’s hard to see that in the midst of the academic grind.
Maybe you feel that way? In Greek mythology, the king of Corinth, Sisyphus, was cursed to spend every day rolling a huge stone up a hill only to watch it roll back down as he reached the top.
Maybe you feel like the walls are closing in. You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every day is the same thing and you are getting weary and worn out. The world just seems to be spinning too fast and you dream about getting off the ride.
You may be able to relate to the words of an article in the Atlantic Journal:
“The world is too big for us. Too much going on, too many crimes, too much violence and excitement. Try as you will, you get behind in the race…it’s an incessant strain to keep pace and you still lose your ground. Science empties its discoveries in you so fast that you stagger beneath them in hopeless bewilderment. The political news is seen so rapidly you’re out of breath trying to keep pace with who’s in and who’s out. Everything is high pressure. Human nature can’t endure much more!”
This was written on June 16, 1833!
There is really nothing new under the sun.
This morning, we are going to listen in as Haggai encourages the Jewish people with a picture of a future that they can hardly imagine.
Turn with me to Haggai 2.
Prayer
Review
[ Show the Bible Project - Haggai end at 4:23]
This morning, we come to the last sermon, which was also preached on December 18, 520 BC. Yes, he preached two sermons on the same day. This is the day that the foundation of the Temple was completed. It was a day of celebration.
But the people are still discouraged. Jerusalem was not what it used to be. The Temple will be much less impressive than Solomon’s Temple. The promise of God’s presence seems to be lost. They look into the far future and it is murky and depressing.
God through the prophet Haggai has a word for them today. Well, actually the message is for Zerubbabel.
A Promised Day is Coming
"The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.”
God addresses the political ruler Zerubbabel with the promise that he will shake the heavens and the earth. This is a Hebrew way of saying, “the universe.”
We’ve already seen this shaking motif in 2:6-8.
“Shaking” is a sign of His sovereignty and judgment. (Think of a snow globe) He will shake everything again when Jesus Christ returns to the earth.
This is not shaking to destroy but to reorder things to their rightful place.
As one pastor put it, “There will be a lot of shaking going on!”
God will overturn royal thrones. This word means total and instantaneous destruction by God’s unlimited power. It’s the same word used for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.
He will shatter the power of the foreign nations. This word is the same one used to describe the complete destruction of the Canaanites at Jericho (Joshua 2).
He will overthrow chariots and drivers, horses, and their riders will fall.
Does anyone remember when this happened? That’s right, when God parted the Red Sea and the Israelites walked through on dry land but the Egyptians chasing them were all drowned in the depths of the water. (See Exodus 14)
“…each by the sword of his brother.”
This would take the people back to Judges 7 and the Midianites turning on each other in confusion when Gideon attacked.
What is Haggai doing? He’s reminding them of God’s faithfulness in the past. God has been faithful to them, even when they were unfaithful, and has plans and purposes for their future.
Israel will be restored to political power. To a tired and weary people, who are presently under the control of the Meades/Persians, this would be a welcome promise.
Haggai is saying that judgment is coming.
Zerubbabel has been trying to lead these people and he is tired. Haggai says to him - take heart. The future is bright and God is faithful.
To the enemies of God, Haggai says take heed. Every knee will bow. Some will bow with tears in their eyes and grateful hands lifted high in praise. Others will bow in absolute terror. But everyone will bow at the end.
The Greyhound Bus
When things get hard, when we feel like there is no hope, we need to remind ourselves of the faithfulness of God in the past.
On our shelf, there is a small Greyhound bus that friends gave us after hearing our testimony.
Maxine and I got married when we were 24 years old. I was 24 going on 17. She was 24 going on 40. Our first year of marriage was a disaster.
We actually had a serious talk and agreed that we might have made a mistake. But we had also made a commitment to never consider divorce so we had to figure something out.
I was a terrible husband. I was insensitive, childish, and demanding. I was addicted to pornography. I hurt Maxine deeply that first year.
What I didn’t know at the time was that Maxine was praying that I would be hit by a Greyhound bus. Yep, she wanted me dead.
See, then she would be rid of the jerk she married and could also have had people’s sympathy in the process.
All that happened nearly 30 years ago, and we not only survived but have learned, with time, patience, and therapy, to thrive with each other.
This bus reminds us that God is faithful. That He rescued our marriage and that we can always trust Him to do what’s going to bring Himself the most glory and do us the most good.
Do you have anything in your life that reminds you of God’s faithfulness?
In Remembrance of Me
All throughout the Bible, there is a motif of remembering. The idea of remembering is used over 250 times in the Bible.
Abraham built an altar to worship where God spoke to Him first.
Noah built an altar when he got off the ark.
Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God spoke to him and named the place Bethel, which means the house of God.
Another memorial, a meal, was put in place to celebrate what happened when the Jewish people were rescued from Egypt and the death angel passed over their houses.
The Passover is a form of memorial. It’s all about remembering the oppression in slavery and the rescue by the strong arm of the Lord.
Jewish people celebrate it every year and tell the story again and again.
The feast of Purim that we learned about in Esther,
commemorates when Haman’s plan to annihilate the Jewish people was thwarted and, against all odds, they survived.
The Feasts all helped the Jewish people to remember God’s faithfulness to them throughout the year.
In the New Testament, we have five main ways of remembering.
* Worship - when we come together corporately and sing to the Lord we are reminding each other of His goodness, grace, love, and faithfulness.
David wrote in his praise journal:
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits…” (Psalm 103:1-2)
* Preaching - this may surprise you, but I really don’t have anything new to say. Preaching is basically reminding you of the truths of the Scriptures again and again again.
Legend has it that a church member once asked Martin Luther,
“Why do you preach the Gospel to us week after week?”
Luther replied, “Because week after week you forget it.”
Peter wrote:
“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” (2 Peter 1:12)
* Baptism - baptism is a word picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It’s a public identification with Jesus; an outward expression of an inward reality. It’s like preaching a sermon without words.
It encourages others, stamps the decision for Christ into the believer’s heart, and gives them a memory of their step of faith, and it helps us remember that Jesus doesn’t just want to make us better, He wants to make us new.
"Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Col 2:11-12)
* Communion - in some denominations, communion is actually called a “memorial meal.” Jesus said to do this in remembrance of me.
Every time we celebrate communion, which we will do next week, we remember Jesus’ perfect life, substitutionary death, the atonement He made for sin on the cross, and His glorious resurrection.
Jeremiah wrote these words in the middle of one of the saddest books in the Bible:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam 3:22-23)
A Promised Deliverer is Coming
“‘On that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
This is one of the most amazing promises that God could have made to these people. On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense to us but as we go through this you will discover that this is a promise of a coming deliverer!
Nearly every word in this verse is important so let’s go through it slowly.
On that day - The Day of Yahweh, the day of shaking and judgment
I will take - This word is used when God wants to change the status of an individual and was used most in the anointing of kings.
My servant - when the people heard the term “my servant,” they would have automatically thought of Isaiah’s prophecy of a suffering servant Messiah.
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel - notice he doesn’t call him the governor of Judah? God is addressing Zerubbabel personally.
I will make you like my signet ring - a signet ring was worn either on the finger or on a chain around the neck. It had an impression on it and when pressed into wax created a seal indicating the authority of the king.
This is explosive. We need to go back to Jeremiah 22 (p1210) and a King named Jehoiachin:
“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. I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. You will never come back to the land you long to return to.”
Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know?
O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!
This is what the Lord says:?
“Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.” (Jer 22:24-30)
Jehoiachin was the last of the evil kings of Judah and God said, “I’m done with you. If you were a signet ring, I would tear it off my finger and throw it in the fire. Because of your disobedience, you and these people will go into exile in Babylon. None of your boys will ever sit on the throne of David.”
The Jewish people knew this promise. It looked like God was cutting off the Davidic kingdom line. But that’s how the promise of deliverance will come. It is all over for us? Is God really done with us?
It might be helpful to know that Zerubbabel was Jehoiachin’s grandson. Zerubabbel was born in Babylon. (His name means “seed of Babel.”)
Zerubbabel had returned with the exiles and faithfully led them out of fear and apathy to finish the foundation of the Temple. In fact, he would see the project through to completion in less than four years.
There is hope! There is light at the end of the tunnel! God had chosen Zerubbabel and the line of David was restored.
Zerubbabel doesn’t become a king. He is a symbol of hope. He points toward Someone from the line of David who would come and Deliver the people.
In the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, we find this:
“After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.” (Matthew 1:12)
In the first Christian sermon preached by Peter, he says,
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.” (Acts 2:30)
Paul began his letter to the Romans with this in mind:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 1:1-4)
I said that there were five ways for us to remember the faithfulness of God. The fifth one is
* The Cross - the cross is the ultimate reminder of God’s love for us. In fact, if you ever doubt that God loves you, or if God is good, look to the cross.
We wear crosses around our necks, tattoo them on our body, and wear them in our ears.
But, here’s a question, is the cross you wear a decoration or a declaration?
John wrote:
“Greater love has no man than he lay down His life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
This verse is about the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to secure our freedom from sin and death
If you are a Christian, it’s because God chose you. You have an incredible future.
In 1952, Florence Chadwick attempted to swim the twenty-six miles from the coast of California to Catalina Island. After swimming for hours, the fog set in and she became disoriented and discouraged. She finally motioned to the boat that she couldn’t go any further and they pulled her in. She was less than a mile from the Catalina shore.
But she couldn’t see it. She lost hope. Maybe that’s you today.
I remember telling a client that there was light at the end of the tunnel and he replied, “Yes, it’s the headlights of an oncoming train.” Less than a month later, he took his life.
There is hope. Don’t lose hope. There are good things ahead.
Ten years ago, I ran the Christie Clinic marathon. The finish line was in the stadium where the Illini football team played. When I crossed mile 25 the streets were lined with people but I couldn’t see the finish line. But…I could hear names being announced, and loud cheers, as they crossed the finish line. There was a party going on ahead of me and it pushed me forward as I ran the rest of the race.
Because of Jesus, we are headed toward a finish line where the party will be so bright you need to wear shades.
By the way, Florence swam the twenty-six miles again and this time finished in record time. She said that when the fog set in it didn’t bother her because she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind as she swam.
When you start to lose hope, remember that God has been faithful in the past and will continue to be faithful to the end.
