Return from Exile: Haggai (5)

Pray Psalm 50.14, 15.
“Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

Sing Psalm 50.14, 15.
(Austrian Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken)
“Sacrifice of thanks now render; pay to God your solemn vows!
Let the troubled, each offender, seek Him in the midst of woes.
In the day of strife draw near Him; He will hear, and He will save.
Honor God, rejoice, and fear Him, give to Him your grateful praise.

Read Haggai 2.1-19; meditate on verses 10-19.

Preparation
1. What did God say about the state of the people? How did that affect their work?

2. What did God call the people to consider?

Meditation
The foundation of the temple had been laid, and many of the people were disappointed. They don’t seem to have wondered about how God felt about their work, so He decided to tell them through the prophet (vv. 10-14).

God knew the hearts of His people. They had worked hard and probably sacrificed a lot to build the foundation (cf. Hag. 1.8, 14). But, just like the dutiful offerings of Psalm 50.7-13, building a temple was not ultimately what God was seeking. The hearts of His people were not yet fully committed to Him, and He continued to “short” their harvests to get them to “consider” their ways yet again (Hag. 2.15-17).

So, because they were ungrateful at heart (Ps. 50.14, 15), the work they had done laying the temple’s foundation was “unclean”—every aspect of it (v. 14). They were unclean (v. 14) and what they offered to God was unclean as well (v. 15).

Nothing was working out as they had hoped (v. 19). But God promised to bless them despite their self-centeredness and ingratitude (v. 19). But God was not thinking only about the temple or the unclean, ungrateful people before Him. As we shall see, God’s promised grace, though squandered by our unfaithfulness, will accomplish God’s purposes in His time.

How does God look on all our “offerings”—our church buildings, our programs, our light-and-smoke-and-all-happy worship? Do our self-centered, materialistic, world-friendly hearts ruin everything we’re offering to Him? Are our churches flourishing, or do we keep seeing the numbers and influence decline and the good seed of the Kingdom rotting in our barns (Hag. 2.16-19)? Let us weep tears of repentance and call on God for a fresh outpouring of His grace and Spirit, that His blessings may abound to and through us again.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
And yes, of course, that is what any rational Christian should want: “a fresh outpouring of His grace and Spirit that His blessings may abound to and through us again.”

In revival, the grace, the outpouring of His Spirit, the mercy and salvation, all come from the hand of God.
But the response comes from us. We have been saved unto good works (Eph. 2.10). And keeping good company contributes to that state of holiness in which we are to find ourselves. As Paul wrote: “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Cor. 15.33). Or as Solomon wrote: “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov. 12.26). And “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Prov. 13.20).

God alluded to this in Haggai 2.11-14 asking: If something touches holiness will it become holy? No.

Or, if something touches uncleanness, will it become unclean? Yes.

We are warned over and over not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think (Rom 12.3); but instead, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10.12).

Just because we go to church does not mean that we will not fall into sin. Look at all the embarrassing and dishonoring situations that seem to hit the news daily: this Christian person had an affair, this Christian person was persecuting women or men, this Christian person stole money from their congregation or business, this Christian person thinks God’s Law is passé, this Christian person renounced his faith, this Christian person…ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

If you join anything—family, group, club, government, school, church, society—there are rules to follow.
If there are no rules, chaos reigns, and there is nothing that makes your gathering special or unique. Following Jesus Christ as King in His Kingdom is just like that. There are standards and structures. God wants to pour out His blessings upon His people, but He needs to be able to discern who His people are. There are unique characteristics that adorn the holy.

Paul Tournier (1898-1986), the Swiss physician and author once said, “We are nearly always looking for an easy religion, easy to understand, and easy to follow, a religion with no mystery, no insoluble problems, no snags; a religion that would allow us to escape from our miserable human condition; a religion in which our contact with God spares us all strife, all uncertainty, all suffering and all doubt; in short, a religion without the cross.”

But our religion does have the cross, and it does have requirements. It is not always easy, or easy to understand, nor is it easy to follow. And because this is so, we need to walk our path carefully, with companions that will encourage us into righteous, godly, and holy behavior. People who will help us “carefully consider” (Hag. 2.15) all the words of the Lord, so that He will “fill this temple with glory” (Hag. 2.7)—the Church as a whole and each individual in it.

For reflection
1. What can you do to increase thanksgiving in your life? Why is it a good idea to do so?

2. What kind of companion are you to your Christian friends?

3. Whom will you encourage in thanksgiving and righteousness today? How?

The impurity of their hearts and lives shall make the work of their hands, and all their offerings, unclean before God. The case is the same with us. When employed in any good work, we should watch over ourselves, lest we render it unclean by our corruptions. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Haggai 2.10-19

Pray Psalm 50.1-4, 16-23.
Pray that God will give you a clearer sense of His greatness, holiness, majesty, and power, and that He will increase your love for His Word. Seek His Presence, strength, help, and grace for the day ahead.

Sing Psalm 50.1-4, 16-23.
(Austrian Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken)
God, the LORD, the mighty Savior, summons all from east to west.
Out of Zion, rich with favor, shines He, of all things the best.
Come, O God, and keep not silence; fire devours before Your way!
He His Church, steeped in defiance, comes to judge this awful day.

“All of you My Word despising, who are you to claim My grace?
Praise may from your lips be rising, but you scorn Me to My face.
You approve of all transgressions, scheme against your mother’s son!
I will crush your vain aggressions and destroy what you have done.

Reckon this, My sinful people, lest My wrath consume you whole:
None shall thwart Me when I seek to crush and break your sin-stiff soul.
He who thanks to Me addressing, follows after what is good,
he shall know the way of blessing coming from the hand of God.”

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help us understand our own captivity and lead us to seek revival and renewal in the Lord. The Church Captive asks us to consider the ways the Church today has become captive to the world. And Revived! can help us find the way to renewal. Learn more and order your free copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available free by clicking here.