Build, for the King is Coming (Haggai 2:10-23)
Have you ever worried whether you are good enough? The fear of being inadequate is more common than we’d like to admit. It shows up in various ways. Maybe you struggle to fit in at school, because you think others are better and smarter. Or, you feel insecure at work, stressed about what your boss and colleagues think of you. Some of us feel like failures because we have fallen short of our own standards, letting ourselves and others down. Or, we worry about not being liked and accepted by others, whether it is our family, our friends, or by the church.
We respond to the fear of not being good enough in various ways. Some procrastinate, reluctant to do anything because of the fear of failing. Others overwork or pursue perfectionism to prove themselves. Some of us try to be people-pleasers, hoping others will like us. Or, we withdraw from community and relationships, thinking we do not belong anyway. The fear of not being good enough may make us over-sensitive. We are easily triggered by what others think or say. Our performance anxieties can make us needy, as we constantly crave attention and assurance.. Or, it might make us defensive and disagreeable. We argue and fight to insist we’re right.
The fear of inadequacy points to a deeper insecurity: Do you think you are good enough for God? If you consider your ways before God, where will you stand? These fundamental questions are addressed by our text in the Book of Haggai.
We have been making our way through Haggai over the past two Sundays. Its main message is to encourage God’s people to rebuild God’s house. The temple in Jerusalem is significant because it represents God’s presence with His people and His promises to them. The nation of Judah was supposed to glorify God as His people. But because they turned away from God, He brought judgement on them through the Babylonians. The nation and its capital, Jerusalem, were conquered. The temple was destroyed. The people exiled.
But God brought the Jews back to the land, just as He said He would. Babylon fell to the Persians, who allowed the Jews to return from exile. They began to rebuild the temple, but due to difficulties and distractions, the work stopped. Years passed, and the temple remained in ruins. God’s people got on with their own lives, neglecting the temple. Instead of building God’s house, they were too busy building their own houses. They got their priorities wrong. So, God says to His people, “Consider your ways.” God calls His people to put Him first. The Jews respond positively to God’s rebuke. But after a month of work, it is clear to the older people that the rebuilt temple is only a pale shadow of the original. It cannot compare with the former glory. So, God speaks to His people again. He encourages the discouraged with His presence and promise. “Be strong... Work, for I am with you,” God says. Build by faith. Trust that greater glory is coming.
The gracious God makes us clean and gives us a King.
Two more months have passed. And, it is now three months since the start of rebuilding. Haggai 2:10 says it is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius. A nagging question remains: Previously, the people had turned their backs on God. Where do they stand with Him now? To answer this question, God speaks to the people twice on this day. These are the last two oracles given to Haggai. Together, they bring encouragement and hope to God’s people. This is the big idea: The gracious God makes us clean and gives us a King. This is also our assurance as we consider our own standing with God. He accepts us not because of what we have done, but only because of what He has done for us. We will unpack this in two points: (1) God makes us clean (Haggai 2:10-19); (2) God gives us a King (Haggai2:20-23).
God Makes Us Clean (Haggai 2:10-19)
Imagine visiting a doctor and he does not wear surgical gloves or wash his hands before examining you. You’d probably be so put off by his poor hygiene that you would never visit him again. Today, we understand the importance of hand washing. But it was not always the case. It was not until the second half of the 19th century that doctors washed their hands before examining their patients. Before that, many simply assumed their hands were clean because they didn’t see any dirt. Only when doctors realised how invisible germs and bacteria can contaminate their hands did they see the need to wash.
Similarly, before we talk about how God makes us clean, we must first see our need to be made clean. So, God shows us why we need to be cleansed. Look at Haggai 2:11. The oracle begins with a question from the LORD to the priests. In the Old Testament, the priests were responsible for knowing and teaching God’s law. So, they ought to know how to answer God’s question about ritual or ceremonial holiness. Look at Haggai 2:12: “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?” “Holy meat” refers to the meat of a sacrificial offering. For certain types of offerings, the meat could be taken home by the worshiper and eaten. How did they transport the meat? The people would fold up a corner of their clothes and use it to carry things, in this case, the holy meat. When that piece of clothing touches something else, like bread or stew or wine or oil, do those food items become holy? The priests answer correctly, “No”. The point is this: Holiness is not transferrable. It cannot be passed from a holy object to something else and make that other thing holy.
What about the other way around? Look at Haggai 2:13: If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? Again, the priests answer correctly — yes, it does become unclean. When an unclean person touches an object, that object becomes unclean. Here is an illustration of this: Hanging around healthy people does not make a sick person well. On other hand, we fall ill because we come into contact with someone who is sick. Sickness spreads, health does not. For this reason, we had to practise safe distancing and to quarantine ourselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a similar way, the rituals and ceremonies of the Old Testament law teach us this spiritual truth: Corruption is contagious, holiness is not. Touching a holy thing does not make one holy, but an unclean person makes whatever he touches unclean.
What is the point of this lesson in ritual holiness? Look at Haggai 2:14 — “Then 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?” God cares about more than ceremonial purity; He is most concerned about true holiness. Why? It is because of who He is. God is holy, which means He is perfectly pure and glorious. He is completely, absolutely without any imperfection or corruption. He is perfectly righteous, loving, true, and trustworthy. Who can come to the holy God? Only He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Therefore, God commands His people, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
The problem is that the people are not holy. And, not simply in a ceremonial sense, but truly unclean. The people have disobeyed God and been unfaithful to Him. In the first place, it was their idolatry and false worship that led to their exile. And even after they returned, they still did not put God first. They were more concerned with building their own houses and kingdoms than they were about building God’s house and seeking His kingdom. The people were self-centred and selfish. Preoccupied with their own interests, they relegated God to an afterthought. Yet, they were still religious. They continued to make offerings to God. Maybe they thought they could appease God with outward compliance and keep on living for themselves. But holy offerings cannot make unclean people holy. What’s more, unclean people make their offerings unclean. As the prophet Samuel told king Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Sam 15:22) Without obedience, offerings count for nothing. Form without substance is useless.
Mere religion, even true religion, cannot save. The hymn we just sung says it well:
Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load
External religious practices like going to church, reading the Bible, financial giving, singing worship songs, getting involved in church activities, or even baptism cannot save us. We had the joy of witnessing several baptisms today. It was so encouraging to hear testimonies. For baptism to be biblical and meaningful, the outward sign must be preceded by inward, spiritual regeneration and transformation. In other words, mere conformity without true conversion is empty. Baptism must follow repentance and faith. Holiness is not transferrable. We cannot become holy just by being with Christians, or by growing up in a Christian family. Indeed, it is a blessing to have friends, parents and grandparents who are believers. It is a blessing to be able to go to church. But as helpful as such things are, they cannot on their own save us or make us holy. We need a Saviour to make us clean.
God is holy. Therefore, to be acceptable to Him, we must also be holy as He is holy.
God is holy. Therefore, to be acceptable to Him, we must also be holy as He is holy. Being holy means to be wholeheartedly devoted to worship, love, trust and obey God. God made us to glorify and enjoy Him, but we have turned our backs on Him. Instead of following Him, we have lived for ourselves. Our lives revolve around meeting our needs, satisfying our desires, fulfilling our plans, doing what we want. Such godlessness is sin. Sin is not worshiping God and not being thankful to Him. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We are unholy and unclean. What is worse is that we cannot make ourselves holy. Our unholiness is an internal problem that external religion cannot fix. We are helpless. If we are to be holy, God must save us and make us clean.
Sin has consequences. Our uncleanness affects our lives. In Haggai 2:15-19, God calls the people to consider, to reflect on their lives before and after they started rebuilding the temple. Look at Haggai 2:15-16. God asks the people, “Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD, how did you fare?” Before, God made their lives frustrating and futile. It was meant to be a wake-up call for the people to return to Him. Haggai 2:17 says God afflicted the people and their work with blight, mildew and hail. Do not expect a truly fulfilling life if we do not put God first. God mercifully troubles us that we might see our need of Him. But in spite of their trials, the people still did not turn to God. We can be so stubborn in our sin.
But praise God for His persevering patience with stubborn sinners. Our sins are great, but God’s grace is greater still! God rebukes the people through Haggai. He speaks in love, that we might turn back to Him. When you hear His word, do not harden your heart. By God’s grace, the people obeyed God’s voice and got to work building God’s house. Now, three months after resuming the rebuilding, the temple’s foundation is in place. God assures the people of His blessing from this day. As Haggai 2:18-19 says, if we return to God, He will return to us. Stop running from God and start running to Him. He will bless us. He will rescue us from futility and bring us into His fullness.
The people repented and believed. They obeyed the LORD and began to build by faith. They believed God’s word that He would be with them, and that He would build an even more glorious temple. The key truth for us here is that God makes us clean and blesses us when we believe in Him and in His promise to save. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Without faith in the God who saves, we cannot be made holy. Friend, will you not return to God? Consider your life. What harvest have you reaped without God? But we are blessed when we trust in Him. Will you not return to God today?
God Gives Us a King (Haggai 2:20-23)
God makes us clean if we turn back to Him. But how will He do it? God speaks to Haggai again on the same day. Look at Haggai 2:20 — “The word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month.” Both oracles are linked: The promise of blessing and the promise of a King. The rebuilding of the temple points to something far greater.
Listen to Haggai 2:21-22. The first oracle was for the priests. This one is for Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. The Jews may have returned from exile, but they remain under the yoke of a foreign power. Zerubbabel was appointed by the Persians to be governor of a province in their empire. Judah’s kingdom is no more. Their leader is a civil servant, not a king. No offence to those who work in the government, but surely this is a sign of Judah’s decline. Zerubbabel served at the pleasure of his Persian masters. He lived in difficult, dangerous and uncertain times. How the former glory has faded!
But the present difficulties and disappointments do not tell the whole story. We may live in a day of small things, but there is much more to come. Indeed, the best is yet to be. We have hope for a better age. Worldly kingdoms may look mighty and impressive now, but they will not last. In Haggai 2:6-7, God spoke of shaking all nations and all creation to build a more glorious temple. Here, God says He will shake all creation to judge and overthrow the kingdoms of this world. God will work in wondrous ways for His glory and the good of His people. He has done it before and He will do it again, but in an even greater way. The language used in Haggai 2:22 recalls God’s past deliverances. For example, “overthrow the chariots and their riders” refers to how God defeated the Egyptians during the exodus. He parted the sea and allowed His people to pass through. Then, He closed the waters on Egypt’s pursuing army. The Bible is the story of God’s victory over the kingdoms of this world: Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, the Canaanites, Assyria and Babylon. These have come and gone, but God’s promise and plan still stand.
Continue to hope in God. Trust that He is working out His plan, though it may be unseen, though God’s people may still seem weak and insignificant in the world’s eyes.
Do not be anxious about the upheavals we see in the world around us. Leaders and governments rise and fall. Economies grow and contract. COE and property prices go up and down. God is sovereign over it all. Rest in Him. He is wise and good and loving. He is true to His word and always faithful to His people. So, trust not in worldly power, whether it is a social media influencer, your boss at work, a successful celebrity, a politician, a government, or a political system. These may have their day in the sun, but they will not last. Take to heart the words of Daniel (Dan 2:20-21): “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Do not put your confidence in people or worldly power; don’t even trust in yourself. Trust in God who is in control of all things, who rules over the nations and kingdoms of this world. This is encouragement for Zerubbabel, and for us today. Continue to hope in God. Trust that He is working out His plan, though it may be unseen, though God’s people may still seem weak and insignificant in the world’s eyes. Be strong and build God’s house, for God is still with us. He will surely do it.
God will remove the kingdoms of this world to establish his King and kingdom. Look at Haggai 2:23 — “On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts. God has appointed a time — on that day — for the coming of his King. He is working out His plan according to His timetable. God’s plan involves Zerubbabel, who is the son of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the son of Jeconiah (or Jehoiachin), the last legitimate king of Judah before the exile occurred. This means Zerubbabel is a descendant from the line of David, Judah’s greatest king. This is why God calls Zerubbabel “my servant”. It is the same title He uses to refer to David.
Although Zerubbabel is only a governor, God will grant him royal authority. God has chosen Zerubbabel to make Him like a signet ring. A signet ring is a symbol of authority. It is a ring with the king’s seal, used to authenticate all official documents with the king’s authority. A seal is similar to our signature on a document, which makes it legally binding. A signet ring is precious. Kings always keep it close, either by wearing it on their finger or on a chain around their neck. This tells us Zerubbabel is cherished by God, who promises to protect His precious possession.
God’s promise to Zerubbabel shows His grace and mercy. In Jeremiah 22:24, God had pronounced this judgement on Zerubbabel’s grandfather, Jeconiah: “Though Coniah... king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off.” Jeconiah was exiled to Babylon and died in a foreign land, far from home. But now, God promises to restore Jeconiah’s grandson. God will not remain angry forever. Our sin cannot spoil God’s plans. His grace is greater than all our sin. God has not forgotten His promise to David. He is faithful to keep His word. God will appoint one of David’s descendants to be king forever.
Zerubbabel is God’s chosen one. But He is not the one who ultimately fulfils Haggai’s prophecy. We are to look beyond Zerubbabel to another, greater chosen one. One day, the Christ (which means chosen or anointed one) will come. He will be God’s King, blessing God’s people with His righteousness and peace. This King will save us from the hostile powers of sin and death. The good news for us today is that this King has already come! In the fullness of time, God sent His Son, Jesus. The New Testament begins with a genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew. It tells us that Jesus is the son of David, descended from Shealtiel and Zerubbabel. Jesus is God’s King. He has come to establish God’s kingdom and to build God’s house. He does this not by worldly power, but by laying down His life to save sinners. Jesus is the King we need to make us clean.
Jesus is God’s promised Servant. He fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah 53: “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities, upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned — every one — to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s wrath for us if we trust in him. Jesus then rose from the dead in victory over sin and death. In Christ, our sins are fully forgiven. He gives us new life.
Jesus is the Holy One, yet He was not afraid of being made unclean. This is because He came to seek and to save the lost. During His earthly ministry, Jesus ate with sinners. The unclean touched Him and were made clean. In a unique way that is true only of Him, Jesus’ holiness is contagious. He invites us to draw near to Him. So, trust in Him alone to save you. He is not put off by your sinfulness. He will not turn you away. Only Jesus can cure our corruption. Only He can make the unholy holy. Only Jesus can make us clean. We cannot be good enough for God. But Jesus is good enough for us. In Christ, God approves of us and accepts us as His own. God adopts us into His family as His beloved children. If God so loves us, why should we fear man? If we are secure in Christ, we don’t have to worry about not being good enough.
Jesus is the true and more glorious temple, for Jesus is God with us. He died and rose from the dead to give us life, to make us a new creation. In Christ, we become a part of God’s temple, the church. We are a spiritual house made up of living stones. Together, we are being built up to be a dwelling place for God’s Spirit. We display God’s glory by building one another up in love.
When Jesus returns to judge the world, will we be on His side? One day, the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. Through Jesus, we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This is our hope. Beloved, King Jesus is with us and He will return for us. So, keep building God’s house together by making disciples of all nations. Put Christ first. Build, for greater glory is coming. Build, for our King is coming back.