Sermon Cloud

Intro on Mental Health conference -- REVIEW  -- 2^nd Oracle

Haggai 2:1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,

à I don’t know if anyone remembers this date; but the seventh month on the Jewish calendar is Tishri.  It is the month that their calendar changes their ordinal number; because the Jews have a Festival Year, and an Ordinal Year.  And their 3 important festivals concludes in this month – the Feast of Tabernacles – and remember how they celebrated that feast?  With the sacrifice of 70 bulls and hundreds of sheep over 8 days?  But no mention of the observance here.  Makes me wonder what had happened to their zeal for keeping the feasts?

² "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, ³ 'Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

à Again, a question to the nostalgic – Are you feeling a little let down by the work on this little temple because it does not compare to what you remember the former temple to be?

à But remember that phrase: Former Glory!  What were they remembering?  What were they seeing?  “Former Glory.”  Which I’m sure was pretty glorious… but God does not want us being fixated on things past, even glorious things!  We are people who balance our remembering with what we are also supposed to anticipate – And Haggai is going to give the remnant a lesson on this in 3 little oracles found here in Chapter 2.

⁴ Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,

à  Great affirmation for all of the people doing their part, and a reminder of the Covenant promise:  God is with them! We spoke of that last week, and God’s presence being a motivating factor.  If God is with a person, that person is not idle – they are not stagnant!  The Lord in the life of one of His children is at work within and so there is always a renewing, a refreshing, a convicting, a calling, a yearning, a surrendering, a building – God is at work!

à Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

à Where does God display His pleasure?  In His children!  Israel was supposed to be a demonstration of faithful children – BUT it is Christ, the true son of God, in whom God finds all His pleasure – AND What did he DO?  Came to earth to take a vacation!  No, he came to fulfill, to serve, and to sacrifice, and even today he rules, defends, intercedes, and with the Father, sends his Spirit.  He sends his Spirit to his children whom he loves!  And these very children reveal this love by manifesting His glory in their lives – to the praise of his glorious grace!

⁵ according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

à By God’s Spirit, the Lord performed miraculous saving acts on behalf of the slaves of Egypt!  And as God led them by Pillar of Cloud and Smoke – He was with them!  And when His glory descended upon the tabernacle – God was with them.

à IF God is with me, who can be against me?  The Lord is my light and my salvation… Whom shall I fear?  The neighbors?  The Courts?  Being embarrassed?  My seemingly endless list of inabilities to ever help anyone as I should?  NO!! Fear nothing if God is with you!

à The spirit makes this all work or it would be a certain failure!

 ⁶ For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. ⁷ And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.

à  Haggai is telling the remnant to build this house not because it had a FORMER GLORY.  Absolutely not, that is so YESTERDAY!!  God is telling them to build because there will be a FUTURE GLORY!  A future glory that will exceed all the wealth and might of the nations!

à  What is glory BTW but WEIGHT & HEAVINESS – it is the impressive nature and character of God whose very presence forces a person to bow before His majesty!

à So the remnant know of a former glory – a level of impressiveness associated with the former temple.  But what made the former temple glorious?  The ark?  The priestly breastplate?  The Urim and Thummim? All the things that they presently didn’t have?  NO!  The former temple was glorious because God’s glory would descend upon the very place and announce his presence.  A presence so weighty that people could not move!

à NOTHING physical made that place TRULY glorious – only God’s presence could confirm that!

à The Lord can make a burning bush glorious, He can make a still small voice glorious, he can make a baby in a manger glorious – IT IS only glorious when He is there – so therefore in our day – do you know how glorious YOU CAN BE?  Doesn’t the Lord dwell in you by His spirit?

à  The Lord begins to describe the nature of the future glory by comparing it to where most people think glory dwells…

⁸ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. ⁹ The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.'"

à  Now, this is an encouraging word to the remnant as they build!  Haggai says, “When it comes to God’s glory… and you know the stories about God’s glory falling on this place… But, You ain’t seen nothing yet!  I’m telling you to remain vigilant with your commitments because God is going to reveal something SO glorious, it will overshadow everything that Israel, or Solomon, had ever seen.”

à  Now we get to evaluate this statement with a New Testament lens.  We get to see this passage as prophetic don’t we?  We get to see the glory of Jesus Christ!  The life of Jesus had WEIGHT!  He was HEAVY!  The people did not see the fullness of his glory.  But they saw glimmers of the greatness of Christ!  Only those who know the weight of Christ truly see his glory!

à  John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

à And we know from the Gospels that Jesus often went to the temple to teach and preach.  In John 7, Jesus goes to the Temple to teach during the Feast of Tabernacles and proclaims, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!  Out of him will flow rivers of living water!”

à That’s cool, take a sip of Jesus, gush like a river.  Take a little of Jesus in, and become a fountain for others.

à Now we’ve talked about the Feast of Tabernacle observance of pouring water on the temple steps to see if a river would flow from Zion to bring healing and life to the nations – And now, here is Jesus is announcing in John 7 – I AM THAT GLORIOUS RIVER!  You must come to me to have life!

à Haggai 2:9 says, “And in this place I will give Shalom!  (PEACE) Wholeness, Salvation, Perfection – In Christ.  The city of Jeru shalom had a temple!  And Jesus came to that temple to reveal the true glory and shalom of God.  THIS is why the people must continue building, and this is why we need to stop thinking about FORMER GLORY – It will not compare to the GLORY that God has in store for those who love him and are called according to His purpose!