I got the sense of what they faced on a couple of occasions. One such time was many years ago when I
attended a denominational conference in Pensacola, Florida. On one of the afternoons there were no
meetings, so I took a drive around the city to take-in the local culture. As I pulled up to a stoplight in a
residential area I saw across the street a set of steps to a front door; except
there was no front door. There was no
house either, for that matter. It was
just three crumbling cement steps in an empty lot…three steps of rubble leading
to nowhere.
On each of the three steps was a single word written with white paint…CHAPPIE’S…FIRST…STEPS. I wondered if Chappie was a child, or
a paralytic who had received a second chance and gotten out of the wheelchair,
or a stray dog that had wandered into the yard and become the family’s pet. Who, or what Chappie was is something I’ve
never found out. But it must have been
something noteworthy in the day.
Somebody took the time to commemorate Chappie’s first steps. It looked like rubble…someone’s former glory!
The rubble of former glory is part of our human history and
wonderment. We wonder how such Empires
as the Babylonians, Egyptians, Rome, and Greece could go out of business. A few years or a few hundred, even whole
civilizations can evaporate into thin air – like the Incas of the 13th
century who simply ceased to exist. The
glory days vanished…nothing remains but rubble.
For the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, the Promised
Land was now the plundered land, pulverized and picked-over. Only memories and crumbled walls stirred
fading memories of their Kings like David and Solomon, great judges like
Deborah and Samson. Only a strong sense
of history instilled in the culture brought back images of Moses and the
Exodus, with the presence of God leading the way, a cloud by day, pillar of
fire by night. Theirs was the rubble
of former glory, and current despair!
Enter Haggai armed with a fresh message from JHWH, a new word from above
of hope for the future. It changed the
course of Israel’s history, and I believe it speaks to us today as well.
Let’s look at several truths God has for today’s
church from the prophet’s message to Jerusalem:
1. In times of rubble God speaks to a
faithful remnant
Then on October 17 of that same year, the Lord sent another message through the prophet
Haggai. “Say this to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of
Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the
remnant of God’s people there in the land: ‘Does anyone
remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all! Haggai 1:15b-2:3
It must seem like nothing at all! What a sad, despairing reality
these returning captives faced. Their
world-class city and nation was in ruins, nothing but rubble and
destruction. Amid the spider webs, dry
bones, and crumbled buildings were no hope, no glory, no future. What could rebuild hope in the midst of such
great devastation? They’d gone from hero
to zero; what words could heal them? The answer is in the first sentence of our
text, the Lord sent another message. God was speaking to people who were still His! Through their national heritage, and a
somewhat faded, but unextinguishable faith, the only thing that could give them
hope was a word from their God. God does
that! And He still speaks today!
2. In times of rubble God speaks words
of strength
But now the Lord says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high
priest. Be strong, all you people still
left in the land. Haggai 2:4a
God speaks to the politicians, the religious leaders, and to every last
inhabitant of the ancient city in ruins…be strong! And Lord knows, they would need God’s kind of
strength for the task of rebuilding what had been, let alone (to borrow a
phrase from our recent political ethos) MAKING JERUSALEM GREAT AGAIN.
But when God speaks words of strength, to people who believe, not people
who say they believe, or hope they
believe, but people who are willing to stake everything on faith
– which is the definition of believing God – there is no room left for timid
backing off.
That’s what the former slaves did in the wilderness.[3] When finally confronted with the
goal of possessing the Promised Land they believed the majority report of the
spies that came back from the scouting mission.
As a consequence, not a single adult ever got closer than the wrong side
of the Jordan River; the whole nation wandered in circles in the wilderness for
the next 40 years while their unbelief died-out.
My friends, if that doesn’t speak to the church today, we might as well
pack up our Bibles and head for the bars.
If this church is ever going to stand strong in a Godless culture like
that in which we live, it will not be with half-hearted faith or effort…which
leads us to the next natural truth God spoke that day:
3. In times of rubble God speaks words
of action
And now get to work, for I am with you, says the
Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Haggai 2:4b
Get to work, for I am with you; He said it just like He said it to Moses: I AM!
Here’s a good question…which is stronger, the whole earth full of
ungodly people…or the armies of Heaven, of which God is the commander?
Truthfully, sometimes it seems like the church has grown fond of losing
this spiritual battle, and apologizing to the world for ever trying. I wonder how long it will take us to develop
the courage to speak up a word of testimony for this world to choke on in its’
unbelief? We’ve been wallowing in our
diminishing strength and old fashioned elbow grease for decades; is it any
wonder the church is weak and ineffective?
And that’s where the next word God spoke that day appears:
4. In times of rubble God speaks words
of courage
My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised
when you came out of Egypt. So do not be
afraid.’ Haggai 2:5
The prophet, speaking God’s words, reminds them of when their ancestors
left the bondage of Egypt as slaves.
God’s Spirit was with them, and He was reassuring them, encouraging
them, that He was still there, so it was OK to have a backbone and get busy
doing God’s bidding.
Did you notice in those words of encouragement God said nothing at all
about the Temple buildings that lay in rubble, or their government offices
burned to the ground? Did you notice he
mentioned nothing of armies, economies, trade deals, or natural resources? Did you notice he didn’t talk education, nuclear
power, technology advances, or give a State of the Union address directed to
the right or left side of the aisle? Did
you notice the only asset God mentions in his encouragement to those in the
midst of the rubble upon which most nations and people base their hope and
trust, is that God’s own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost of Pentecost
and He who brooded over the waters of creation was with them? They would need no trade deals, power moves,
brinksmanship with other world leaders.
They had everything they needed…and so do you and I! And because that’s so we can be people of
courage; we can have a backbone and march on for the Lord in this place. There is a reason for all that:
5. In times of rubble God is still God
It’s hard to miss God’s voice if you’re listening. At the end of this text God says:
I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!” Haggai 2:9
And then, besides the words of God, notice what His hand
does:
He’s the God
who SHAKES the Heavens, Earth, Seas, and Nations
“For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
says: In just a little while I will
again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. I
will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought
to this Temple. Haggai 2:6,7a
We do not know if this will be within our lifetimes or if Christ will
tarry longer. But, as certainly as the
sun came up this morning, God’s promises are going to be completed. Haggai is a forshadow of the end times, much
like most of the Old Testament. Here
there is a hint of what Jesus would say that day outside Jerusalem in his great
Olivet discourse:
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you,
for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And
you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end
won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There
will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But
all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. “Then you will be arrested, persecuted,
and killed. You will be hated all over
the world because you are my followers. And many will turn
away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false
prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be
rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But
the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good
News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all
nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Matthew 24:4-14
He’s going to shake every part of the universe before the end of these
days; threats, injunctions, supoenas, persecutions, famines…none of it will
deter the Lord of Heaven’s armies from exacting judgment on the earth and all
it holds.
The end of time, as we understand time, is in God’s hands. When God moves time must comply with what He
wills. And here’s what happens finally:
He’s the God
who FILLS His temple with glory and the Future with Peace
When God makes a promise, it’s a full
promise; that means he fulfills it, and it is overflowing, pressed-down, shaken
together, running over![4] God’s promise of peace and turning
the rubble of former glory into the kind of peace and glory never before seen
is as certain as yesterday’s sundown.
This is what Bible scholars call prophetic
perfect; it is when the prophet talks of a future event as if it’s
already in the past. It is much like
when we are so certain of something we say:
you can take that to the bank. God’s hand on the throttle of time, eternity,
and the affairs of humankind is so certain, there is no intelligent choice, but
to comply and cooperate….with courage….getting to work….staying strong and
faithful. We are his, and He is God.
Let’s make a Conclusion with Haggai
In Haggai’s day the peace God promised came, but it was temporary, and only
a foreshadow of the ultimate peace God gives.
We are going to be celebrating the beginning of that peace-bringing
event in the next few weeks as the season changes to Advent.
The peace God eventually brought was the Prince
of Peace in a lowly manger in a place called Bethlehem. We managed to mess that one up, and as the
season changes again to Lenten, we will remember how we hung that prince of
peace on a cross. But just like he did
three days later, coming from the tomb in a surprise, there is a coming
resurrection we won’t be able to mess up.
And when he comes it is going to be a victory that will never turn into
former glory again! You don’t want to miss
that one!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Amen!
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[2] The Babylonian Empire is the same region as modern-day
Iraq
