Day 22: Haggai 2: 1-9
Passage for the Day
1 on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 2 ”Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ’Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. 5 ’This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
6 ”This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. 8 ’The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. 9 ’The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”
Points of interest:
· ‘the prophet Haggai’—Haggai was a contemporary of Zechariah, the prophet from yesterday’s passage. Like Zechariah, Haggai’s main mission is to encourage the post-exilic leaders in Jerusalem as they re-build the temple.
· ‘Does it not seem to you like nothing?’—the temple is in fact, at this point, nothing. Though they had started rebuilding about fifteen years before, they’d only gotten as far as laying the foundation. This was no grand house for God; it was a construction site.
· ‘I will once more shake the heavens’—God is planning to ‘shake things up.’ The image here is of an earthquake, except that it shakes even the sky or heaven itself (it’s unclear which Haggai is referring to). Just like in a major earthquake, some things that used to be on top will fall down, and some things that used to be on the bottom will end up on top. I don’t think Haggai is talking about an actual earthquake here—it’s hard to see how that would help rebuild the temple. Rather, he seems to be talking about a coming re-distribution of spiritual or political authority.
· ‘what is desired by all nations will come’—this isn’t just some little construction project, and it’s not important to the Jews alone. Somehow, the deepest yearnings of all of the nations of the world rely on what Zerubbabel and Joshua are doing here.
· ‘will be greater than the glory of the former house’—from what Zerubbabel and Joshua can see, their work is pretty pathetic. As I’ve mentioned, right now it’s just a hole in the ground. Even if they were to complete it, the temple they have planned would be very modest in comparison with Solomon’s original temple. They’re trying to recapture just a little bit of the temple’s previous glory, and they have every expectation that nonetheless they’ll fail. Again and again in the prophets, we’ve seen the people of Israel look back toward some past golden age: ‘Remember the good old days when David was king, when we lived in the land God had given us, when we worshipped at Solomon’s temple? Ah, to be back there again!’ Again and again, God has responded by saying, ‘Far from it. The best is yet to come!’
Taking it home:
· For you: How are you feeling this Monday about the week ahead? Are you tired? Run down? Do you fear that all of your efforts this coming week will be ‘like nothing’? If your forecast for the week ahead is a little grim or overwhelming, spend a moment asking God to give you the strength and courage you need to thrive.
· For your six: In the midst of a discouraging time, Haggai engages with his listeners through questions. What do you know about each of your six? What’s their outlook on life, God, relationships, prayer, places of worship? Is there anything going on in their life that has been difficult or really discouraging recently? Next time you talk to one of your six, try asking more questions than you normally would, really inquiring about their thoughts and perspectives.
· For America: Ask that God would grant us his peace. Let’s pray today specifically for high-crime neighborhoods in our country, where instead of God’s peace, gang-violence, drugs, theft and fear are the more prominent overtones. The next story that you hear on the news about any form of violence, ask God to turn it around and to grant his peace in that situation.