Today in God’s Word

Today in God's Word—December 2024

East Tallassee Church of Christ

December 17, Haggai 2

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

- Haggai 2:3-5

Three weeks had passed since Haggai's first message ("Get back to work!") had stirred the fear of the Lord in the hearts of the returned exiles. Led by Zerubbabel and Joshua, the people went back to work on the temple.

But when those three weeks had passed, God sent another message through his prophet Haggai to his people. Is there a clue in this message that discouragement had played a role in the work stoppage? Was discouragement threatening to slow or stop the rebuilding project again? Haggai asked the oldest of the people among the returned Jews if they could remember Solomon's temple and how magnificent it had been? Did they look at what had been done so far and despair because what they were building could never match their memories of the first temple that Solomon had built? After the Lord identified the problem, he prescribed the solution that would keep the work moving forward.

God's prophet exhorted them all, from leaders to workers to "Be strong." They needed inner strength to do the work in less than ideal conditions, to stay committed to the task and to finish the rebuilding. After he encouraged them, Haggai recommissioned them: "Work."They were there to do a job. They could not afford to let weariness, misplaced priority, discouragement or anything else keep them from doing their work. God had moved the hearts of the Persian kings not only to let the Israelites go; he also prompted the pagan kings to provide resources for the construction. God did for his people what they could never have done for themselves. But he called them to work and finish the project.

The Lord continued to encourage the people to stay on task with two great promises. He assured them that he was and would be with them, and that he would not forget the covenant he made with them when their ancestors came out of Egypt centuries before. No obstacle would stop them, no enemy could defeat them if they would believe that God was with them and wanted to bless them with his best. Instead of casting their eyes longingly back on Solomon's temple, he challenged them to look ahead to Messiah's coming when he would build the true and most glorious house of God. The temple building symbolized God's presence among the people. But when Messiah came, he would be with them in reality.

God addressed the people again in another message to teach them that their unholy lives defiled their sacrifices. Conversely their sacrifices devoted to God could not make their undevoted lives holy. God reminded them of the hardships they had brought on themselves with crop failure and famine and told them to mark that very day, when they committed to obey the Lord and see how he would bless them.

The fourth message, delivered the same day as the third was another reminder of the covenant faithfulness of God. In another Messianic promise, he called the appointed governor Zerubbabel (himself a descendant of David) to be the LORD's signet, an assurance that God's covenant promises were still intact. As the kingdoms around them rose and fell, God assured them that he was in complete control and he would bring Messiah, just as he had promised David. Zerubbabel was a link in that chain and a living lesson about God's faithfulness.

You and I need to remember all these lessons. We need to be strong and do our assigned work. We must not compare today to the "good old days" and be discouraged. Instead, we should look ahead to the glorious reality God has promised to his faithful servants. We need to remember that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us, and live with calm confidence that God is in control and keeps every promise. Perhaps you are like me and need them all. Or maybe one of these lessons speaks most clearly to you today. It only takes a few minutes to read through Haggai. But the lessons God taught his people through this prophet will challenge and bless us for a lifetime if we will learn them.

Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.