Word of Salvation – Vol. 25 No. 41 – July 1979

 

Is The Time Still Not There Israel?

 

Sermon by Rev. H. W. Pennings on Haggai 1:1-11

Scripture Reading: Matt. 6: 19-34, Haggai 1:1-11

 

Congregation of the Saviour Jesus Christ,

With this sermon we begin a short series of three from the book of Haggai. We call this book one of the minor prophets, but we do this, not because it is unimportant or of minor importance, but because it is shorter – shorter, say, than the prophet Isaiah, but certainly no less important. There are twelve minor prophets in all, but the last three (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi) can be separated from the preceding nine because they belong to the period after the exile. Just briefly:- this period of exile in Babylon was from 610BC to 540BC, when roughly 50,000 of God’s people returned to the area of Jerusalem. Their civic leader, or governor, was called Zerubbabel. Their spiritual leader, or High Priest, was called Joshua. Almost immediately after returning the people set about the task of rebuilding the temple and that rebuilding is the theme of this book. Yet they didn’t keep on with it, as we will learn from this sermon. Firstly, there was a time of persecution from the Samaritan people, and that halted the work for a number of years. But, at the time of the prophecy of Haggai, which comes about 520BC (or, 20 whole years after the people had returned to Israel from exile) that building of the temple was still getting nowhere.

Of course, when the Samaritans were around, and when they had harassed them with their fighting and their taunting, there was more or less a valid and reasonable excuse for the work of rebuilding the temple to come to a halt. But that period had passed by. Why, when King Darius came to power the previous year, he even provided gifts for the rebuilding programme, and he promised to protect the building-workers – and that from a heathen king!! But the work still did not recommence.

So, in the second year of the reign of king Darius of Persia, God speaks to the nation through the prophet Haggai. The particular day on which Haggai addresses the nation is a feast day ― a day which by rights ― they ought to have celebrated together in the temple. But, there is no temple! ― why and not? It is because the people are saying, “The time has not yet come.” They are saying, “We ought to rebuild that temple pretty soon, but not yet.” Why not?

“Well, because there are so many other things to do. It is only a few years since we came back from seventy years of slavery. We have crops to sow and to reap, and barns to build. And we have to build houses for our families. We have families to raise and crops to tend and animals to feed. What’s more, we seem to be in the midst of an economic downturn, and things are not going so well for us. We have to work day and night just to make ends meet and to care properly for our families. We’ll have to start rebuilding of course. Because we confess that the Lord of Hosts is a mighty God above all gods, and we must build a building worthy of His greatness. We have to start that pretty soon ― but not quite yet. The time has not yet come . . . !”

“Oh!” says the prophet of the Lord. “Oh!”

God speaks. He speaks in the second year of Darius’ reign. No, not in the first year. God gives them another year to sort things out for themselves after the Samaritans no longer bother them. That is God’s nature, after all. But in the second year God has something to say to the Church. He asks pointedly, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses ― while ― this house lies desolate?”

“Have you not heard, Lord? We still have our own houses to build. Is that not necessary too?”

But the Lord says in return that the people already have houses, but that they want panelled houses now. And, if the Lord had not stopped them ― for, indeed, stop them the Lord did! ― then, before starting to rebuild the temple again, they would have wanted larger rooms, and bigger chimneys, and more light, and more comfort.

We have to realise, therefore congregation, that the Lord is not saying to the church of that time, “My house, before your houses.” Rather, that the Lord is saying, “It is now time for you to determine whether you are going back to your old ways of idolatry, or, whether you truly desire to serve the Lord above all.” And, in order to refresh their memory, the prophet of the Lord asks them, as we have it recorded in vs.5, “Consider your ways!” For, what has been happening in their midst the last few years? They have worked extremely hard in planting and harvesting, but there were small returns. Even eating what there was to eat, which wasn’t always sufficient for all families, was not very satisfying. Neither did it appear as if their clothes could keep them warm in the winter time anymore. Neither did it appear as if they would ever be able to save anything. It was as if all of the storing places of the land ― their bags, their vats, their silos, their sheds, their purses, and even their stomachs.!! ― it appeared as if they each one were full of holes. There was no satisfaction, in the land ― no one was content.

“Consider your ways”, says the Lord God. Not only was the Lord not blessing their labour, but even what was accomplished was done so without contentment, without satisfaction. For that is always the case when the Lord is absent with His blessings upon our labour. We read in vs.10, “Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labour of your hand….! ― I blow it away,” says the Lord (verse 9). The Lord made all of Israel’s work at that time come to nothing, because the house of the Lord was lying there in ruins, while each one was running to erect a house for himself: a panelled house!

So far we have been following this first chapter almost verse by verse. Only one thing have we omitted, and that was the most obvious part of all that the church had better have a change of heart about this matter of rebuilding the house of the Lord.

Their problem ― their sin against the Lord was that they were placing God in second position. Mind you, Israel was not leaving God out of things certainly not. They were not even putting Him into third position ― just second.

But, as well as considering what the Lord had to say to the church of those days, we have also to be aware of what the Lord is saying to us from these verses. What is the prophet Haggai saying to us today? Some might think that his message to us is this, that we have to have a good place for worship― a nice church building, and that we have to see to the house of the Lord even de before we are to see to providing houses for our own families. But that interpretation, though it may sound plausible, completely misses the point.

For it is plain from Scripture that the church building of the N.T. church does not replace the temple of the O.T. church. When Jesus, on the cross for us, and suffering our hell, cried out, “It is finished!” the curtain of the temple was ripped from top to bottom. From that time onwards no building would be more holy than any other building. The temple became obsolete. The Lord had Himself put an end forever to the function it once had.

Is it then the case that the prophet Haggai is telling us this; that we are not prospering physically and financially, and that we are not enjoying life any more, because we are failing to place Jesus first in our lives?

No, that is not necessarily the case. Obviously, many people who totally reject the worship of the one true God are at ease in the world with full purses and many other blessings, while at the same time many devout Christian people are dying of hunger and exposure to the elements. Nor can one say to a church member who is “well off”” financially that it is evidence of Christian maturity, as in the same way we cannot say to poorer members of our congregations that, somehow, they are causing their own poverty by a lack of faith.

We have at stake here something even more serious than these two matters. For sometimes the Lord intervenes in our lives in such a way that He really pulls us up; so that we must re-examine our attitudes and preferences, and so that, if we do not pull up and re-examine, we career headlong into eternal destruction. Yes,, that is how serious this matter is.

For it is a stark naked Biblical truth, congregation, that to be a Christian is more and more to put Jesus our Saviour first in our lives and our own will last. Many people are hotly engaged in Doctrinal Discussion while they are under the false illusion that, because they one day publicly stated before God’s people that they loved the Lord, that is in future all in the past. (What a strange way of putting it ― in future, all in the past! ― but you know what is meant!) There is no such thing as a once for all “Decision for Christ” although the Scriptures clearly teach election from eternity and the perseverance of the saints. Really to be pitied are all those members of churches who are at ease in the world who are engaged in their own things ― who say, “Yes, but the time is not yet when I have to think more upon the works of the Lord than the plans I have for myself and my family.” “Wait until my children grow up,” ― many people kid themselves about every-day Christian activities which they are not doing, “Wait until the kids are older.” But, unless the Lord pulls them up, when the children are older, it will be, “Wait till I finish repainting the house ― wait until this… and wait until that.”

Maybe you think that we are exaggerating a bit about these matters. “For” you say, “No one consciously says that it is not yet time to do God’s work because they are busy with their own work.” Yet, congregation, from God’s viewpoint, seeing and knowing all things, and able to judge the depth of the human heart, that is exactly what is the matter with so many of us. Being spiritual brothers and sisters of our Saviour Jesus Christ and walking in His footsteps has replaced temple worship and temple building and everything which was once connected to the temple. But many Christian people are saying to Jesus, “Yes, you know that I love you. I said that I would serve You forever. But…. but….!” And, while we have plenty to eat and to drink, and while we live in a country at peace with the world, we still experience that the Lord is not blessing us. We are worried about our children, and are asking why they are turning away from the church or why we have to force them to come to church. We wonder why it is that we cannot pray anymore. Have you wondered about that? We wonder why we find it so hard to speak about our faith ― do you find that almost impossible, too? We find that we cannot conquer many of the sins that are plaguing us.

Haggai addressed his message from the Lord to the church in the days of Zerubbabel and Joshua and in the second year of the reign of Darius of Persia.

Today, in the year 1979, the Lord is still speaking to us. Also today the Lord wants to pull us up to make us re-examine our excuses for putting the will of man before the will of God so that, also with us, He can justly forgive us because we have repented.

Rebuild the temple of the Lord, congregation. He did not speak when Israel was engaged in erecting homes for their families. He did not speak when there was persecution. But, when Israel started talking about panelled houses instead of plain houses, and the temple was still in ruins yes, then the Lord spoke!

Even so does He speak to us – especially when our lives are well established, when our families are secure. Then especially the Lord says to us, “Friend, why are you still not coming to the evening worship service and to Bible study? Where is your heart at those times? Why are you still so much engaged in piling up those treasures which, when you die, you must leave behind? Will you not build up for yourself that treasure in heaven which remains imperishable? Determine this day whether you will repent of these things – not repenting about them tomorrow, but today – for it is today that is the acceptable time of Lord.”

It is not now the second year of the reign of Darius. Yet the Lord in His great compassion has still spoken to us, for there is great rejoicing in heaven, when, hearing, we know that the Lord has spoken to us.

Amen.