Assembly Testimony Bible Class

by J. Riddle (Cheshunt)

HAGGAI - PAPER 9 - "FROM THIS DAY I WILL BLESS YOU"

Read Chapter 2.10-19

Again we remind ourselves that the book of Haggai comprises four messages:

1) TO REPROVE THEIR IDLENESS, 1.1-15:
2) TO RESTORE THEIR CONFIDENCE, 2.1-9:
3) TO REBUKE THEIR UNHOLINESS, 2.10-19:
4) TO REWARD THEIR LEADER, 2.20-23.

We are now considering the third.

3) TO REBUKE THEIR UNHOLINESS, 2.10-19

We must notice that:

a) this solemn message was delivered approximately two months after the encouraging message to the senior citizens in Jerusalem, and

b) it was delivered on the very day that the foundation of the temple was laid, see v18. It contained a serious charge and yet it also contained a wonderful promise.

i) The serious charge. The people were unclean. "So is this people … and that which they offer there is unclean." v14. Since unholiness is such a serious matter, we must conclude that this was something that had happened in the previous two months, otherwise the subject would have been raised much earlier in Haggai’s ministry. Notice the present tense: ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there (i.e. on the altar) is unclean." Things had evidently gone badly wrong since the last message, and this emphasises that progress must be accompanied by unceasing vigilance. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall", 1 Cor. 10.12. Decline can begin so quickly.

Whilst we are not specifically told why God was obliged to speak to His people in this way, the context strongly suggests that within two months the enthusiasm of the people had begun to wane and their offerings and sacrifices had become an empty form. MC Unger observes that ‘initial zeal to obey the Lord with whole hearted enthusiasm … had begun to abate, despite the glowing promise of future blessing, v6-9.’ (Unger's commentary on the 0T). The situation can be described by Isa.29.l3, "… this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, …" Defilement can take many forms and be contracted in various ways. We learn here that the sin of hypocrisy is as objectionable to God as moral evil. This should make us search our hearts.

ii) The wonderful promise. "From this day forward will I bless you," v19. This seems quite sudden and unexpected, until we remember that the promise was made on the very day that the temple foundation was laid. Their zeal in obeying the Lord had been rekindled. They proved the reality of their devotion to Him and He, therefore, promises divine blessing. The lesson for us is very clear!

We must now consider the details. The passage can be divided as follows:

A) Defilement by sin, vl1-14;
B) Judgment by God, v15-17;
C) Assurance of blessing, v18-19.

God invites them, (i) to look back, v15-17, and (ii) to look forward, v18-19. Notice the repetition of "consider", and "now" v15,18. (Compare 1.5 and 1.7:- the word ‘consider’ means, ‘set your heart on, or ‘give attention’). The matter was very urgent. They must give it their consideration ‘now’. Notice also the repetition of, "this day and upward," v15,18. Notice the contrasting ‘days’: "since those days were … from this day will I bless you," v16,19. Notice the contrasts between ‘I smote you," vl7 and "will I bless you," v19.

A) DEFILEMENT BY SIN, v11-14:

"In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying …" v10-11. As LG.Baldwin (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) observes, ‘Haggai’s question is not asking for information, but is a methodological device familiar to every teacher. The exchange of question and answer arouses and sustains interest.’ We must also notice the way God approaches the subject: (i) He establishes the facts, v12-13, and (ii) He applies those facts, v14. God’s lessons are always built on solid foundations. Let every Sunday School teacher, Bible Class leader, preacher and teacher, take careful note!

i) The facts established:

The priests were certainly the best people to answer the two questions which follow: "If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these (i.e. bread, pottage etc.), shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean", vl2-13. Whilst, as we have noticed, God’s people had become defiled by their lack of reality, the lessons are applicable in all cases of unholiness.

a) Holiness is not transmissible, v12. The "holy flesh" was the priest’s portion of a sacrifice offered to God. See, for example, Num.6.20. lCor.9.13 will also help us here: "Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?" Let’s remember that holiness is separation or consecration to God. Unconsecrated food did not change by contact with consecrated food. This reminds us that we can mix with devoted and consecrated Christians, but remain unholy and unconsecrated ourselves. M.C.Unger puts it like this: ‘Sanctity or holiness cannot be imparted or acquired apart from vital faith and obedience to the Lord, for it flows from contact with Him.’

b) Defilement is transmissible, v13. The words, "unclean by a dead body," probably refer to Num.19 which details the ordinance of the red heifer. This particular sacrifice was God’s provision for people who had contracted defilement. "He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days … whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord … and whatsoever that unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even." We all know, only too well, how easily we can be defiled by things we see, hear and think, and how easily such uncleanness can affect every part of our lives, and the lives of others. Defilement is contagious. We can understand the injunction, "Wherefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate saith the Lord, and touch not (or ‘watch not … listen not … read not’) the unclean thing … let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God," 2Cor.6.17-7.1.

To sum up, these verses contrast the limited effect of holiness (holy flesh - the priests - but no holiness conveyed) with the unlimited effect of defilement (dead body - the person involved - uncleanness conveyed).

ii) The facts applied:

"Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean." The people had become defiled themselves, and their uncleanness had tainted their work and their worship. The nation had become defiled, and everything it touched, including its offerings, had become unclean. Once again, we encounter the expression, "this people." Compare 1.2. But now it is accompanied by another similar expression, "this nation." They didn’t speak or behave like God’s people. They had forgotten the demands of their holy God: "For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy", Lev. 11.44. See also 19.2 and 20.26. They had forgotten that "holiness becometh Thine house, O Lord, for ever," Ps.93.5. They had also forgotten that God had expressed His total displeasure in the past by chastening them. So:

B) JUDGMENT FROM GOD, v15-19:

Uncleanness, in this case, the uncleanness of an empty religion, is most serious, and must be dealt with immediately. This is emphasised by the words, ‘And now, I pray you, consider …" So: ‘And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten … I smote you with blasting, and with mildew, and with hail, in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me saith the Lord."

The people are told to look back, and assess the situation before "a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord." God had not stood on the sidelines, and allowed His people to forget His interests and persist in their backsliding. He chastened them with a view to their recovery. "I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to Me, saith the Lord." These were not natural disasters: they were ‘acts of God’ in the truest sense. See Deut.28.22 etc. Haggai is obviously referring to the disasters described in 1.6 and 1.9-11. See also Zech.8.9-10. Compare Amos 4.9. Perhaps Haggai was quoting his fellow-prophet here. We know that the prophets read each other’s books. See Daniel 9.2.

Whilst the "foundation of the temple of the Lord" had been laid some sixteen years before (see Ezra 3.10), there can be little doubt that the words, "consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord," refer to the period immediately preceding the recommencement of work in 1.14-15. Hebrew scholars tells us that the words "this day and upward," can signify movement either backwards or forwards in time. Hence J. N. Darby’s footnote: ‘some take it as meaning ‘backward’ in v15.’

The important thing to notice is that God’s chastening had been rejected. "Ye turned not to me, saith the Lord." How do we respond to God’s dealings with us? Do remember what we said in connection with 1.9 ‘If, on reflection, you discover that God has "called for a drought" in your soul, and there is no spiritual joy, fruit, or progress in your life, turn to Him in confession and repentance. He is longing to say, "From this day will I bless you", 2.19.’

If God had taught His people that disobedience brought chastening, then He now teaches them that obedience brings blessing. So:

C) ASSURANCE OF BLESSING, v18-19:

Haggai now invites them to look forward in view of the recommencement of the work. Having described the situation before "a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord," he now describes the situation from that very day, "Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, consider it." Preparatory work recommenced as a result of the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah. See Ezra 5.1: "Then Zerubbabel … and Joshua … with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God … and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God," 1.12-14.

Once again, the "day that the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid" evidently refers, not to the laying of the temple foundation some sixteen years before, but to the date on which the builders actually recommenced work after three months preparation (compare I.15 and 2.18). Now the message is refreshingly different. The defilement of their unreality in worship had given place to genuine zeal for God’s glory. "Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you." Compare similar language in Zech.8.11-12, "But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts. For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase …"

Bearing in mind that this was the middle of winter, the seed had not yet been sown, and no one would have dared to forecast the quality of the next year’s harvest. After all, recent experience gave no cause for optimism. Their crops had been attacked by "blasting and with mildew and with hail," v17. But anxiety and uncertainty gave place to assurance, with the divine promise, "From this day will I bless you." Whilst there was no firm evidence of an abundant harvest, since it was too early to make any predictions, they had something far better than evidence. They had the certainty of God’s word.

We have this too: "be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord," lCor.15.58. "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not", Gal.6.9.

On this happy note, Haggai concludes his ministry to the people at large. His final message was addressed to Zerubbabel personally. It was a message of encouragement. It was to Reward Their Leader - this we will ponder in the next paper DV.

—to be continued (D.V.)