Live Pure Lives. Haggai 2:10-19 June 15,

Transcription

1 Live Pure Lives Haggai 2:10-19 June 15, (Please Note: All lesson verses and titles are based on International Sunday School Lesson/Uniform Series 2010 by the Lesson Committee, but all content/commentary written within is original to wordforlifesays.com unless properly quoted/cited) Introduction: Our first lesson in this study of Haggai focused on obeying the Lord by putting God and His work as a number one priority in our lives. Last week s lesson was about trusting God promises with the outcome though the beginning of the matter looks small. Today s lesson, the third message from Haggai the prophet to the remnant centers on the blessings that come from obedience. We often hear songs saying, When the praises go up, the blessings come down, (Chicago Mass Choir via elyrics.net). In addition, there s a Yiddish Proverb that says, Prayers go up and blessings come down, (Thinkexist.com). While all of that is certainly true, the lesson today teaches the people that the way of blessings come by walking the path of obedience (see Duet. 28:1-13; Psalm 34:9; Luke 11:28, just to name a few). Let s get into this lesson titled Live Pure Lives, and learn more of God s truth on this important subject. Haggai 2:10-12 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, 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.

2 After recording the exact day of his addressing this message, the Lord, through the prophet Haggai, focuses the attention on the priests who are in charge of the temple workings, offerings and laws, and asked, 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? In plain man s terms, Can something that is separated as holy make something else holy just by touching it? The answer is emphatically, No. In regard to a sacrifice, when something was considered holy that means it was set apart. It was sanctified unto a specific work. Having it touch other things would not automatically consider those objects to now be sanctified as well. It just doesn t. In regard to one s life, sanctification doesn t work like the Midas Touch, where everything he touches turns to gold. A holy, pure and sanctified life comes from one s inner devotion to God. Haggai 2:13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then, another question is posed to which the priests answered correctly again. According to the Old Testament law, He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days, (Numbers 19:11). Anything or anybody that he/she comes into contact with will be considered unclean also. As a matter of fact, if that individual did not follow the proper God-given procedures to be purified, that soul shall be cut off, (Numbers 19:13). That s how serious it was to defile the temple/tabernacle of the Lord with uncleanness. So, the priests answered, It shall be unclean. Holiness CANNOT be transferred from one thing to another but the contamination and defilement of sin can be. What you do and how you live matters, be it holiness within yourself or contaminating everything around you with sin. Haggai 2:14 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.

3 So, how ya living? Because what the people were experiencing from a negative standpoint and their work was affected by the choices they made or didn t make in their living. When they arrived back they were on fire for God and wanted to immediately resume worship (see Joyful Worship Restored, Ezra 3 on By and by the people developed a lackadaisical attitude to the work of God which meant their heart wasn t really in it. This is not what God is looking for. He wants someone that loves Him and His work from the inside out. One of my favorite stories in the Bible revolves around Hezekiah s reforms and the siege he faced because of Sennacherib (2 Chronicles and 2 Kings 18-19). One of the verses that always stood out to me is found in 2 Chronicles 31:21 that says, And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered, (emphasis mine). This was the same type of living; the same mentality that he wanted from the remnant that in everything they do for Him, they do it with their heart. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart, (Psalm 119:34). They were just surface worshiping without really loving God and honor His work as devotion from the heart. As a result, their works and their offerings were considered unclean. With the wrong mindset, anything they did for the work of the temple didn t make them holy, but their wrong attitudes most certainly affected the way it was received by God. What a revelation! Haggai 2:15-17 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: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. 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. George Santayana is quoted as saying, Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, (Thinkexist.com). The danger of forgetfulness can leave us with a warped outlook on life. Through times of hardship and for during times of

4 prosperity our perspective on life can get blurred. So, God takes them on a walk down memory lane to the time before; a time when He had to confront them through Haggai to get the work done; a time when their priorities were messed up (see Obey the Lord on Here, as well as in that previous lesson, God reminds them that they worked with little to show for it. They were living a lifestyle of not enough. It wasn t by happenstance that all this had come upon them but because, 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. God was the one responsible for them being held back from prospering. These were the consequences of their negligent attitude toward God and His work. We are reminded what Haggai 1:9-11 says: Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. Yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD. Through all of this, the people still remained in their same stubborn state of an unchanged heart, (compare to Amos 4:9). Deuteronomy 6:4-6 says, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. Because we love Him, everything within our inner being should be wholly and completely devoted to God: the emotions, mind, will and strength. God wants your inner man devoted to Him rather than surface professions of faith. Why do you think God so approved of David despite his many, many faults? He did so because David s heart was for God. Act 13:22 says, I have found David

5 the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart... David worshiped God and was devoted to God from the heart. His inner man was tied to God. God wanted and still wants all of you! This trip down memory lane was to remind them of what used to be. Haggai 2:18-19 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 the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. After reminding them of what used to be, He now specifies what the blessings they can look forward to because of their obedience; because they choose to Live Pure Lives. 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. Take careful thought and pay attention really close to what close to what was said and what is being said now. Proverbs 4:26 encourages us to, Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways, (NIV). Everyday living brings everyday results, for the good or the bad. Think about the choices in previous times that led down the path less pleasing and consider now where God wants to lead you. God wants to lead His people to a place of blessings but their lives have to fall in line with His will. This day would be a changing point to see these positive changes happen for His people. Don t you love how God gives these markers as reminders to His grace in operation in our lives? He once told the children of Israel to gather twelve stones out of the Jordan River to set up and serve as a reminder of His deliverance, Joshua 4: In an article I wrote titled Indulge in Nostalgia (Wordforlifesays.com) I wrote: It s good to indulge in a little bit of nostalgia once in a while, especially when it comes to remembering God s deliverance. After a certain amount

6 of time goes by, whether it becomes a time of prosperity or a time of hardship, it s so easy to forget. The daily grind and routine schedules tend to overshadow what previously occurred. That can be a good thing when someone is trying to get over hurtful things, but when one wants to remember a glorious time it can be dangerous. From this day... even from the day that the foundation of the LORD s temple was laid forward they would see how responding in obedience leads to blessings. God was marking the day for them. Forever, from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month they would have a mental memorial of a wonderful day when God changing things around for them. They couldn t see it now, but the times of blasting and mildew were over. The times of living in a not enough state was over. God was moving them from the place of receiving rebuke to a place of blessing. Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. They could not physically see it with their eyes, but the blessings were on the way. Nothing has been planted and nothing has brought forth anything, yet! The seed is still in the barn. But it's coming! A time of fruitfulness is on its way! Zechariah 8:12 says, For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give her dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. Because they have moved from their stagnated and disobedient religious stance to a point of decidedly being obedient to the move of God and His priorities, they would be blessed. Through this lesson God took their minds back that they might have a future to look forward to. Our God is a blessing God.