Subject: Stewardship # Title: Messages of Haggai Text: Haggai Chapters 1 & 2

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1 Subject: Stewardship # Title: Messages of Haggai Text: Haggai Chapters 1 & 2 Bulletin Blurb - May 3, 2015 The prophetical ministry of Haggai was very brief as far as we know. The second shortest book in the Old Testament reports four prophetical messages given by Haggai over a period of three months and 24 days. The rebuilding of the Jewish temple ground to a halt. The Jews that returned to the land were distracted, disinterested, and procrastinated in fulfilling God s plan for His people. Haggai and Zechariah were sent to awaken the people and hold them accountable for their stewardship. The Lord told them that their present poverty and strained financial situations were a direct result of their failure to comply with God s commands. Build the house and I will take pleasure in it... (1:8). Why were these people so reluctant to fulfill their mission? Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Judah experienced a crisis of faith! Ownership Responsibility Accountability - Reward Review from Message #1 * Definition of Steward A steward is a person whose responsibility is to manage the property of another. Applying the concept of stewardship to the life of God s people we immediately begin with the assumption that all things belong to the Creator. God is our Creator and so it follows that all things belong to God, yes, even ourselves! At the end of the day nothing belongs to us. It s all God s. If we (and all that we call ours ) are God s property, then we have great responsibility. We must care for all that God has entrusted to our care as God would care for it. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son... (John 3:16). If God cares for the world this way, then how much more should we, who are God s stewards? Along with responsibility comes the guarantee of accountability. One day God will rightfully ask us, How did you do? How did you manage MY resources? In our position as stewards we simply cannot do as we please. We will give an account. As great as this task may sound, so great is the reward. We are caretakers of God s property, and so we have a responsibility, we will be held accountable, and we will one day be rewarded for our faithful oversight of God s property and resources. God will honor our faithful stewardship of His resources. * Title of first message, A Bag Full of Holes. * The bag full of holes metaphor expresses: - waste - misplaced priorities - foolishness - bad stewardship - lack of productivity - take inventory! - judgment 1

2 * When we speak of Stewardship we are speaking of everything that makes up Life. * Four Principles - Ownership - Responsibility - Accountability - Reward * Colossians 3:23-24, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. * Matthew 25:21, His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Historical Background * In Babylon the Jews were without temple and without sacrifice. * Almost 50,000 Jews were allowed to return with Zerubbabel (Ezra 1:2-4; Isaiah 44:28). * Joshua (the priest), Haggai and Zechariah among them. * Levitical offerings soon reinstituted (Ezra 3:1-6). * Second year the foundation of the Temple was laid (Ezra 3:8-13; 5:16). * Samaritan harassment and Persian pressure brought the project to a halt. * Spiritual apathy - 16 years. * Haggai s task: arouse the leaders and people of Judah from their spiritual lethargy and to encourage them to continue rebuilding. * Zechariah - tag teamed. * Temple complete B.C. Dates of Key Events in Haggai s and Zechariah s Time August 29, 520 B.C. Haggai s first sermon (Haggai 1:1-11; Ezra 5:1) September 21 Temple building resumed (Haggai 1:12-15; Ezra 5:2) October 17 Haggai s second sermon (Haggai 2:1-9) October-November Zechariah s ministry begun (Zechariah 1:1-6) December 18 Haggai s third and fourth sermons (Haggai 2:10-23) February 15, 519 Zechariah s eight visions (Zechariah 1:7-6:8) December 7, 518 Delegation from Bethel (Zechariah 7) March 12, 515 Temple dedicated (Ezra 6:15-18) 2

3 Chronology of Prophecies Haggai Year Month Day 1:1 Darius :15 Darius :2 Darius :10 Darius :20 Darius > 23 days >27 days > 63 days > same day 113 days 3 months 24 days Prophecies: #1 (1:1) #2 (2:2) #3 (2:10) #4 (2:20) Notes on Haggai * 2nd shortest book in the Old Testament (Obadiah is the shortest). * The content of the book: report of four messages by a post-exilic prophet whose ministry was limited in duration. * Haggai is encouraging Israel to rebuild the Temple. * Haggai affirms the divine authority of the messages no less than 25 times! He was fully aware that he was God s messenger. * One of three post-exilic prophets. * 2nd year of Darius I B.C. * Haggai = festive or festival * Reference to the Solomonic Temple may show that he actually saw its destruction in 586 B.C., 66 years earlier. Haggai would be at least well into his 70 s if true. 3

4 Haggai: Outline (Dr. F. Duane Lindsey) I. The First Message: A Judgmental Call to Rebuild the Temple (1:1-15) A. Superscription (1:1) B. Accusation of Procrastination (1:2-6) C. Exhortation to Rebuild the Temple (1:7, 8) D. Explanation of the People s Impoverishment (1:9-11) E. The Response (1:12-15) II. The Second Message: A Prophetic Promise A. Superscription (2:1, 2) B. The Promise of the Lord s Enabling Presence (2:3-5) C. The Proclamation of the Future Glory of the Temple (2:6-9) III. The Third Message: A Priestly Decision to Illustrate the Present Blessings of Obedience A. Superscription (2:10) B. A Ritual Comparison Showing the Corrupting Effect of Sin (2:11-14) C. A Promise of Present Blessing in Contrast with Previous Chastening (2:15-19) IV. The Fourth Message: A Messianic Prophecy Concerning Zerubbabel (2:20-23) A. Superscription (2:20, 21a) B. A Proclamation of the Future Overthrow of the Gentile Kingdoms (2:21b, 22) C. A Proclamation of the Restoration of the Davidic Kingdom (2:23) Introduction * Last Sunday morning a man asked me, This is so simple and easy to understand, why don t we live like it s true? Quickly he answered his own question, Faith. * Last Wednesday Pete Farrell referenced Luke 18:8 in his message, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he fi nd faith on the earth? * When it is my turn, i.e., when my life is carefully scrutinized and evaluated by the Lord, what will He find? Faith? * The fact of the matter is simply this - it takes mustard seed faith to be a Christian, it takes great faith to be a Christian who is a good steward. The road between salvation and stewardship is of great length. * Ownership - Responsibility - Accountability - Reward 4

5 * Matthew 25:21, His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. * Faithful servant - a faithful servant is full of faith. All Christians are not full of faith. * Romans 10:17, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. * Hebrews 4:1-2, Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profi t them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. * As we speak of the Jews who returned to Jerusalem and failed in progressing on the mission God had given them, Haggai has the responsibility to bring a sense of urgency or importance to the people by his preaching. * 25 times he tells the Jews that he is sharing the Word of the Lord - vs. 1:1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, etc. Hopefully the Word of the Lord will have influence over the people. * Haggai preaches four messages over a period of three months and 24 days. Each message is a message of encouragement. Each message is intended to give the Jews a good reason to move forward to completion, to be good stewards with their personal resources. All of these reasons are predicated upon, or established in the truth, Thus saith the Lord! * Message One (1:1-15) - Intended to point out the fact that the Jews were missing the mark. They had lost sight of the mission through procrastination and were robbing themselves by not getting the most bang for the buck. The response was positive (vs.12-15). * Message Two (2:1-9) - Haggai encourages the people by promising Divine enablement, vs. 1:13, 2:4 - I am with you. The prophet declares that this Temple is going to be awesome - vs.9, The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. Everything is mine, the Lord says - silver and gold. Are they anticipating a shortage? Do they not know that a certain amount of their resources should be committed to the Temple project? * Message Three (2:10-19) - The Lord commands Haggai to ask the priests what the Law says. Haggai was to seek an official priestly ruling on a ceremonial matter. The answer reveals that ritual holiness is not transferable, but sin and corruption are! 5

6 * The point is simply this - while Israel is in disobedience and sin before the Lord, everything is contaminated, made unclean. Even their gifts and worship are corrupt. * After citing God s present chastening on the Jews for past disobedience, Haggai reminds the people of the current command to rebuild the Temple and see, now, a time of renewed and refreshed blessing! God is giving you a fresh start! - What you were doing was not working out. Bad decisions - bad results. * Message Four (2:20-23) - In the end when all is said and done, God s plan will be completed. God s will, will be done. God will shake the heavens and earth. He will overthrow the kingdoms of the Gentiles, In that day the Lord will fulfi ll His promises to Israel. Zerubbabel represents the throne of David. The throne of David will be exalted and God s plan of redemption will continue. The future and God s promises should encourage you and motivate you! 1. You have missed your calling. You have suffered accordingly. Fulfill God s plan for your nation. 2. God will enable you as difficult as the task may seem. You are not on your own. Look to the Lord, He is with you. 3. God is giving you a fresh start. Exercise stewardship. Bad decisions have led to negative consequences. Good decisions will bless and enrich you. 4. In the end, God will have His way. You want to be numbered with the winners. God s choice will rule - Jesus. * Israel s problem: Misplaced priorities. They are making excuses for their disobedience and procrastination. * It is true that they were confronted by a number of perceived obstacles: - The work was hard. - The land desolate. - They suffered crop failure. - They suffered the devaluation of their money. - Hostile enemies. - The memories of easier times. * But yet they had enough to supply personal comforts while the mission stalled for 14+ years! * They should not have rested until God s house was doing as well as their own. * If our priorities are wrong our possessions will dwindle in value and bring financial difficulty - The faster I go the behinder I get! * If priorities are wrong, nothing will satisfy. 6

7 * It is time to start pleasing God instead of yourself. * Knowing that God is the Owner, the Provider (I am with you), and the Rewarder should only move us to greater service and generosity. * The silver and gold are mine! 7