Greater Glory Ahead
[ READ ] Haggai 2
The Command to Rebuild the Temple
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
The People Obey the Lord
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
Haggai 2:1-15
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
The People Obey the Lord
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
Haggai 2:1-15
The temple they were building looked nothing like the one they remembered. The older ones in the crowd knew it. They had seen Solomon's temple before it fell, and what stood before them now was a fraction of what once was. Haggai doesn't pretend otherwise. God doesn't either. The question God asks is honest: Does it not seem like nothing to you?
That's a hard thing to sit with. There's a particular grief in working hard on something and still feeling like it falls short. These people had returned from exile, rolled up their sleeves, and started rebuilding the house of God. And still, the gap between what was and what is felt enormous. God sees that. He doesn't minimize it or rush past it.
What he says next is worth everything: "Be strong. Work. I am with you." The glory ahead isn't measured by what you can see right now. The promise isn't that this moment will be impressive. It's that God's presence holds the work together, and he finishes what he starts. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is keep building when it looks like nothing.
- David Bempong
That's a hard thing to sit with. There's a particular grief in working hard on something and still feeling like it falls short. These people had returned from exile, rolled up their sleeves, and started rebuilding the house of God. And still, the gap between what was and what is felt enormous. God sees that. He doesn't minimize it or rush past it.
What he says next is worth everything: "Be strong. Work. I am with you." The glory ahead isn't measured by what you can see right now. The promise isn't that this moment will be impressive. It's that God's presence holds the work together, and he finishes what he starts. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is keep building when it looks like nothing.
- David Bempong
[ EXAMINE ] the passage. At this point, answer some questions about the meaning of the text. Take time to reflect:
+ What does God ask the people in verse 3, and why might that question matter before he says anything else?
+ Three times in verses 4-5, God says "be strong." What does that repetition suggest about what the people were actually feeling?
+ What does God say is the basis for their courage? What does he point to rather than the visible state of the building?
+ How does verse 9 reframe the discouragement of verse 3?
+ What does God ask the people in verse 3, and why might that question matter before he says anything else?
+ Three times in verses 4-5, God says "be strong." What does that repetition suggest about what the people were actually feeling?
+ What does God say is the basis for their courage? What does he point to rather than the visible state of the building?
+ How does verse 9 reframe the discouragement of verse 3?
[ APPLY ] the passage to your own life:
+ Is there sin to confess to clear the way for God to use me in his perfect purpose?
+ Where in your life does the gap between what you hoped for and what exists right now feel most discouraging? Bring that honestly before God today.
+ Is there sin to confess to clear the way for God to use me in his perfect purpose?
+ Where in your life does the gap between what you hoped for and what exists right now feel most discouraging? Bring that honestly before God today.
[ PRAY ] through the passage and your application, and ask God to change your heart and your life.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.churchcenter.com/groups)
+ What is my next step?
+ Who could you share this passage with and ask the question: "Where do you need to hear 'be strong' right now?"
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.churchcenter.com/groups)
+ What is my next step?
+ Who could you share this passage with and ask the question: "Where do you need to hear 'be strong' right now?"
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