David's Sermons

Haggai Part 2 - Be Strong

Date: 11/1/00
Speaker: David Meiklejohn
Text: Haggai 2 v 1-9

Haggai 2 v 1-9

  1. In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,
  2. Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,
  3. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
  4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
  5. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
  6. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
  7. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
  8. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
  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.

In the second part of our look at Haggai, we come to chapter 2, and God's message to His people: be strong.

Review

The Jews had returned to Jerusalem under the command of King Cyrus of Persia, and had started to rebuild the temple. They had been stopped by their adversaries, and had been idle for 16 years. Haggai had given them the word of the Lord, that they should place God's house first, then their own houses, that their shortage in crops was due to their falling away. The people had responded and the work of rebuilding the temple started anew. As soon as they started again, God had a message for them - "I am with you".

Part 2 - Be Strong

Have you ever had to rebuild something? To start again on something you have built up and has been torn down. I know a couple who own a fruit farm in Africa. They built a new warehouse to store their fruit in, which was going to be a great addition to their work. Not long after they had finished it, their was an accident on the road, and a bus ploughed into their new warehouse, destroying it. After all their work, they were left back at the start, with the thought of building the whole lot again. Rebuilding can be demoralising work, especially if you remember how good the old building was, and your repair work doesn't seem to be nearly as good.

The Jews were looking back. Perhaps some of them were old enough to have seen the temple in all its glory before it was destroyed. As they looked back they were getting demoralised, as it seemed their work was inferior to what was there before.

There is a time to remember, and there is a time to look forward. God's message to His people at this time is to look forward. He says this new temple will be greater in glory than the old one, not because of the wonderful architecture or the richness of the building materials, but because the "desire of all nations", the Christ himself, will set foot in this temple. Along with this encouragement, He tells them to "Be strong... and work". We are often exhorted to be strong in the Bible ("be strong and of a good courage", "Be strong in the Lord"), but if we are weak, how can we be strong?

  • Be strong in mind - if we set our minds on following God, on putting Him first, then He will make us strong to accomplish His work. The strength comes from Him, but we must decide to obey.
  • Be strong in number - the people had to learn to work together. In our churches, God has placed us together with others, and it is when we are al working together, each using the talents God has given him, that we are strongest.
  • Be strong in the Lord - the only real strength we have is in the Lord. Look at the book of Judges. Samson was given amazing physical strength yet he was weak in spirit, and he ended his days in a miserable position. Gideon was perhaps the most cowardly of the judges, but his faith in the Lord meant that he was soon renowned for his strength. We need to learn to give everything over to God, and to put our trust in Him, and He will give us His strength.
  • "... and work" - God's message was not just to be strong, but also to work. There are times when we should study, when we should prepare, learn and plan; but often Christians spend their whole live preparing and never get round to doing anything for the Lord. Is God's message to you that you should go and work for Him?

In verse 4, the Lord again reassures His people: "I am with you". He urges them to be strong, He assures them that this new temple will be more glorious than the old one, He tells them to go and work, but it's important that they realise that He is with them, that He is working alongside them. That's important for us as well. If we're doing a work for the Lord, He is with us.

© David Meiklejohn 2000
David@Meiklejohn.org.uk
www.meiklejohn.org.uk

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