David's Sermons

Haggai Part 3 - Be Clean

Date: 18/1/00
Speaker: David Meiklejohn
Text: Haggai 2 v 10-19

Haggai 2 v 10-19

  1. 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,
  2. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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:
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.

In the third part of our look at Haggai, we continue in chapter 2, and now God tells His people: be clean.

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".

Some of the people were discouraged because the temple wasn't as beautiful as they remembered. Haggai encouraged them to be strong and remember the Lord was with them.

Part 3 - Be Clean

The workers in silicon chip factories have a clean room. Everything in there must be spotless in case they contaminate the silicon. When they enter they must put on clean outfits, cover their shoes and hair. The smallest speck of dust can ruin a batch of the chips they make.

The priest had a similar routine before he went into the temple. He had to ceremonially wash himself, put on clean clothing, so that he approached the temple clean. Haggai asked the people about cleanliness. Shall a holy thing coming into contact with an unclean thing make it holy? They answered "No". What happens when an unclean person touches something that is clean? "It is made unclean". When clean and dirty are mixed together the clean is always made dirty, the dirty is never made clean. The people with their unclean lives thought that visiting the temple would make them clean, but it was the other way round: they were defiling the temple. They needed to make themselves clean before coming to the temple.

Spiritual cleanliness is important in our lives as well. We may go to church once a week, but that doesn't make the rest of our lives clean. We must examine ourselves, find the areas that are impure, and change them. Paul urges this in Corinthians. He says we should examine ourselves before coming to the table. Are we living worthy to be called Christians?

The people had been living unclean lives, but they had now turned towards God. When they were unclean God had cursed them, giving them poor harvests and leaving them struggling to get by. Now that they were living for Him, He would bless them. Blessings from God come in all sorts of ways. For the Israelites here it was in a very material way, but this won't always be so. However, whether it is in a good harvest, a peaceful mind or a loving friend, God promises to bless those who are clean and follow Him.

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

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