“Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness, and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God.” Isaiah 50:10
In Haggai’s day the faith of the remnant of the people of Israel living in Jerusalem was not sufficient to overcome the resistance of the enemy. Though the building of the second Temple, and this after the deportation and exile of the people of Israel from the promised land, even though there had been given the legal authority to rebuild the temple, opposition rose to resist and thwart the finishing of the temple. This opposition would remain intact for about fifteen years, during which time the work on the temple was stopped. This state of affairs would remain like this until God sent a preacher in the power of His Spirit with a specific message. Because of the power and authority with which the preacher spoke, God would move the hearts of all concerned, to change their priorities of living and pursuit, to realign themselves with the will of God, that His purposes would be realized. What was the context and condition of the people at the time when the preacher came? And what was the message? But above all, where did the power come from to move the hearts of so many in the face of an opposition that had not ceased to resist the will of God?
The people, or the believing remnant of the people, had settled down in their acceptance of the opposition, and thus were not stirred up to seek God wholly for the overcoming power. Haggai comes on the scene, a prophet sent by God, speaking the Lord’s words and message. The first words by Haggai to the people were concerning “time,” the people’s time as opposed to that of God. The Lord would begin to awaken the people’s conscience by declaring to them: “This people says, ‘The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house, should be built.'” (1:2) The people had been lulled into the belief that, because of the opposition, it was NOT the Lord’s time to rebuild the temple. It is then that the Lord makes a comparison, that He gives to the people, and this to awaken them to see things from Heaven’s standpoint. Through His prophet, He asks them: “Is it time for you, yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” (1:4) By asking this of the people, the Lord revealed to them where their primary interests were, that for which they were living, and which occupied them. These primary interests were not directed towards heaven, and the “seeking first the kingdom of God,” but rather, a seeking of their own well-being, and self-interests. The people were enjoying the blessings of God but had turned aside from that which was primary and foremost in the sight of God. They had forgotten the centrality of worship of the true and living God, the temple being not only a sign of it, but a picture which represented the only means by which a sinful man, or men can truly worship God. This matter of worship was imperative, for God had chosen Israel as a people in whom He would reveal His glory, not only in their midst, but to the entire world. The temple of their day was imperative to communicate to the whole world God’s way of saving man, but also, His way of communing, or having fellowship with man.
What was there in the words of the prophet that moved the people, that stirred them up to come together with one mind and one accord, to “obey the voice of the Lord their God?” It would be the power of which the Apostle Paul spoke much later concerning the true preacher’s preaching: “…preaching in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” (1 Cor. 1:4) We see the reality of this by its effect upon the people: “…the people feared the presence of the Lord.” (1:13)
Dear Father, Stir up our hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.