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Saturday 8/7/21
Be Strong and Work

  1In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,
 2Speak 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,
 3Who 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?
 4Yet 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:
 5According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
 6For 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;
 7And 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.
 8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
 9The 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.
 10In 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,
 11Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,
 12If 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.
 13Then 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.
 14Then 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.
 15And 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:
 16Since 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.
 17I 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.
 18Consider 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.
 19Is 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.
 20And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,
 21Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
 22And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
 23In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Haggai
Date Penned: BC 520
Overview: To Call the People to Rebuild the Temple (c 1-2)
Theme: Encouragement to Finish the Temple (c 2)
Message: Encouragement to Finish the Temple   (v 1-23)

Haggai: Chapter 2 Commentary
   
(2:1) This is Haggai's second message, given during the Feast of Tabernacles, October, 520 BC. The older people could remember the Incredible beauty of Solomon's Temple, Destroyed 66 years earlier . Many were discouraged because the rebuilt Temple was inferior to Solomon's But Haggai encouraged them with God's message that the splendor of this Temple would surpass that of its predecessor. The most important part of the Temple is God's presence, Five hundred years later, Jesus Christ would walk in the Temple courts.

(2:4) "Be Strong...and work, for I am with you" Judah's people had already returned to worshiping God, and he promised to bless their efforts. Now it was time for them to work. We must be people of prayer, Bible study, and worship, but eventually for us he wants to change the world through us. God has given you a job to do in the church, at your place of employment, and at home, The time has come to be strong and work, for God is with you!

(2:5) The Israelites had been led from captivity in Egypt to their Promised Land. They were God's chosen people, whom he guided and cared for by his Holy Spirit. Though he punished them for their sins, he kept his promise and never left them (Exodus 29) No matter what difficulties we face or how frustrating our work may be, For the Saved individual, God's Spirit is with us.

(2:6) The focus shifts from the local Temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem to the wold wide reign of the Messiah on earth. The words "it is a little while" are not limited to the immediate historical context, they refer to God's control or history - he can act any time he chooses. God will act in his time (Hebrews 12)

(2:7) When God promised to shake all the nations with his judgement, he was speaking to both present judgement on evil nations and future judgement during the last days.

(2:8) The desire of all nations (literally "the treasures" or "that which is choice") referring to the Messiah to come, Jesus Christ and the riches of the Temple.

(2:9) God wanted the Temple to be rebuilt and had the gold and silver to do it, but he needed willing hands. God has chosen to do his work through people. He proves the resources, but willing hands must do the work. Are your hands available for God's work in the world?

(2:10-13) The example given in this message makes it clear of the holiness of God that will not rub off on others but contamination will. Now that the people were beginning to obey God, he promised to encourage and prosper them, But they needed to understand that activities in the Temple would not clean up their sin. Only repentance and obedience could do that. If we insist on harboring wrong attitudes and sins or on maintaining close relationships with sinful people, we will be contaminated. Holy living will come only when we are empowered by God's Holy Spirit.

(2:14) When a child eats spaghetti sauce, It is not long until his face, hands, and clothes are red. Sin and selfish attitudes produce the same result. they stain everything they touch, Even good works done for the Lord can be tainted by sinful attitudes. The only remedy is God's cleansing.

(2:18-19) The people re-laid the Temple foundation and immediately God blessed them. He did not wait for the project to be completed. God often sends his encouragement and approval with our first few obedient steps. He is eager to bless us!

(2:20-22) Haggai's final message acknowledges that he is merely the messenger who brings the world of the Lord. It is addressed to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah.

(2:23) A signet ring was used to guarantee the authority and authenticity of a letter, It served as a signature when pressed in a soft way on a written document. God was reaffirming and guaranteeing his promise of a Messiah through David's line (Matthew 1) God closes his message to Zerubbabel with this tremendous affirmation. "I have chosen thee" Such a proclamation is ours as well - each of us has been chosen by God (Ephesians 1) This truth should make us see our value in God's eyes and motivate us to work for him, When you feel down, remind yourself that "God has Chosen Me". Finally, Haggai's message to the people sought to get their priorities straight , help them quit worrying, and often place a higher priority on our personal comfort than on God's work and true worship. But God is pleased and promises strength and guidance when we give him first place in our lives.
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Haggai with Chapter 2. In our text today we see Haggai's encouragement to complete the Temple with the instruction to be strong and work for the Lord is with you. In making application we see that we must have faith and follow the instruction of the Lord by obeying and doing what He says. How about you? Do you follow the instruction of the Lord? Let us learn from our text today and the words of Haggai to see that we are to obey the instruction of the Lord by being strong and work for the Lord is with with us.
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ο»ΏSincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.