Slices
Prepare
‘When all was sin and shame, a second Adam to the fight and to the rescue came’ (John Henry Newman, 1865). Give thanks for generous love that reaches us at our worst.
Bible passage
Blessings for a defiled people
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: 11 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Ask the priests what the law says: 12 if someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?”’
The priests answered, ‘No.’
13 Then Haggai said, ‘If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?’
‘Yes,’ the priests replied, ‘it becomes defiled.’
14 Then Haggai said, ‘“So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,” declares the Lord. “Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.
15 ‘“Now give careful thought to this from this day on – consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. 18 “From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit.
‘“From this day on I will bless you.”’
Zerubbabel the Lord’s signet ring
20 The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 ‘Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
23 ‘“On that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,” declares the Lord, “and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,” declares the Lord Almighty.’
Explore
‘Everything you fear is true. And yet... Everything you have done wrong, you have really done wrong. And yet.’* With God there is always an ‘and yet’, which for the defiled people of Judah (v 13) was cause for huge relief and deep gratitude. God promises to bless (v 19) his people who cannot offer anything that is untainted (v 14). Defilement, like mould, permeates everything (vs 12,13). So Jesus warns us to curb our anger and get reconciled before bringing an offering to God (Matthew 5:21–26). If it festers, the negative effects multiply.
God had exercised discipline, but the signs were missed (vs 16,17). Reduced harvest yields, crop disease and adverse weather conditions were the inevitable curses if the covenant with God was not kept (Deuteronomy 28:20–24). God often speaks correctively through our hardships. He waits, ready to give a ‘harvest of righteousness’ (Hebrews 12:11); his default is to bless. He raises up saviours for his people, leaders like Zerubbabel (vs 20–23), to establish his reign and overcome the power of evil. In their limited ability they point to the one, the true King, Jesus Christ, who conquers, bringing all God’s promises to fulfilment.
* Francis Spufford, Unapologetic, Faber & Faber, 2012, p16
Respond
Come to the Saviour God in all your need and find the refreshment of his forgiveness.
Deeper Bible study
Think of ways in which you have experienced God’s blessing recently and thank God for them.
The Hebrew prophets sometimes used audio-visual aids to proclaim their message. Haggai uses a question-and-answer session with a priest to make a point which is both challenging and encouraging. According to the Mosaic Law, ritual holiness was not transferable by contact. It required a specific act of consecration to make something holy. Ritual defilement, however, was transferable. Haggai’s point is that while the Temple lay in ruins, evidence of the people’s disobedience to the covenant and failure to honour God, it was like a dead body, blighting all they did. Having decided to obey God and having acted on that decision, they were consecrated to God and he could, and would, now bless them. The implied challenge was that they must remain consecrated to God to continue enjoying God’s blessing. Paul speaks of both the church1 and the individual Christian2 as God’s Temple, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He warns against behaviour which will defile these temples, because that will invoke God’s judgement, just as it did for Haggai’s hearers, not God’s blessing.
Some people might have hoped that recent political upheaval in Persia would lead to its collapse and the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. In his final message, Haggai assures them that God will eventually establish his kingdom. The Judean king was meant to represent God’s authority, just as a signet ring symbolised its owner’s authority. Behind verse 23 is Jeremiah 22:24–27, where God speaks of rejecting the then Judean king in terms of throwing away a signet ring. Was this the end of the hope of a Messiah from the line of David? No! God says that the line continues through Zerubbabel. Jesus was his descendant.3 He came proclaiming ‘the kingdom of God has come near’4 and taught us to pray, ‘Your kingdom come’.5
While praying this, we should be living out the standards of the kingdom of God and working for their acceptance in our society. Are you doing that?
1 1 Cor 3:16,17 2 1 Cor 6:18–20 3 Matt 1:12–16 4 Mark 1:15 5 Matt 6:10
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezekiel 26,27; 1 Peter 4
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray that God will prepare the way for many children and young people who aren’t part of a church to come to Wonder Zone holiday clubs. Ask that he will prepare their hearts to receive what he has to say to them.
