Haggai 2:6-9
Soon I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake the nations, and their treasures will be brought here. Then the brightness of my glory will fill this temple. All silver and gold belong to me, and I promise that this new temple will be more glorious than the first one. I will also bless this city with peace.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
This was my daily quote…I am sorry I don’t have the source to cite…”A Sunday school teacher was reading a Bible story to her class. ‘The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and turned to salt.’ A little boy softly asked, ‘What happened to the flea?’”
Today’s scripture passage was included in an outline I created for scriptures on peace… gleaned from several Internet searches for such verses. I almost deleted these particular verses from the outline. Frankly, I didn’t understand a lot about Haggai. I knew that he was a prophet, but I didn’t know much about the meaning or history behind his 2-chapter book in the Old Testament.
The Internet is an amazing resource! I found several commentaries on Haggai and read a few of them. Still, there was little to no clarity about what these chapters had to do with finding God’s peace. Then I discovered a commentary at http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/haggai.pdf by Thomas L. Constable, Th.D., Senior Professor Emeritus of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Thomas took 26 pages to outline and explain Haggai’s prophecy and why he believes God allowed it to be included in the Old Testament writings. He narrowed it down to four “perils” that we face… 1) misplaced priorities; 2) incorrect perspectives, 3) unrealistic expectations; and 4) unnecessary fears. Dr. Thomas noted the verses in these chapters in which Haggai demonstrates these perils. Solomon’s temple has been destroyed. There is a movement to rebuild this temple, but the people of Israel appear to be too busy and preoccupied with building their own homes and other endeavors to fully concentrate on rebuilding God’s temple (misplaced priorities).
Once building does begin, those involved decide that the temple is not going to be as grand and glorious as the one built by King Solomon, and they become discouraged and disheartened (incorrect perspectives). They expect lavish blessings and gifts from God for their efforts to rebuild… and they are disappointed (unrealistic expectations). After the temple is completed, the people of Israel compare themselves to the Gentiles and decide that they are inferior as a people… that they will never be as respected and valued by God as others (unnecessary fears). Haggai reminds us how wrong the Israelites were on all counts.
Don’t these “perils” ring a bell? Haven’t we all had misplaced priorities… incorrect perspectives…unrealistic expectations… and unnecessary fears? The people of Israel failed to put God’s work ahead of their own… don’t we sometimes do this? They based their value and the value of their contributions on personal wealth. In other words, those who didn’t have a lot of gold and silver to give to the “building fund” didn’t believe their contributions would be valued in the project. How many times have you decided that you or your contributions were not “good enough” to be offered?
The people of Israel thought that any efforts they did make for God would be instantly and tremendously rewarded. Do we expect “immediate gratification and reward” from God for our “good deeds?” They looked around and compared themselves to others… and promptly felt like they did not measure up. How often do you look in the mirror and wish you looked more like So-and-So? Do you sometimes wish you had another person’s possessions, appearance… or their life in general? Like the Israelites, do you diminish your own value in God’s eyes and long for the “favor” He appears to grant to another? Truly, we are all exactly like the people of Israel that Haggai describes!
Can we possibly hope to experience God’s peace in the midst of these pressures? I think you know the answer. Haggai dispels every one of these “perils” with promises from God… “Don’t worry. My Spirit is right here with you…I promise that this new temple will be more glorious than the first one... I will also bless this city with peace.”
We are all a lot like the little boy hearing the Sunday school lesson… we’re focused on the flea and completely missed the real message! Don’t overlook the significance of Haggai’s words… make God’s plans for your life a top priority. Recognize that God doesn’t care about your material wealth – He just wants you to do your best with what you have. Celebrate God’s timing and learn to appreciate even His smallest blessings and gifts as much or more than the extravagant ones. Recognize that we are all precious in His sight. The talents, abilities and strengths He gave to you are uniquely yours… and would never be right for someone else. By the same token, theirs would never be right for you!
Who knew there was such “meat” in a 2-chapter Old Testament prophecy? If we change these four “life pressures” into positive actions that glorify God and His love for us, I believe that the peace in our lives will grow exponentially. God has pretty much guaranteed it. Now it’s up to us to do our part. What will you do? Will you start to turn these pressures around… or are you still too busy worrying about what happened to the flea?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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