Text: Haggai 2:10-23
Theme: Neglecting God Defiles Us.
Take-Away-Point: Making God Our Priority Brings Blessings.
Haggai 2:10-23
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Now, ask the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?” Then the priests answered and said, “No.” 13 And Haggai said, “If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?” So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, “ ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15 ‘And now, carefully consider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord— 16 since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty. 17 I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider it: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.” 20 And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: ‘I will shake heaven and earth. 22 I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms;
I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots
And those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, Every one by the sword of his brother. 23 ‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
Highlights of Today’s Passage:
(1) Neglecting God Defiles Us (vs 10-14). Numbers 19:22 states that “Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches will be unclean; and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.'" (NAS).
John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (see Isaiah 60:12, Proverbs 14:34)
(2) Genuine Repentance Brings in a harvest of blessings (vs 15-19).
At such times when we walk away from God, or reject Him and His commands, He develops a way to draw us back to Him. For example,
It may be that God puts us through challenging times to show us His power to uphold you.
It may be that God puts us through challenging times for us to thoroughly understand the plan of His salvation.
It may be that God puts us through challenging times to humble us and teach us humility.
It may be that God puts us through challenging times to put us back on track focusing on kingdom goals.
(3) God is Sovereign over the nations (vs 20-23):
I want to believe that those words of Haggai 2:20-23 were foreshadowing the coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ as the following Bible verses suggest (see Daniel 7:27, Daniel 2:44, 1 Corinthians 15:24, Hebrews 12:28).
Brethren, that is our sole mission on earth to share the good news of our Savior Jesus Christ and His faithfulness, to be thankful, and to worship God with acceptable reverence and awe,” in Jesus mighty name, Amen.
Thank you for worshipping with us at Hope Church Moreno Valley, God bless you.
I wish you a meaningful week in Christ Jesus.
Pastor David Jite