Commentary on The book of Haggai. Part 2.

Truth In Scripture Pastor Rick Kabrick Sunday February 6, 2022
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Truth In Scripture Pastor Rick Kabrick Sunday, February 6, 2022 Commentary on The book of Haggai. Part 2.
The truth was they stopped doing what GOD sent them there to do…build the Temple. GOD wanted a house to dwell in to tabernacle amongst HIS people and here they were depressed and lazy. They used the materials to build up pimp out their own houses and neglected the LORD’s house.
These enemies of Judah first attempted to infiltrate the ranks of the builders, and when that didn’t work, they resorted to scare tactics. It was the mob, the mafia, nothing new.
The Jews had placed their own interests before the LORD’s interests, looking after their own safety and security while ignoring GOD.
Cyrus the Great, King of Persia. He was the one to let Zerubbabel and Ezra go back to Jerusalem after the captivity.Darius I (Darius the Great), King of ancient Persia. He is the King mentioned here.Xerxes I (Xerxes the Great), King of ancient Persia (465 B.C.) Married Esther.Artaxerxes I (son of), King of ancient Persia. He let Nehemiah go back and rebuild the walls. (445BC)
But the promise was made to Zerubbabel, but there will come a day when I will shake the nations and when I shake them, I will establish I’ll overthrow their thrones and I’ll establish the throne of Israel and your line will be on it.
5 the LORD of Armies says this: “think carefully about your ways: Consider the path your on.6 “You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink but never have enough to be happy. You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm. the wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.”7 The LORD of Armies says this: “Think carefully about your ways.
In the seventh month: This message came in October of 520 B.C. It was feast time in Israel, celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, which we have looked at in detail.
LEV 23:39, beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest.
EZRA 3:12-13, But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.
The temple to be rebuilt couldn’t possibly match the majesty of that first temple. But the point was it wasn’t the temple that had the glory, the LORD had the glory…HIS Glory was the Glory.
The smallness of our gifts may be a temptation to us. We are consciously so weak and so insignificant, compared with the great God and his great cause, that we are discouraged, and think it vain to attempt anything. The enemy contrasts our work with that of others, and with that of those who have gone before us. We are doing so little as compared with other people, therefore let us give up. We cannot build like Solomon, therefore let us not build at all. Yet, brethren, there is a falsehood in all this, for, in truth, nothing is worthy of GOD. The great works of others, and even the amazing productions of Solomon, all fell short of his glory.
1000 years or so before this, GOD had made the promise to Moses and the Israelite people leaving Egypt.The LORD says: 1. Be Strong.2. Work = accomplish)3. Do not fear (yare = respect awe) Three clear commands. Each of these three were essential to getting the work of GOD done.
Just as GOD shook the earth with the giving of the law at Mt Sinai, so through this temple HE would shake Heaven and earth in a far greater way.
1JOH 4:15, Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.Not the Spiritual gift which is great of course, but the gift that GOD indwells us, HIS Glory is abiding in us.
Many scholars believe that Herod remodeled the temple with the intent of fulfilling the glory of this Temple with him, Herod so he would be the Glory referenced here, instead of the Messiah.
The priests answered correctly according to the Law of Moses: Makes sense, you have dirty dishes and you put a sparkling clean dish in the mix, the other dirty dishes don’t become clean, the clean becomes dirty. That is the natural world.
So, on the same principle, living in the Holy Land and offering sacrifices would not make the people acceptable, as long as they themselves were unclean through neglect of the house of the LORD.