Christ Current

The rebuilding of the temple had begun. God’s people had been stirred by His Spirit, and after nearly two decades of inactivity, the work was finally underway! Yet it didn’t take long for discouragement to return. As the people looked at the unfinished temple before them, many couldn’t help but compare it to Solomon’s majestic temple. What they saw seemed unimpressive, small and insignificant. Once again, God spoke through Haggai with encouragement, reiterating His greatest promise.

In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 
—Haggai 2:1-3 

The Setting

Haggai’s message came during the Feast of Tabernacles, the autumn holiday that commemorates the forty years the Israelites dwelled in temporary shelters as they wandered in the desert. It was a time of remembering the faithfulness of God, His presence among His people, and a time to look forward in hope to the promised Messiah. It is thought that it was during the same feast that Solomon dedicated the first temple to God, when the glory of the Lord filled the house so powerfully that the priests could not enter (1 Ki 8:2, 2 Chron 7:1-2). 

With this backdrop, God asks the meaningful question, “Does it not seem to you like nothing?”

Why Were They Discouraged?

Ezra gives us a glimpse into what happened when the foundation was first laid, giving us deeper insight into what the people may have been feeling at the time. When the foundation was laid, with music and thanksgiving, the people praised the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever!” (Ezr 3:11). Then we see mixed signals. 

But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sounds of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away. 
—Ezra 3:12-13

Notice it was the older ones who wept because they remembered Solomon’s Temple. The younger ones rejoiced because they had never known a temple at all. The older ones who had seen the grandeur of the first temple thought of how inferior this new temple was in comparison. 

Their accomplishment seemed inadequate. They wept. Although larger in some dimensions, it lacked the extravagance of Solomon’s temple (1 Ki 6:2, Ezr 5:3). Solomon’s temple had a beautiful courtyard, was extravagantly decorated with gold and precious stones, and was surrounded by a thriving city. But this temple had no walls covered in gold, no abundance of precious stones, and surrounding it was a city in ruins. I can imagine them wondering if their labor was even worth continuing. “Look at this thing! It cannot compare to the glory of Solomon’s Temple! Ours is nothing in comparison!”

Perhaps the greatest loss of all was that Scripture never records the Ark of the Covenant being placed inside this second temple. The glory that had once filled Solomon’s temple was absent. To human eyes, their work looked inadequate and insignificant. 

The Danger of Comparison

Comparison has a way of robbing us of enthusiasm, even causing us to despise the very work God has called us to do. We begin measuring what God has entrusted to us against what He has entrusted to someone else. “Their gifts are more impactful. Their ministry is larger than mine. They are reaching more people. What I have to offer seems so insignificant. My contribution seems like nothing.”

Eventually, this comparison can lead us to discouragement, convincing us that what God has placed into our hands is insignificant. Or, that even offering our lives to Him is nothing. Yet throughout Scripture, we see that God delights in using what appears small. One of my favorite examples to consider is the unnamed boy who offered Jesus his simple lunch: a little basket of five barley loaves and two fish (Jn 6:9). 

Imagine this little boy coming forward with his lunch and offering it. “I know there are thousands of people here but this is what I have to offer.” The boy’s lunch seemed like almost nothing in the hands of Jesus. Compared to how many people were there, it seemed like a single crumb. Even Andrew said to Jesus, “What good is this for so many people?” (Jn 6:9). Yet when that tiny offering was placed into the hands of Jesus, He multiplied it until thousands were fed, with baskets left over! The miracle wasn’t found in the size of the offering, but in the hands into which it was placed. 

The same is true for us. God made each of us unique and with special purpose, but when we look at our gifts and influence, we may think, what difference could this possibly make? But God isn’t asking us to compare or bring someone else’s gifts or offering. He simply asks us to offer Him our hearts and what He has entrusted to us. God doesn’t look at the size of the offering, but the heart behind it. When we place our lives, our hearts, and our gifts into His hands, which seem like the tiniest offering of two fish and five barley loaves, He is able to accomplish far more than we could ever imagine. We must continually shift our gaze away from ourselves back to Him. We are not told to fix our eyes on ourselves but to fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2). 

We may feel like small stones, but in the hands of the Master Builder, every living stone has a purpose in the house He is building. The Israelites, however, weren’t only comparing themselves with others. They were also comparing what God was doing in the present with what He had done in the past.  

Looking Back

Sometimes we romanticize former seasons while overlooking God’s present faithfulness. When deeper trials come, we can find ourselves looking back on easier times. But if we linger there, that can become resistance to the Spirit’s work in us now. In doing so, we may nearly miss what God is accomplishing within us and providing for us in that very season. We can become spiritually stagnant. Sometimes the place we want so desperately to leave is the place where God is faithfully doing the deepest transformative work in us. 

There is, however, a deeper concern and danger. Unlike simply wishing for an easier season or trial to end, we can begin to look back with our hearts. A lament can become longing. Sometimes we don’t simply remember the past, we yearn for it. 

Recall Lot’s wife. As judgment was about to fall on Sodom, the angels commanded Lot and his family to flee and not look back (Gen 19:17). 

But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 
—Genesis 19:26

At first glance, that seems a little dramatic, doesn’t it? But looking deeper, the Hebrew word used for “looked” is nabat, which is more than just a quick glance. This word means a deep gaze, a longing, a covenantal look. Her body had left Sodom, but her heart remained there. 

She looked back with a covenantal look. She was essentially staying under an old covenant. This is an important reflection for the Body of Christ. Christ has made us into a new creation and has brought us under the New Covenant through His finished work on the cross. Yet many continue to live under the Old Covenant. We can also find ourselves clinging to old ways of thinking, old identities, old habits, and old securities simply because they are familiar. Sometimes even oppression feels safer than surrender because at least we know what to expect.

We can be tempted to keep one foot in the old because it feels familiar, even if it is a place of bondage. Rather than walking in the freedom of grace, we return to self-effort, striving, condemnation, and a former identity simply because those patterns are familiar. The Old Covenant of the law and the New Covenant of the Spirit cannot be lived simultaneously (Gal 3:2-3, Heb 8:13). 

Many choose to remain in the tomb even though the stone has been rolled away because stepping into the unknown with Christ feels scarier than remaining in familiar bondage. But God always calls us forward, taking the next step of faith with Him, for we walk by faith not by sight (2 Co 5:7). Remember, God has said:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” 
—Isaiah 43:19

In a similar way, we can be tempted to live today on yesterday’s provision rather than receiving what God is providing today. The Israelites learned this lesson every morning in the wilderness. God provided fresh manna each day, and when they tried to keep yesterday’s provision for tomorrow, it spoiled (Ex 16:19-20). God’s provision was never meant to replace daily dependence upon Him. The same remains true for us.   

Yesterday’s experiences with God cannot fully sustain today’s walk. There is a reason His mercies are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23). We need fresh communion with Him, our Bread from heaven (Jn 6:35), abiding in His Presence today rather than attempting to live on yesterday. Our greatest pursuit is God Himself. 

Because God Himself is our pursuit, we can remember what He has done in the past, for it is part of our testimony, while refusing to return to former identities, old patterns, or remain under the Old Covenant when Christ has brought us into the freedom of the New. The past can testify to God’s faithfulness without being the place where our hearts remain.

Pause and consider. Where is your heart living today? Are you truly resting in what Christ has finished or are you still trying to earn through performance what God has already given you by grace? Where might you be mixing the freedom of the New Covenant with the striving of the Old? Have you noticed lamenting the past that it overshadows the current victories of today? Or, perhaps, on the contrary, let today’s sorrows overshadow God’s goodness and faithfulness? Let us not miss out on what God is doing in and through us today, remembering that He is with us.  

This was Israel’s struggle in a different way. They were so captivated by looking back at the glory of the former temple that they nearly overlooked the greater work God was accomplishing before their eyes. What could help them see beyond what they had lost and motivate them once again?

But Now, Be Strong!

But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ 
—Hag 2:4-5

Notice how God speaks strength over each individual and then over the entire community of people. He calls Zerubbabel by name, Joshua by name, and then calls all the people of the land to be strong. This work was not carried by one person alone. The leaders had a role, but so did each individual member.

The same remains true for the Body of Christ today, and the Good Shepherd calls His sheep by name (Jn 10:3). Recall from the first post of this series that the Body is built up as each part does its work (Eph 4:16). God strengthens His people individually, but He also builds us together, collectively, as His Church. Each believer is a living stone with a purpose in the spiritual house He is building (1 Pe 2:5). We are not spectators in His work; we are participants, strengthened and united by the same Spirit (2 Pe 1:4, Eph 4:4).

God called all His people to be strong and work. But He didn’t encourage them by telling them, “Your temple is actually quite impressive.” He also didn’t dismiss their discouragement. Instead, He again gave them the greatest encouragement and assurance possible: “I am with you.” He reminded them of the covenant promise He made when He brought them out of Egypt. God does not change. What He has spoken remains true, regardless of what circumstances may look like. Though His people had often been unfaithful, He remained faithful. His Spirit remained among them, the same Spirit who stirred them up to begin the work and the same Spirit who would sustain them to continue. The same Spirit who began the good work in us carries it onto completion (Php 1:6). Therefore, they and we need not fear.

Then there is a shift. The Lord wasn’t finished encouraging His people. His next words through Haggai lift their eyes far beyond the unfinished temple standing before them to a coming glory that would surpass anything they could imagine. In the next study, we’ll explore Haggai 2:6-9 and discover how this promise ultimately points us to the reign of our coming King, Jesus Christ! 

Haggai Study Series to Date: