City Church Seven Hills

Lucas Dutil

Youth Pastor

A brief recap of the book of Haggai so far: it has been close to two decades since the Israelites have returned from their exile in Babylon.  The Lord speaks through His prophet Haggai to let the people know that they have misplaced their priorities.  They build their magnificent homes while the Lord’s house lies in ruins.  The work on the temple hasn’t even begun. The people receive the Lord’s rebuke as an invitation into something better – a properly ordered life, and the Word says that He sparked the people’s enthusiasm.  So, they began the work.

We pick up the story in Haggai 2:1.  It has been a bit over a month since the work on the temple began and the Lord brings another message through His prophet Haggai to the leaders and people of Israel.

Haggai 2:1-5, 

“Does anyone remember this house – this Temple – in its former splendor?  How in comparison does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!  But now the Lord says: Be strong, Zerubbabel.  Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadek, the high priest.  Be strong all you people still left in the land.  And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt.  So do not be afraid.”

It is important to understand what exactly the people were setting out to reconstruct here. The former temple was no ordinary temple; it was Solomon’s temple.  Solomon is widely considered to be the richest (and wisest) man to have ever lived, and his life, kingdom, and temple displayed this glory.  The Lord blessed him mightily.  And now, the people were 1 month into trying to build what once was, and the Lord sees them getting discouraged.  Haven’t we felt like this before at the start of a huge task?  We get excited at the start and then the everyday grind of life has a way of simply letting the air out of the balloon slowly but surely.  Marriage, work, college can all feel like this –  Even ministry can. But we are blessed to have a God who understands our pitfalls and our tendency to be discouraged and, at just the right time, with just the right words, if we listen, He speaks to our situations.

Verse 3b also sticks out to me, “It must seem like nothing at all!”  The same might have been said of Jesus as someone walked by Him on the streets of Capernaum.  If there is anything we know of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is this:  Everything is not always what it seems.  Didn’t the Jews even expect Jesus to overthrow Rome?  Is it possible that what He has planned is bigger than what we have imagined? When we cannot see God moving, we must trust that He is.  When He does not feel close, we must trust that He is.  When we feel unlovable, we must know that He loves us and that He has what is best for us.  Our thoughts about God will determine our faithfulness towards Him, and like the Israelites in Haggai, we must also not be stuck looking at the things the Lord has done in the past to tell us what He will do in our future.  The future temple they were building was never meant to be like Solomon’s temple.  It was meant to be greater (verse 9).

As a church, we must not give in to the temptation and sin of comparison. We have a calling; we have a mission. It does not have to look like other churches. It does not have to look like our church 5 or 10 years ago, but what is clear is that He is a God of increase and a God who does not forget about His people. He has more for us in this season if we are open to receiving it, and we must not let discouragement rooted in what used to be rob us of the future that is yet to be. In order to see this future materialize we must remain close to Him and to each other. As verse 5 says, His Spirit remains with us, and it is His proximity that enables the kind of confidence that does not yield ground to fear or uncertainty regarding the future.