God Bless You: Haggai 2:10-19 (Sermon)

 

WELCOME

Good morning, Sawyer! It is great to worship with you. Can I get an AMEN? The LORD is good, and his love endures forever (Psalm 100:5). This morning, we are going to hear of God’s remarkable blessing. We are one week away from the end of our series on the post-exilic prophets. Israel was in exile for seventy years because of their sins. But afterward, God called them back to their native land. He spoke to them through the prophets Joel, Malachi, and Obadiah. Today, we are in Chapter 2 of the book of another prophet, Haggai. It is the third-to-last book of the Old Testament. 

TEXT

Let’s dig in. I will have J. M. read for us. Would you please stand with me in honor of God’s Word? 

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, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’ ” The priests answered and said, “No.” Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the LORD. Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:10–19, ESV)

Thank you. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, I need your help to communicate Your Word rightly and minister to Your people, please. We all need you desperately. Please don’t leave us or abandon us. Make your Spirit known to us. You know our thoughts and experiences. You can bring verses and ideas up in this message and morning that we have carried with us into this room. You can speak to us individually through suffering and blessing. We ask that our marriages, sibling relationships, parent-child relationships, work relationships, and neighborhood connections reflect a more godly nature this week than they did last. We want to see you reflected in us like a mirror, not a disposable nametag we throw away at our earliest convenience. Thank you for being here with us and for giving us your Word. We look forward to what you will do at this time. We pray in Jesus’s name, amen. You may be seated. 

CONTEXT 

The time was 2500 years ago; Israel began rebuilding the temple but stalled on reconstruction for over a decade. God sent the prophet Haggai to confront the people’s negligence; they listened and obeyed. They got to work. God encouraged them. 

STRUCTURE

Haggai is more than a history or letter. God preserved it to make a point. Breaking down our verses into segments spotlights the purpose. We worked on this in our 9:00 AM Sunday School hour. This is what I came up with: 

2:10 INTRODUCTION TO CONSIDERATION 

2:11–14 All their work was unholy 

2:15–17 God’s discipline and their response

2:18-19 God’s blessing in spite of disobedience

MAIN IDEA 

These verses tell us that the people’s work didn’t make them holy. It all proved to be unclean. Thus, God disciplined his children. He wanted them to consider the consequences of their impurity; they did, and they repented. These verses convey a sense of seriousness, reflectiveness, invitation, interaction, and a twist.

ICE CREAM

This week, a few of my kids and I made homemade ice cream: banana foster and strawberry. We set aside all the ingredients, followed the instructions, and, voila, a homemade frozen treat! Suppose I were to take the elements of verses 10 through 19 and make them into a recipe for the big idea of what God was trying to communicate. In that case, I believe it would be this: A repeated call to consider one’s moral impurity and God’s extensive care: Let me say that again: A repeated call to consider one’s moral impurity and God’s extensive care. Let me show you how I came to this conclusion. Turn to Haggai Chapter 2, starting at verse 10, to see what I am talking about. 

INTRODUCTION 

What does it say? 

“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” (Haggai 2:10, ESV).  

Because scholars know when Darius reigned, that puts it on December 18th, 520 BC. Here is a timeline to help us piece together the sequence of events. This first section describes the time of Daniel.  

During the Exile (Time of Daniel) [People have been asking if King Darius mentioned in Daniel is the same one in Haggai. No, they are not. Darius in Daniel ruled the Medes, while Darius in Haggai ruled Persia.]

• 605 BC – Daniel and others are taken to Babylon.

• 586 BC – Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed.

• Ezekiel – Serves as a prophet to the exiles during this time.

• 539 BC – Babylon is conquered by Persia. King Cyrus allows the Jews to return home.

• 538 BC – First group of exiles returns to Jerusalem. They begin rebuilding the Temple but stop.

Time of Haggai and Zechariah (Temple Rebuilding)

• 520 BC – Haggai and Zechariah preach to encourage the people to finish the Temple

• 516 BC – The Temple is finally completed.

Later Events (Persian Rule)

• Around 480 BC – Queen Esther’s story happens during the reign of King Xerxes.

• 458 BC – Ezra comes to Jerusalem to teach God’s Law.

• 445 BC – Nehemiah comes to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

• Around 430 BC – Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, called the people back to faithfulness. [I made this slide and edited it with Gemini 2.5 and Chat GPT]

By the power of the Holy Spirit, God inspired Haggai to communicate this prophecy. What he said became the book we are studying. This first section, like the others before, provides us with the when and the who of the writer and speaker.  

SECOND SECTION 

In the second section, we learn who and whom is being spoken to. Again, this was A repeated call to consider one’s moral impurity and God’s extensive care. God was saying very specifically, in verses 11 through 14, that “Everything they did, didn’t make them holy.” 

2:10 INTRODUCTION TO CONSIDERATION 

2:11–14 All their work was unholy 

2:15–17 God’s discipline and their response

2:18-19 God’s blessing in spite of disobedience

11 THROUGH 12

Let’s listen in. Look at verse 11: 

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: “If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?” The priests answered and said, “No.” (Haggai 2:11–12, ESV) 

The first question concerned the Law for the experts of the Law. God knew the answer. He was setting up the priests to make a point—holy means to be set apart, perfect, and consecrated. God is holy. And everything that comes close to him must be holy. He cares about it. So, in Leviticus, the third book in the Bible, God cleansed everything through sacrifices. He used the blood to make things holy. Hebrews teaches, 

“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV).

God required priests to slaughter perfect lambs, take a branch of hyssop, dip it in the blood, and throw the blood on things or touch that blood to things to make them holy. Haggai was asking if those holy things could then make what they touched holy. 

MAGNET 

https://cdn4.explainthatstuff.com/og-large-horseshoe-magnet.jpg 

If I hold a magnet to metal, it can pick up a paper clip, and then the next one, and the one after that, if it is powerful enough. [Demonstrate.] Is the power of holiness like that? Can the paper clip now on its own connect to another paper clip? No. Holiness is not contagious like a cold. The priests answered Haggai correctly. 

Related Question

Then, Haggai asked a related question: 

“‘If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?’ The priests answered and said, ‘It does become unclean’ ” (Haggai 2:13, ESV).  

There is a physical uncleanliness that relates to a spiritual one. Some of the laws in the first few books of the Bible relate to physical health. God used the laws to protect the health and safety of the people better than the FDA. Other laws were ceremonial, and others moral. All of them connect to cleanliness, purity, and holiness. So the related question is, how is uncleanliness communicated? Unlike holiness, it is contagious. 

EXPERIMENT 

Let me illustrate. I need to put this coat on and goggles. (Just kidding. It adds to the effect.) We have this clear liquid. A few drops of this Phenolphthalein, and it turns pink. It is impure, unclean, and tainted. Life began with God saying something like, 'You can drink all the water you want, but not this Phenolphthalein. It is carcinogenic and a laxative, and it will change your water. Trust me on this one.' Sin did that. Sin impacts all of life like this. In the same way, all of our good deeds are impure, naturally speaking. We are not as bad as we could be. But like a viral contagion, sin plagues everything. People are born with this malady, and that is a tragedy. This leads to verse 14. 

VERSE 14

“Then Haggai answered and said, ‘So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean’ ” (Haggai 2:14, ESV).   

Did you catch what he is saying? What? All their work was unclean. Why? Their offerings were unclean because they were unclean. 

WHAT DID THEY DO? 

What did they do? They were busy working on their own house projects and not God’s. They prioritized themselves and not obedience. Sometimes, we think of sin as simply murder and theft, the biggies. Here, God called them out for their sinful worship. Have you ever sinned in praise and worship? 

• Have you been more concerned about what people think of your singing than actually praising? I have. 

• Have you been overly conscious about what people may think of you if you shouted AMEN for God in a service, but have no problem shouting for your kids on the ball field? I have. 

• Have you grumbled and complained in your heart about the style or technical elements of worship, more than being grateful for worship? I have. 

• Have you been upset at a family member and couldn’t get beyond it in worship? And instead of just praying to God for help with your heart, you fume? I have. 

• Have you been more worried about the rest of the day or week instead of trusting God as you give him a few minutes of your week in song? I have.  

Worship can be a battle where the military drones of the devil are doing all they can to take our focus away from what is right in front of our eyes. Haggai was telling them that what they had been offering for over a decade was unclean. 

ISAIAH 

When God opens our eyes to the spiritual reality of our deficiency, it can be overwhelming. Two hundred years before, the prophet Isaiah had an experience like that. He wrote, 

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. [Those are angels.] Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 

                  “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; 

                  the whole earth is full of his glory!” 

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1–5, ESV)

And he fell to the ground, broken over his sin. Has your sin broken you? Consider your ways. 

IMPURE

By the end of Isaiah, he came to a similar conclusion as Haggai 2:14:

            “We have all become like one who is unclean, 

      and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” 

(Isaiah 64:6, ESV).

The New Testament teaches that no one is right before God, not one of us (Romans 3:10). All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfection (Romans 3:23). Paul felt this personally and wrote, 

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15, ESV)

Do you feel this way? Consider your ways and confess your sins. James, Jesus’s half-brother, tells us to confess our sins to one another. God calls us to acknowledge our shortcomings to ourselves, others, and God. Why? It helps us stay honest with ourselves and others. It helps us be humble. And it helps us understand our needs. Some people attempt to cope with their sin by denying it, blaming others, or promising to try harder. A few years back, a friend from the NRC said, “Dilution is the solution.” I guess that is a saying about pollution: dilution is the solution to pollution.” All the water in Lake Michigan can dilute a little pollution. But sin is not like that. [Experiment] We pour more water in. It doesn’t clean us up. We don’t become holy that way. That is no hope. We will get to the hope soon enough. But before that, let’s go back to Haggai. After he pointed out that all their work was unholy, he wanted them to consider his response and theirs. 

SECTION 3 

Here is the third section:

2:10 INTRODUCTION TO CONSIDERATION 

2:11–14 All their work was unholy 

2:15–17 God’s discipline and their response

2:18-19 God’s blessing in spite of disobedience

The LORD reminded them that he punished his people because they were unholy. He cannot overlook sin. He can be merciful, but sin must be taken care of. Look at verse 15: 

Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the LORD. (Haggai 2:15–17, ESV). 

“Consider.” Consider the consequences of laziness and selfishness in Israel. God’s people experienced God’s discipline because of their actions. It was good for them to consider. Consider the cost of disobedience. What price have you seen in your life? It is good to consider. God loves them as a parent loves a child. After a long day of work, to come home to a disrespectful and disobedient kid, it might seem easier and better to ignore it at first and to give grace. We don’t want to nag. However, eventually, neglecting correction is not helpful in the long run. God patiently and gently disciplines his kids (Hebrews 12:6). He loves them. He won’t leave them or forsake them. He wants to help them and transform them. He asked his people to consider their actions. Yet, they still didn’t turn. Can you believe it? I can. People are stubborn. I am stubborn. Yet, God didn’t give up on them, and he sent them Haggai to call them to consider.  

FINAL SECTION 

But not only did God want them to consider his discipline and their disobedience but also his future blessing. Let’s look at that: 

2:10 INTRODUCTION TO CONSIDERATION 

2:11–14 All their work was unholy 

2:15–17 God’s discipline and their response

2:18-19 God’s blessing in spite of disobedience

VERSE 18

Look at verse 18. This is a twist: 

“Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? [Answer? No.] Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you” (Haggai 2:18–19, ESV).

Here, God had them consider his blessing. God didn’t give up on them. He was merciful and gracious. He promised to bless his children as they repented and turned to him. God didn’t have to. He could have just zapped them. But he didn’t. 

ECHO 

This blessing is an echo of the blessing of Moses. He said to the children of Israel, 

The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 30:9–10, ESV)

What blessings have you experienced? The Bible says every good and perfect gift comes down from God the Father above. Take a moment to think about the blessings in your life. What are ten? Shout them out. [PAUSE] Those are tokens of God’s care. In the New Testament, Paul quoted Isaiah about the blessings: 

                  “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, 

      nor the heart of man imagined, 

                  what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9, ESV).

Whatever blessings you come up with, God has even better ones in store for those of you who love God. I don’t think we realize how much God loves us. Consider the love of a mother. You can’t beat it. But God can. His love is exponentially greater for those who love him. “Do you love God?” 

DIRT 

Perhaps you feel you don’t, or you’re unsure if you love God. Possibly, you feel unlovable, unholy, and impure. Maybe you can relate to Isaiah. Sinful things can make God’s love uncomfortable and unimaginable. What is the solution to corruption? Redemption is our salvation. We have a five-letter answer: Jesus. 

IMPURE

God has a way to make us clean. 

• We are born broken and sinful. Jesus was born perfect. 

• Jesus never sinned. While all of us have. 

• There is not one who is good enough to get to heaven, but through Jesus’s death on the cross, he can get us there. 

The LORD saves all who call on him. Romans 6:23 states, 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, ESV). 1 John 1:8 and 9 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9, ESV). [Experiment]. You see this pure liquid. It represents our pure Savior. The people of Israel had a promise that one day, a king would reign over them forever. A prince of peace and a mighty God. He would rule over the world. All the nations would know him. And we know, looking back, that Jesus was that prince, the One and Only Son of God. He came and lived a perfect life. He was the true spotless Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. That all who genuinely believe in him, though we perish, will have eternal life (John 3:16). Do you believe it? Do you love him? Do you want to turn to him with all your heart and soul and become pure? No matter how dirty you feel, no matter how bad you have been, you can be pure by the blood of the Lamb, like this liquid. [Experiment.]

• Consider your life, 

• Confess your need, 

• And Commit to love the LORD who loved you first to death. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

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