Haggai Lesson 4

Why? Haggai

Lesson 4

The Second Message

Hi! Welcome back again. I see you are ready to continue your study of this short but powerful Old Testament book of Haggai. As usual, let me encourage you to be sure that you have already completed lessons 1, 2, and 3 before you begin this lesson. Otherwise, you will not get nearly as much out of this lesson as the Holy Spirit wants to teach you. So, if you have not yet done those other lessons, please pause now and do them. OK? OK!

In Lesson 3, we learned a lot about the Temple which is now being rebuilt. And, during this rebuilding, God gave His people some very specific messages. You have looked at the First Message in some detail and had just begun to look at Message 2 in Lesson 3. Now, we are going to continue looking at Message 2. So, pull up your chair, get out your pens and pencils, and let's begin.

You will recall, from your study in Lesson 3, that the old-timers had become discouraged when they remembered the magnificance of the First Temple and compared it with this Second Temple which they were rebuilding. Because of this, God had given some words of enouragement to His people. Since these words of encouragement are a part of the SECOND MESSAGE, let's look now at Message # 2 and see what God was telling Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the People.

To do this, it's time for another assignment:

So, your assignment now is to read Haggai 2:1-9, the verses which contain God's Second Message. As you read, look for the answers to the following questions:

1. When was the second message given? (year / day / month) (1:15 & 2:1)

____________________________________________________________

2. Therefore, approximately how long was it after Message # 1 that this message was given?

Circle the correct answer:..........1 week ...........1 month............1 year

3. Were the people obeying God and actively working at the task of rebuilding the temple at the time that Message #2 was given to them? ...... Circle the correct answer:......YES ..........NO

4. To whom was this second message specifically directed? (2:2)

_____________________________________________________________

5. I know we've asked this already, but review is good, so what were the questions which God asked in Haggai 2:3 and why did He ask them?

The Questions:

Why asked:

6. What do you think was their answer to these questions? (Hint: if you had been there and had previously seen Solomon's Temple as described in I Kings 6 and now were looking at this unfinished Second Temple, what would you have said in answer to God's questions?)

7. Why did God tell them in Haggai 2:4 to "Be strong ... and work. For I am with you..."

8. In verse 5 (2:5), God reminds them of a part of their past history. In order to better understand their history concerning this, look at the time line given below and

Circle in PURPLE the specific time in history that God was referring to in Haggai 2:5.

Circle in RED the time when the First Temple, Solomon's Temple had been built.

Circle in BLACK, the time when the First Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

Circle in GREEN the time period we are now studying in the book of Haggai (~520 BC) when the work on the Second Temple (Zerubbabel / Herod's Temple) is being resumed.

Please note: The Time Line given below is very abbreviated and is on two major lines with two descriptive lines beneath each of the 2 lines. You are smart students. I know you can figure it out.

~2091 ......~ 1491.......1010......... 970................... 930......................... 722 ............................ 586.............................537.........

Abraham...Exodus....David...1st Temple....Kingdom divided....N falls to Assyria....S falls to Babylon.....exiles return

.................[...Tabernacle ....]{...................First Temple = Solomon's Temple.................).{= NO TEMPLE = }...............

"Time Line" cont:

.........520........................................ ~6/5/4 BC...0...1 AD..............................70....................................Today...2000..

...work on temple resumes...........Jesus born.............................................Rome destroys temple................................

[..... Zerubbabel's Temple =Second Temple = Herod's Temple............ ]( NO TEMPLE......................

One more note concerning this time line: (now that you have figured it out), you need to know that some of these dates may be different depending on which source or authority you use. However, the main purpose of this time line is to give you an idea of the big picture of these events and when the Temples existed and were destroyed rather than to quibble about the exact year or month of a particular event

Great! Good job. And, isn't it interesting to see the History of the Temples? Yes. But, now, let's continue on. There is still more we need to study in this lesson.

Verses 2:6-9 in Haggai are prophetic in significance and refer, therefore, to future events. One of these prophecies states that "the desired of all nations will come."

Who is the "desired of all nations" referred to in 2:7 and where is it that He is going to come?

(Hint: Read Malachi 3:1 below before you answer this question)

Malachi 3:1 NIV

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.

Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His Temple;

the messenger of the Covenant, whom you desire, will come,"

says the LORD Almighty.

The "desired of all nations" is________________________________________________

He will come to _________________________________________________________

If the "desired of all nations" is a Messianic prophecy, as many believe, then this passage is referring to Jesus, the Messiah! And, since we know that Jesus did come about 500 years later to this very same temple which they are now rebuilding, then verse 9 is truly an exciting word of prophecy and encouragement to these people as they work at the task of rebuilding the Temple.

With this in mind, let's read Haggai 2:9 again and answer these questions:

What is the "present house" referring to?

Circle your answer:........ .Solomon's temple....... Zerubbabel's temple

What is the "former house" ?

Circle your answer:........ .Solomon's temple....... Zerubbabel's temple

What is "the glory of this present house" referring to? (Hint: read Luke 2:25-32 below before answering this question.)

Luke 2:25-32

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.

He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.

When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel"

So, "The glory of this present house" is:_____________________________________

What was "the glory of the former house"? (Hint: read I Kings 8:10-11 below before answering this question.)

I Kings 8:10-11

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD.

And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud,

for the glory of the LORD filled His temple.

So, What was "the glory of the former house"? __________________________________

You are correct if you said that the Glory of the present house will be the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Who will come to it in the future. And the glory of the former house was the Sheinikah Glory of the Lord.

Can you see now why Message # 2 from God through Haggai, containing prophecies about the future glory of the Temple on which they were working was encouraging!

Certainly!

For, even though they may have been distressed when they remembered the glory and beauty of Solomon's Temple, God is telling them that this temple which they were now building would actually have a greater glory than that of the one over which they were grieving!

God is prophesying to them that this second Temple would one day be visited in the flesh by God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the World!

Yes, there had been the cloud of God's presence in both the Tabernacle in the wilderness and in the First Temple, Solomon's Temple.

But, this Temple, the Second Temple, Zerubbabel's Temple, would one day be filled not with the cloud of God's presence, but with God Himself in person - in the flesh! This passage is a prophecy of the future first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to this very Temple!

WOW! What an encouragement to continue and complete the task of rebuilding the Temple!

And with that awesome thought and understanding, let's end this lesson and let you think about these things. We will continue in our next lesson, Lesson 5, in this study of Haggai as we take up the THIRD Message from God to His people as they rebuild the Temple.

So, take a rest and then we will continue with Lesson 5.

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