Haggai

A Brief Introduction 

Global Message for Today 

In the classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan illustrates the notions of many who have mistaken views of God and His Word. Early on his journey, Christian encountered two of his neighbors, Obstinate and Pliable. Though both were curious about Christian’s journey, Obstinate determined from the beginning not to go and tried to convince Pliable not to go either. But Pliable, interested in the blessings and benefits Christian described, set out on the journey. Along the way, he kept asking Christian about the blessings ahead. All went well until they entered the Slough of Despond. Pliable forgot about all the benefits and returned home as quickly as he could. Unless the way was easy and the blessings clearly in view, he wanted nothing to do with Christian and this journey to the distant city. He would follow God only for what he thought he would get out of it. Bunyan’s self-consumed Pliable bears uncanny resemblance to those in the days of Haggai, who allowed the opposition to distract them from what God had commanded. It was easier to redirect their efforts to self-interests, but losing the vision of God’s purpose turned life itself into futility—nothing brought fulfillment. Haggai made it clear that self-serving is always self-defeating. This is a poignant message to so many Christians today whose priorities are skewed toward the stuff of temporal life rather than spiritual life. 

How the people responded to Haggai’s preaching is a model example. They listened, they acknowledged it as God’s Word, and they obeyed. By their returning to the work, they became doers of the Word and not just hearers (James 1:22). That their response was the consequence of the Lord’s arousing them is a reminder of how vital it is for the Spirit to be in attendance with the preaching of the Word and to apply that work to the heart. Preachers are able to convince people to do or not to do, but only the Spirit can apply the Word in a living way (see the illustration in Ezek. 37 of the prophet’s preaching to the dry bones). Preaching is the method God has ordained for evangelism and edification. Not only are ministers responsible to preach well, the congregation is responsible to listen well. 

Haggai’s “congregation” also provides a lesson in fearing the Lord. The fear of God is an expression of faith, which is more aware of the unseen than the seen. The people lost their vision and energy for the work of kingdom when they saw and experienced the hostility. But when they became conscious of God’s presence (Hag. 1:13) and feared Him (v. 12), they determined to obey. What we fear always determines behavior. To fear the Lord is to be consciously aware of Him and to consciously factor Him into every part of life.  

If 1:6,8–11 taught that putting yourself in first place is self-defeating, 2:3 teaches that putting yourself down is service defeating. Comparing the first temple with the plans of the second temple led to discouragement and inactivity. The people allowed appearance to influence their thinking and concluded that they were making no real contribution to the work of the Lord. They looked backward instead of forward to what was going to be greater than their expectations. It is always dangerous and defeating to evaluate the value of our service by comparing it with what others are doing or have done. The value of service is always to be measured by conformity to God’s will and purpose. Too many Christians tend to compare themselves and their spiritual gifts with others and convince themselves there is nothing they can contribute to the service of the Lord. Consequently, they become idle. There is no better service that we can render to the Lord than being faithful to what He has called us and enabled us to do by the help of His Spirit. All service that is rendered in faithful obedience is pleasing to Him. 

Christ’s designation as the “desire of all nations” (v. 7) directs us to Him as the object of our worship. The word “desire” includes the sense of treasure or wealth. This means that Christ with all of His infinite and intrinsic worth ought to be our prized possession. To have Christ is to have everything. If He is our treasure our heart will be with Him (Matt. 6:19–21; Col. 3:1–2). Paul understood this when he testified that he counted everything else to be nothing but rubbish in contrast to knowing Christ (Phil. 3:7–8). That is the example to follow. 

Verses 10–14 are a reminder of how important it is for believers to walk cautiously in this world. There are so many things in the world that rob us of our fellowship with God and our ability to serve Him. This is one reason why we are not to love the things of this world (1 John 2:15–17). Here is an illustration: rubbing a clean shirt on a grease rag will not clean the grease from the rag, but it will stain the shirt. So Christians must be cautious to avoid contact with sinful things and practices.