Haggai 1-2 · Philippians 1:6 · Hebrews 12:1-2
Haggai: Prophet of God's Encouragement
This sermon examines Haggai's call to the returning exiles to finish rebuilding the temple, drawing parallels to Christian perseverance in completing one's walk with God despite opposition, discouragement, and distraction.
Introduction
Completing tasks can sometimes be difficult. We get started and then get sidetracked, and before long we are working on something we didn’t set out to work on. Sometimes we begin a task and then have a hard time finishing it. We get lazy or we find something else to do, and the original task gets left behind. As our fellowship hall was being completed, Allen Wagner told me the hardest part of the job is finishing. Workers slow down or they get distracted by other tasks. Sometimes it is hard to finish what we start.
Working to finish what we start is a wonderful trait to have. Today we will learn something about the importance of this trait and how God encourages his people to finish what we start.
Historical Situation
Haggai is the first of three prophets who wrote after the Babylonian Exile. Nebuchadnezzar’s final assault on Jerusalem occurred in 587 B.C. Around 536 B.C. the first group returned from Babylonian captivity. They came back to the city of Jerusalem, which was in shambles. The walls were gone, houses were leveled, and their beloved temple had been destroyed. Quickly the altar was rebuilt and sacrifices made. Then after some fundraising, the foundation of the temple was laid, and the people rejoiced. But the rejoicing quickly faded. Opposition from surrounding groups led the people to become discouraged and lose sight of their goal, and work on the temple stopped.
It has been about sixteen years since the first group of exiles returned from Babylonian captivity. They started on the temple and laid the foundation, but then they stopped. They built their own homes and have been living for the past sixteen years in and around Jerusalem, eking out a living. They have planted much and harvested little. They eat but are never filled. They drink but their thirst isn’t quenched. They put on clothes but remain cold. They work but their wages are never enough. God says he has caused this discomfort for one simple reason—the people have not completed work on the temple. While the people live in their houses, God has no place. While the people carry on with life, God has no place of honor among his people. Haggai’s message is short and sweet: “Finish what you started; finish the temple.”
God encourages the people to complete the task and promises to bless their efforts. He will bring the rains and bless the people. Surrounding nations will be impressed with Judah, and Judah will be respected once again. God’s desire is to bless Judah and give it special prominence again. God wants Judah to prosper, but the people have forgotten God. Having failed to rebuild the temple demonstrates that the people are not thinking about God. There is nothing in Haggai which leads us to think that the people are participating in idolatry or immorality. The main issue seems to be the complacency of the people to finish what they started.
Principles
The main point of Haggai is simply—finish what you started. This is a very biblical idea. Paul writes in Philippians 1:6 that “God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God finishes what he starts. So should we.
Some were discouraged about building the temple because of the opposition around them. Their drive to finish what they started waned because they took their eyes off of God’s plan and listened to the threats of others. Some were discouraged because they remembered the temple from long ago—the one Solomon built. It was a splendid structure, a beautiful structure. Now these folks looked at the rubble that surrounded the foundation of the new temple and knew that it would never look like it did before. Their drive to finish what they started waned because they looked to the past and not the future. Some were discouraged because of the timidity of the leaders. The leaders were uncertain about their own roles and uncertain that they could lead, and the people sensed their fear and hesitation. Their drive to finish what they started waned because leaders didn’t know if God would bless them and their efforts. Some were not building the temple because they had gotten busy doing other things. Their lives were wrapped up in their own comfort and security. They spent their lives thinking about themselves rather than thinking about God. Their drive to finish what they started waned because they lost their focus about what was really important.
Much in the same way, we need to finish what we started. Our application is not about buildings, it is about our lives. We started our walk with God; we need to finish it. We started our walk with God with great enthusiasm and confidence; we need to finish our walk in the same way.
Some get discouraged along the way because of the opposition which surrounds them. Hard times come, and with those hard times they lose sight of Jesus. They begin to think more about the opposition than about God’s promise to never leave them nor forsake them. The drive to finish what they started wanes because of opposition. Some get discouraged because they remember how things were in the past. They remember the emotional heights of climbing the spiritual mountain, and as they have grown older their emotions have grown colder. The drive to finish what they started wanes because the past is more exciting than the future. Some get discouraged because they are uncertain about their roles. They don’t know what God’s will is for their lives, and with that uncertainty they lose confidence in God’s power and plan. The drive to finish what they started wanes because they are uncertain about God’s blessings. Some don’t finish what they started because they lose their focus. They turn their attention to making life pleasant and easy. They get caught up in the day-to-day routines, and God just doesn’t seem very important. They are here out of a sense of duty and responsibility, but describing their relationship with God as personal and intense would not be accurate. The drive to finish what they started wanes because their attention is on self rather than God.
It is hard to finish what you started if you are looking back, feel overwhelmed by opposition, are uncertain about the ultimate outcome, or focus on self rather than God. The people of Judah gave up on finishing what they started. In the process they became complacent about God’s will and work.
Do we not believe that God is stronger than the opposition? Do we not have faith that what was behind, as good as it was, is not the best? Do we not trust that the final outcome is far better than what we see now? Do we not believe that God deserves our attention rather than our own comfort? Then let us finish what we started.
As the Hebrew writer says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. Consider him who endured great opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Our eyes need to be on Jesus, not the opposition. Our hearts need to be set on what can be, not what once was. Our lives need to be lived in assurance and confidence because God has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Our attention needs to be off of ourselves and turned to God.
What is holding you back from finishing what you started? God is going to complete what he started in you. Trust him to do that and work with him to run the race set out before you.
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