An ancient tale describes a conversation between a child and an artist. The artist is busily sculpting a lion out of pure marble when the child asks, “How do you do that?” The artist reflects for a moment and responds, “I look deeply into the marble until the lion reveals itself, and then I chip away everything that is not the lion.”
It’s a poetic answer but one that lacks all reality. Sure, when you have the skills of an artist, a perfectly hewn marble slab, and all the tools necessary at your disposal, you can chisel out a majestic lion.
But what if this isn’t the case? What if, instead of a marble slab, you stand amid a pile of rock? What if you don’t have the tools? What if you believe that you lack the skills necessary for the task at hand? Could you still chisel out a lion?
In many respects, this is what the people of Israel faced when they returned from exile. As they entered Jerusalem, they faced the daunting task of rebuilding the temple of the Lord.
Solomon’s grand and opulent temple, a symbol of the Lord’s presence and providence for the nation, had been destroyed over 60 years prior; it was no more than a pile of rock.
Amid opposition and hardship and lacking all the materials and tools necessary for the task, Israel was called to chisel a new temple.
So daunting was this task that the people began to grow weary, frustrated, and discouraged. In fact, at one point, they stopped rebuilding altogether. This is where the prophet Haggai comes in. Into a time of discouragement and hopelessness, Haggai speaks a word of renewal.
What might Haggai say to us today? After all, many of us face a similar task of rebuilding our lives. As we continue to emerge from the effects of a global pandemic, we are having to re-learn what it is to live together.
Furthermore, on top of this, we face political upheaval, wars, rumors of wars, rising inflation, and job loss. As a people of faith, how might we go forward amid such lingering obstacles? Might Haggai speak of word of renewal to us?
1. Acting Faithfully
To the discouraged Israelites, rebuilding the temple appeared far too big of a task. Thus, they feared that all their efforts would amount to nothing. At one point, Haggai asks the people, “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look now, does it not seem to you like nothing?” (2:3).
Israel’s task of rebuilding the temple amid seemingly insurmountable obstacles is not unlike some of the challenges we face today. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and weary by the obstacles before us.
It is precisely amid such feelings that Haggai challenges Israel to act faithfully before God. God calls out to Israel, saying, “Be strong all you people of the land, and work, for I am with you” (2:4).
Even though Israel had felt abandoned by God throughout the exile, Haggai reminds the people that they were never discarded by their Lord. God’s promises toward the nation remain steadfast and trustworthy.
God continues, “This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my spirit remains with you. So do not fear” (v. 5). God’s presence is constant and unchanging.
Israel was called to set the rebuilding of the temple upon the sure foundations of the Lord’s presence.
Thus, to a forlorn and frustrated people, Haggai proclaims an encouraging word. The difficult path of rebuilding the temple was never to be walked alone. The Spirit of God joined them, guided them, and empowered them.
This word of hope, and this challenge to faithfulness, are equally spoken to us. The fact is faith is never experienced in a vacuum. We live out our faith in opposition to the struggles and obstacles of our lives.
The mountainous tasks before us never testify to our dismissal by the Lord; God remains with us, always. True faith takes a stand against discouragement and frustration, daring to believe that the power of God that moves about our lives.
The divine word comes to us in the very place where we are frustrated with a call to faithfulness. To us, God says, “My (holy) Spirit remains with you. Do not fear” (v. 5). Although what lies before us might seem unclear or difficult at times, we can be confident in the strength and power of the Spirit.
2. Looking to the Redeemer
The issue facing Israel during the rebuilding of the temple was an issue of focus. For Israel, it became far too easy to focus on the rubble rather than on the redeemer in their midst. Rather than highlight the promise of new life, the people meditated on the problems before them.
For this reason, Haggai is bold in proclaiming God’s promise to the people. The new temple, while not as grand or as opulent as Solomon’s, will pave the way for the Messiah. God says to the people that “I will shake the nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory” (v. 7).
The “desired of nations” is a messianic title. This is another instance of the Old Testament testifying to the coming of Christ. Thus, although the people feel overwhelmed, Haggai proclaims that they were still on the pathway to redemption and renewal.
God’s glory would come and reside in the temple once more. For Israel, the audacious belief in the rebuilding of the temple was that, in some way, they were preparing for the messiah.
What, or better yet whom, do we focus on? The Apostle Paul writes that, through Jesus Christ, God has given us eternal encouragement and good hope (2 Thessalonians 2:16).
This hope, however, isn’t based on the easy task before us. We are called to look toward a redeemer above all. The Holy Spirit empowers us to walk in the way of our promised redemption.
3. Incarnating Renewal
As we root ourselves in the presence of God, we hear the call to work. Be strong, God says, “and work” (Haggai 2:4). Paul echoes this in his warning against idleness (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13). This call to work, however, isn’t a call to work for our own salvation.
We are saved by faith through grace (Ephesians 2:8); we need never earn our place before God. Scripture’s call to work is a call to incarnate the very renewal that we believe in. We are to put our hope and faith into action.
As James reminds us, “Show me your faith by words alone, and I will show you my faith by what I do” (James 2:18). For Israel, the rebuilding of the temple was a concrete display of their hope in redemption.
As people of faith, we participate in the Kingdom of God. That means we have a role in God’s work of renewal in this world. Failing to incarnate our own redemption would be like Israel sitting amid the rubble, hoping that a temple would spontaneously erupt around them.
That isn’t faithfulness. Thus, Haggai speaks an important word to us all. Our faith must be lived out in action.
What might this look like for you? If we fully believe that Christ brings new life to us, then we are to live this reality in word and deed.
Haggai’s words, though spoken thousands of years ago, hold before a message of hope and encouragement. Haggai’s prophecy reminds us that we are never alone in the obstacles we face, and that God is constantly working toward our redemption.
This realization, then, gives us the confidence to act, stand against whatever opposes us, and faithfully live out the new life we have been called into.
For further reading:
How Haggai Encouraged the Rebuilding of the Second Temple
Who Were the Major and Minor Prophets in the Bible?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/aradaphotography
