Haggai delivers his third sermon exactly three months since the work on the temple began and two months since his previous sermon. In between, Zechariah began his ministry exhorting the people to return to the Lord so that he may return to them.
He begins by asking the priests two questions about ceremonial purity. The priests answer 'no' to the question if holiness can rub off from sacred meat to the garment in which it is carried to another item. They then answer 'yes' to whether a person is unclean who touches a dead body.
Haggai then makes the application: so are the people unclean. They thought they were holy by association—by offering their sacrifices on the altar, even though the temple lay in ruins. And they were unclean because they had disobeyed the Lord and built their own homes before rebuilding the temple. Consequently, the Lord had struck them with "blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands." And still they had not repented.
Then Haggai uses one of his favorite words: consider. Remarkably, they are told not to consider their past but their future. Addressing their fears that the seed will not grow or the tree bears its fruit, Haggai delivers the unexpected—a blessing. Rather than further discipline, Haggai utters four amazing words from the Lord: "I will bless you." Familiar words, often overlooked but words that change everything.
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
