I. Haggai 2:20-23 God Keeps His Promises
How many times have we made a promise, but obstacles arise,
and keeping the promise is costly, so we renege on the promise.
A father promises to take his son fishing on Saturday, but the
guys at work arrange a golf match. Now the promise has a price tag.
Go fishing and miss out on golf with the guys, or play golf and
disappoint your son?
Politicians have promised us a Social Security “safety net,” but
the promise has become costly. Now it means great constriction in
the size and scope of Government, so the promise will probably not
be kept.
Husbands and wives promise to be faithful to each other until
death. But, when the promise becomes costly, how many have the
staying power to run the race with faithfulness?
You commit to be part of a HomeGroup, but you are tired, and
a good TV show is on, so you stay home and pamper myself. Lewis
Smedes writes,
“What a marvelous thing a promise is! When a person makes a
promise, [he or] she reaches out into an unpredictable future and
makes one thing predictable: [he or ] she will be there even when
being there costs more than [he or] she wants to pay. When a
person makes a promise, he stretches himself out into
circumstances that no one can control and controls at least one
thing: he will be there no matter what the circumstances turn out
to be. With one simple word of promise, a person creates an
island of certainty in a sea of uncertainty.”1
Smedes describes the ideal, but we are sinners. Often, we are
unfaithful to our promises. Today’s reading is about another person,
1
Lewis Smedes, "The Power of Promises," A Chorus of Witnesses, edited by Long and Plantinga,
(Eerdmans, 1994)
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One who “swears to his own hurt but never changes.” Zerubabbel,
the governor of Judah, is probably discouraged. God comforts him by
confirming that he will keep his ancient promise to Israel.
Our story takes place on the 24th day of the ninth month. It is
Dec 18, 520 BC. It is about three months since Haggai began to
prophesy. The first prophecy on this day we studied in the first half of
Haggai two. It dealt with the past and the present, but this text is
wholly future.
(Hag 2:20-23) 20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the
twenty-fourth day of the month, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah,
saying,
I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and to overthrow the throne
of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations,
and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders
shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
23 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my
servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet
ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
God addresses this prophecy to Zerubbabel. As we have noted,
he is probably discouraged. He is the governor. He is responsible to
motivate Israel to rebuild the temple. He is facing opposition from his
own people and from the Samaritans. God wants Zerubbabel to know
that he is with him.
Zerubbabel was the direct, living, descendant of King David.
Therefore, we can view this prophecy as a promise to Zerubbabel
that God had not forgotten either him or his promise to his ancestor,
David. God promised David that one of his descendants would sit on
his throne forever (1Sam 7:13-17). God wants Zerubabbel to know
that he is determined to fulfill that promise.
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Here is the main idea in this text: God keeps His promises.
Despite Israel’s sin, God’s judgment, and their deportation to
Babylon, God is determined to fulfill his ancient promise to David.
This text has two points. First the promise to Zerubabbel, and
second, the reason that Zerubabbel should believe that God will
keep his promise.
A. THE PROMISE
The background and context of this morning’s reading is
important. The last verse in this text contains an obscure promise. To
unravel it, we need to rehearse the past.
Zerubabbel was the governor of Judah. His father was
Shealtiel. His grandfather, Jehoiachin, was the second to the last king
of Judah before the Babylonian deportation. In other words,
Zerubabbel was a descendant of David. However, after deportation to
Babylon, things had changed. The descendant of David, Zerubabbel,
was a governor, not a king. He was subject to the King of Persia.
In about 1,000 BC (5 centuries prior to Haggai) God spoke to
Zerubabbel’s ancestor, David. David has just told the prophet,
Nathan, that he is determined to build a house for God. The next day,
through the prophet, Nathan, God promised David that one of his
sons would always sit on the throne of Israel.
(2 Sa 7:11b-17 pg 259) “Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the
Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and
you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after
you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his
kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a
father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I
will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons
of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I
took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your
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house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.
Your throne shall be established forever.’ ” 17 In accordance with
all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan
spoke to David.
For four centuries, a descendant of David sat on the throne of
Judah. It was one of the longest family dynasties in history.
God spoke to Zerubabbel’s grandfather, Jehoiachin, a direct
descendant of David, that Jehoiachin’s rule would be short lived, that
he would be taken to Babylon and suffer. The prophecy came as a
message about Jehoiachin’s signet ring. The king’s signet ring was
used to seal documents. It was the king’s official seal. It said, “the
wearer of this ring is heir to David’s throne and heir of God’s
promises to Israel through David.” He is the royal king.
(Je 22:24-27, pg 650) "“As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah
[Jehoiachin] the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my
right hand, yet I would tear you off and give you into the hand of those who
seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the
hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. I
will hurl you and the mother [Hamutal] who bore you into another country,
where you were not born, and there you shall die. But to the land to which they
will long to return, there they shall not return.”
The words of Jeremiah came to fulfillment. After only three
months in power, the Babylonians deported Jehoiachin to Babylon.
He was put under house arrest for many years. He had five sons.
One was Shealtiel. In his old age, Jehoiachin was released from
house arrest and treated well by the Babylonian king. However, in
fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, he died before the exiles returned
to Israel. But his son, Shealtiel, and his grandson, Zerubabbel, did
return with the exiles in 538 BC.
Show the word file “Zerubabbel’s Descendants.”
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Skipping forward from Jeremiah’s prophecy about 80 years, we
now come to Haggai 2:20-23
23 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my
servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet
ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
“Like a king sealing legal documents with his ring, the Lord will set
his authentic impression upon the world through his royal
representative. Zerubbabel, a descendant of one previously
discarded, is the ring placed back on the hand of the divine King.
God's promise to bless his people and the whole world through
the house of David still stands.”—ESV Study Bible:
In other words, this prophecy is God’s reminder to Zerubabbel
that God will fulfill his ancient promise to David, and that it will occur
through a descendant of Zerubabbel.
This promise came to pass through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Joseph, Jesus’ step father, was a direct descendant of Zerubabbel,
and through Zerubabbel, a direct descendant of David. Because of
his death and resurrection, and infinite humbling, God exalted Christ.
He gave him all power and authority. He seated him on the throne of
the universe, which is the throne of Israel. God fulfilled his promise to
David through Zerubabbel, God’s signet ring. Again, here is the
promise to David.
“I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your
body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for
my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever…
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever
before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”"
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B. THE GUARANTEE: THE REASON ZERUBABBEL SHOULD BELIEVE
How could Zerubabbel be sure that God would fulfill his
promise? Since the shaking, described in this passage, did not occur
in Zerubbabel’s lifetime, to what did this prophecy refer?
God is sovereign over the nations. He is sovereign over all of
life. He controls the rise and fall of empires. The future is in his
hands. That is the idea latent in 21b-22. God’s sovereignty is the
guarantee to Zerubabbel that God’s promise to David will come to
pass.
(21b-22) “I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and to overthrow
the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of
the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and
their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
Notice: God does the shaking. “I am about to shake.” So, to
what did this shaking point? To answer that question we need to put
Haggai’s prophecy in the context of the prophets that were his
contemporaries. Haggai was probably aware of their predictions. In
each case, the prophet’s message was straightforward. The fate of
each nation was in God’s hand. God is the One who shakes. He
shakes the nations to produce the end he seeks. The ministry of the
prophet Daniel, a contemporary of Haggai, is a good example. Lets
look at the second chapter.
Nebuchadnezzar had a frightful dream. He saw a great statue.
Its head was gold. Its arms and shoulders were silver. Its belly and
thighs were made of bronze, and its feet of clay mixed with iron. As
Nebuchadnezzar watched a stone not cut out by no human hand,
“struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in
pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the
gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff
of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away,
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so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that
struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole
earth” (Dan. 2:34-35).
The dream terrified Nebuchadnezzar. He did not understand
what it meant. He promised lavish rewards to anyone that could
interpret it. However, to make sure that the interpretation was from
God, he did not disclose the dream, but required the interpreter to
explain the dream to him by supernatural means.
Daniel repeated the dream exactly as Nebuchadnezzar saw it,
then gave God’s interpretation. This interpretation is an example of
the “shaking” of nations to which Haggai referred. (Da 2:37-45, pg
237)
37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has
given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38
and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the
children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the
heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of
gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and
yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because
iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that
crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the
feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a
divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it,
just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes
of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be
partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with
soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they
will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a
kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be
left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms
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and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you
saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and
that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and
the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be
after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
Here is what happened. Babylon ruled the world until 537 BC.
Then Persia ruled the world form 537 to 325 BC. Alexander the great
then ruled until about 150 BC. The Romans rose to world domination
which continued until about 500 AD. During the Roman Empire the
Messiah was born. He is king of kings and lord of Lords. His kingdom
is the only kingdom that ultimately matters.
In other words, here is the God’s assurance to Zerubabbel. I
am sovereign. I will bring my word to pass. I will shake nations until
my word to you is fulfilled. You can bank on my to keep my word.
C. APPLICATION: BELIEVE GOD’S PROMISES
God is faithful to his promises. What promises are we banking
our life on?
He has promised a future judgment. Heb 9:27 “It is appointed
for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (2 Co 5:10) "For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each
one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body,
whether good or evil."
He promises eternal life to those who believe. Synonyms are
forgiveness of sins, reconciliation, redemption, etc. (Ro 10:9) "If you
confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
He has promised that his Son will return. (Ac 1:9-11) Jesus "
was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they
were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them
in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking
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into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,
will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”"
He promises us new Heavens and a New Earth. (2 Pe 3:13)
"But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a
new earth in which righteousness dwells."
He promises eternal destruction (Hell) to those who do not
believe. (2 Th 1:7-9) "The Lord Jesus [will be] revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those
who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of
our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction,
away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might."
He promises to work everything to the good of those who love
him. (Ro 8:28) "And we know that for those who love God all things
work together for good, for those who are called according to his
purpose."
He promises to take care of the needs of the person who seeks
first his kingdom. (Mt 6:33) "But seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
In addition, as he did to Zerubabbel, God has said and done
things to convince us that he can and will keep his promises.
He has sufficient power to fulfill these promises. How do we
know? He foretells the future. He can foretell the future because he is
in complete control of the future. The prophecy/prediction in Daniel is
only one example of God’s crystal clear capacity to accurately and
precisely foretell the future.
But there is a more important reason for us to believe that God
will keep his promises—a reason hid from Zerubabbel. We know that
God will keep his word because, according to Psalm 15:4, a righteous
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person is one who “swears to his own hurt but does not change.” God
promised David and Zerubabbel a king. He has made a plethora of
promises to us as well. How do we know he will keep them? God
swears to his own hurt, and no matter how great the “hurt” God does
not change.
God made all the promises we just mentioned with the certain
knowledge that none of them could be kept until the sin problem had
been dealt with. When God made the promises we just listed, he
knew what it would cost him to keep them. It would cost him his Son.
He would have to “forsake” the one Being he loved infinitely. He
would be required to put our sins on his Son’s shoulders and torture
him to death with the pain our sin deserved.
Zerubabbel did not understand this. He had no idea that it
would take the death of God’s Son to bring his promises to pass. It
never crossed his mind that God was so infinitely good that he would
punish his own Son in our place to keep his promises.
Now Zerubabbel’s descendant is on God’s throne. God has
fulfilled his promise to David and Zerubabbel. He has given his Son
all power and authority. That means he is in control of every detail in
our lives. The One who loves you so much that he was crucified for
you, the One who is so faithful and good that, despite great hurt, he
did not change, but kept his promises, has the reigns of your life in
his hand.
This is a God that you trust. Trust in all of his future promises.
God is not like the father that fails to take his son fishing. He swears
to his own hurt, but does not change.
The fact that God keeps his promises does not mean that your
life will be easy. It may be hard, but the promise is clear. “All things
work together for good to those who love him, to those who are called
according to his purpose.”
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In summary, Zerubabbel was discouraged. God restored his
ancient promise to David in Zerubabbel’s hearing. God’s sovereignty
was the guarantee. He would “shake” the nations to bring it to pass.
We have a better hope. To keep his promise to us God shook his Son
unto death. Surely all of God’s promises will be fulfilled. None of them
will fall to the ground.
(Ps 12:6) "The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver
refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times."
(Pr 30:5) "Every word of God proves true."
(Ps 33:4) "For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is
done in faithfulness."
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