THE FOURTH MOVER AND SHAKER: HAGGAI
There are times when God’s people need to be shaken, and there are occasions when they need to be moved – aroused, motivated, energized – to finish what they have started.
Haggai is called a Minor Prophet. His two-chapter, letter-length book – just 38 verses in all – can be read in a few minutes. But its message has the power to activate those who’ve lost interest, and move into action those who’ve been listless for far too long!
After pin-pointing the problem – “This people say, ‘The time is not come…that the LORD’S house should be built’, Haggai addressed his people’s economic problems. They were living on the poverty line: enough food and drink to stay alive but not enough to satisfy them. There was also a clothing shortage, due to an overall lack of income, which in turn was due to a persistent drought. (Haggai 1:1-11)
Haggai bluntly informed them that God Himself was responsible for their food and clothing shortages, and that, rather than just passively permitting the drought – He had actually “called for it”!
The fear of the LORD brought swift obedience. The people quickly reported for work on the long-delayed Temple building project, and what had been a dispirited remnant quickly became an energetic body of workers! (Haggai 1:12-15)
As well, Zerubbabel, the governor, was “stirred up” spiritually by the LORD. Haggai was “the LORD”S messenger in the LORD’S message.” His heart and soul was in his prophecies! (Haggai 1:13)
Haggai prophesied for only three months, in 520 BC, but his words of encouragement and reassurance so motivated his people that they completed the Temple in just four years!
“And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered (Hebrew: “moved forward”) through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.” (Ezra 6:14)
It should be noted that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah began to prophesy while an 18-year-old ban on the rebuilding was in force. The representatives of King Darius soon asked questions, and the names of those responsible for the resumption of the building project were taken. These were included in an official letter to the king – an extremely serious matter!
Haggai’s name would have been in the letter (Ezra 5:3-17). In which the Jews submitted that their building project had been approved.
When King Darius (after checking and finding that Cyrus had issued the original decree) gave his consent to the rebuilding, its completion was assured. (Ezra 6:1-12) The accompanying threat that any person found interfering would be hanged from the timber of his demolished house – which would then be turned into a public toilet – guaranteed its trouble-free completion!
The “eye” of their God had been on the elders of the Jews, making their project – despite its delay – unstoppable! The king’s decree was merely human approval of a project that God had blessed from the beginning. (Ezra 5:5)
Haggai’s role was completed in the first few months of the Temple’s four-year construction period. His prophetic ministry had motivated his people. It had got them back on the job! This done, Haggai disappears from biblical view, and his fellow-prophet (for they were contemporaries) Zechariah, comes more into focus.
Like Haggai, Zechariah addressed key issues affecting the building project. But his messages dug deeper – into the hearts of those who were in charge of the project. The ministries of the two prophets were complementary, but while Haggai renewed the people’s desire to build, Zechariah dealt with the heart-attitudes and secret problems of their leaders.
THE FIFTH MOVER AND SHAKER: ZECHARIAH
Zechariah began to prophesy two months after Haggai’s first message, late in 520 BC. This prophet’s job was to maintain the spiritual momentum of the work that had been kick-started by Haggai.
A night vision of a world at peace might to us seem pleasant, but to the LORD of hosts, jealous over Jerusalem and its broken-down Temple, world peace was a great displeasure. (Zechariah 1:11,15)
(This study is not a commentary on the Book of Zechariah. It is a theme-study on how certain individuals in the Old Testament did as they were instructed when time and events required that they involve themselves in the work of God. As we have seen, each man’s work depended on another’s for its effectiveness. Not all lived in the same timeframe, for the completion of the work to which they were called took more than 100 years. In keeping with this theme, our study of Zechariah is limited to chapters three and four, with a brief excursion into chapter six.)
Joshua the high priest had a problem: his office required him to offer gifts and sacrifices for the sins of his people. However, in so doing, he was acutely aware of his own personal shortcomings. So, like every high priest before him, he included himself in his prayers and sacrifices. (Hebrews 5:1-3) This practice had the effect of making high priests more compassionate toward others, and less judgemental.
We do not know what Joshua had done to make him feel that he was unworthy, and we never will, for his sin was forgiven. (Zechariah 3:1-4) (It is possible that Joshua, as the high priest, stood for the people as a whole; in which case, the “filthy garments” referred to by the angel were not his personally, but represented the sinful condition of his people, the Jews.)
Zechariah was a “seer” – he “saw” through spiritual eyes. The LORD showed him the real reasons why things were the way they were. For instance, as they were with Joshua, the high priest.
“And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.” (Zechariah 3:1)
The phrase “his right hand” means “in a place of power and authority” in his life – the right hand being, in the case of most individuals, the strongest.
It conveys the thought that Joshua had sinned, and in so doing had allowed Satan entry into his life. In his adversarial role, Satan was resisting Joshua’s ministry. If this were not stopped, he could prevent the high priest from exercising his ministry on the Jews behalf. And if he could do that, he could make all of them unacceptable to God – perhaps even bring God’s judgement down upon them! (Exodus 4:24,25)
Blood alone could atone for the sins of the people, and Joshua alone could offer it!
How encouraged Joshua must have been, when informed by the prophet Zechariah of his new condition in God’s eyes! His “filthy garments” had been removed by God’s grace, and replaced with spotless garments.
“And the angel of the LORD stood by.” (Zechariah 3:5) His message was that if Joshua would walk in God’s ways, and keep the commission God had given him, he would rule God’s House, and have charge of His courts. Moreover, God would grant him access to His presence, and permit him to walk among the angels! (Zechariah 3:7)
What Joshua had not understood, it seems, was that he and those who functioned with him in the priesthood were more than priests: they were “men wondered at” (King James Bible). The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “men who are a sign or omen (types of what is to come).” (Zechariah 3:8) In other words, they stood for far more than they knew.
The prophecy of “the BRANCH (the coming Messiah) foretold the birth of Jesus. The “remnant” of Judah was likened to a stump, out of which the promised Branch – descendant of David – would grow. (Isaiah 6:13; 11:1)
Zerubbabel, like Joshua before him, wrestled with a personal leadership problem, until Zechariah came to him with news of an extraordinary nighttime experience. Awakened from his sleep by an angel, Zechariah had “seen” a seven-branched candlestick, fully alight. Beside the candlestick were two olive trees, one on each side. From them, a continuous supply of olive oil was fed into the candlestick.
The prophet was nonplussed, not knowing what the vision signified, until an angel told him that the flow of oil symbolised the supply of the Spirit of God. The lighted candlestick represented God’s Word, which throws light on His will and purpose.
The angel stated that the LORD would achieve the work of rebuilding not by human might or power, but by His Spirit. With an unfailing supply of revelation knowledge, Zerabbabel would be able to declare boldly that the “mountain” of military and political oppression would soon be flattened!
The city of Babylon was located on a plain, so the “mountain” represented its proud spirit, absorbed into Persia, the kingdom that succeeded it as a world power. (Daniel 2:34,35,44)
Zerubbabel, said Zechariah, would finish the work that he had begun – regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacle, and the final stone of the Temple would be put in place amid loud, joyful shouts by the Jews of “Grace, grace to it!” (Zechariah 4:7)
The shouts not only would show that the Temple had been built by God’s grace – they would also declare that His continuing grace would be vital to His people’s future worship and prosperity.
Zerubbabel’s endeavours had the LORD’S complete attention, the prophet assured him. This was what the “seven eyes” of God represented. (Zechariah 4:10) God’s grace would enable the governor-prince of the Jews to finish what he had started.
What of the other “olive tree”? Zechariah had seen two, one of each side of the candlestick – “the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth” – one Zerubbabel, the governor-prince of the House of David. The other “olive tree” was Joshua, the high priest, who was now fully assured of his “good standing” with God. (Zechariah 4:14)
Following later instructions from the LORD, Zechariah asked for donations from two Jewish noblemen for an unusual purpose. Two crowns were to be made, one of which was to be placed on the high priest’s head. Moreover, he was to be seated on a throne when the ‘coronation’ took place! The other crown was to be kept as a memorial to the startling prophetic event.
Along with the instruction was a message for Joshua:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold the man whose name is THE BRANCH; and from his place he shall branch out, and he shall build the Temple of the LORD.” (Zechariah 6:12)
This was a prophecy of Christ, who would build the true Temple, His Church. A descendant of King David, he would be greater than Zerubbabel, for not only would he build the Temple – he would also bear the glory!
“And (he) shall sit and rule upon his throne: and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”
What a prophecy! These two leaders, Zerubbabel, the governor-prince, and Joshua, the high priest, together portrayed one great royal personage: Jesus Christ! The two different offices – that of king and priest – would come together in one wonderful ministry – that of a Heavenly Melchizedec!
Jesus alone is our mighty King-Priest, ruling from His royal throne as a High Priest after a new and different order than that of the Levites. (Hebrews 6:20; 7:17) The “counsel of peace” between them both refers to the unity that would be between the two offices. Our Lord Jesus is a ruling priest of royal descent!
Our study concludes not with the rebuilt Second Temple, but with a prophecy of a “temple” inconceivable at that time to the Jews – a Temple “built not with human hands” – the final and permanent dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit of God!
My prayer is that this will have been more than an Old Testament study, but also a study of the guiding hand of God in the rebuilding of what, at that time, was His dwelling-place on earth. Do we see that same guiding hand today in the building of His Church? What has this study said to you about the spiritual links between God’s ministers today – not only in the Church but also in the Kingdom?
We readily acknowledge God’s great leaders in History – the ministries of Calvin, Luther, Wesley, Knox, and Booth proved they were worthy successors to those leaders whose ministries we have studied. We could say the same of more recent men and women of God. God stopped writing the Bible long ago, but He still speaks to us through lives made great through His wonderful grace.
My study of Pentecostal church history has revealed spiritual links between established men of God and promising young ministers – the latter receiving a greater anointing and added gifts in powerful spiritual encounters. Many successful evangelists, for example, inherited their “mantle” from great soul-winners.
We should reject the ecclesiastical doctrine of apostolic succession, but should willingly embrace the biblical practice of imparting spiritual gifts and establishing ministers through the laying on of hands – accompanied with personal prophecy. (Romans 1:11; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6) Why throw the baby out with the bathwater?
I pray to God that we will more readily acknowledge our dependence on one another, and link up, so that competition will be replaced by co-operation in God’s great kingdom!
Are you one of the Lord’s movers and shakers? Then recognise and network with the many other ministries the Lord has raised up to do His Kingdom work in the world!
Timeframes of God’s Movers and Shakers
BC 627 Jeremiah commissioned by the Lord as a prophet.
BC 606 Jerusalem captured. First Jewish captives taken to Babylon – Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego among them.
BC 605 Prophecy of 70-year Captivity by Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 25:11) Prophecy repeated and amplified in BC 597 (Jeremiah 29:10) Daniel begins his ministry in Babylon (Ends BC 530)
BC 588 Jerusalem plundered again, more Jews taken away.
BC 586 Jerusalem sacked and ruined by Babylon army. Temple of Solomon totally destroyed.
BC 538 Daniel receives Seventy Weeks revelation. (Daniel 9)
BC 536 Decree of Cyrus that Jerusalem be rebuilt – issued in his first year as conqueror of Babylonian empire. 50 000 Jews depart for Jerusalem. Foundation of Temple laid amid mixed emotions. (Ezra 6)
BC 535 Letter written accusing Jews of plans to revolt. Work ceases.
BC 520 Haggai begins his prophetic ministry in Jerusalem. Zechariah begins his prophetic ministry two months later.
BC 519 King Darius decrees that the work of rebuilding resume.
BC 515 Construction of Temple completed.
The time period from the Lord’s commissioning of Jeremiah the prophet to the completion of the Temple was about 112 years.
Ezra’s preaching began in BC 445. This laid the spiritual foundations for true worship. Ezra was a reformer.
Nehemiah’s later work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, although vitally important, is not included in this book, which I’ve limited to the rebuilding of the Temple.