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Think About What You’ve Done – Haggai 1:5-11
Summary:
The hard financial times the Jews were experiencing (1:5,6) meant God was chastening them, as He warned He would (Deut. 28:15-41). God told them they’d sow much and reap little (28:38) and it was happening (1:6). Their fruitful land wouldn’t prosper if they were bad (Ps. 107:33,34).
Often they knew they were being chastened and were ashamed (Jer. 14:4), but when they forgot God reminded them (Joel 1:11). Here in Haggai they forgot, so God tells them to “consider” their ways (1:5). They ate, but didn’t have enough to eat (1:6), something else God warned about (Lev. 26:14,26; Hos. 4:10; Mic. 6:13,14). They drank but weren’t filled with drink (1:6) as God also warned (Ezek. 4:16,17; Deut. 28:39).
They ignored Leviticus 25:4 for 490 years, so God allowed them to be taken captive to let the land catch up on her sabbath years of rest (Lev. 25:33,34 cf. II Chron. 36:17-21). That means all the nutrients farming takes out of land were restored, and their land should have been producing big time. When it didn’t, they should have known they were being judged.
Just as the coats they were putting on weren’t warming them, the money they were making wasn’t profiting them (1:6). God warned them they’d spend their strength at work in vain (Lev. 26:14,20). So when God told them to consider their ways they should’ve done what the psalmist did (119:59,60).
They should have gone back to work on the temple. God repeated that order after chastening them (1:7,8) just as He repeated His order to Jonah after chastening him (1:1,2; 3:1,2)
Of course, when you’ve been away from the Lord for awhile, a sort of spiritual paralysis sets in, and you want to return, but are not sure how to start. God knew this, so told Israel what to do, step by step, i.e., to go up to the mountain and get the wood to build the temple and bring it back (1:8). He started with the basics, and built from there. If you feel spiritually paralyzed, you too need to get back to basics! And the first thing Paul tells us to do is stop doing bad things and start doing good things (Rom. 6:12,13). That’s pretty basic, but no more basic than “go get the wood…”, etc.
God said He’d take pleasure in the rebuilding of the temple (1:8). He knew that they knew if they started obeying, He would not only stop chastening them, He would start blessing them, so He gave them this added incentive. Then He gave them more incentive by saying it would glorify Him (1:8). In saying that, He was asking them to look past what obeying would do for them, and look at what it would do for God. Obedience glorifies God in any dispensation! We should remember that, since God is not spanking us when we are bad and blessing us when we are good in this dispensation, our only motivation to obey Him is to glorify Him!
Why would they look for much if they knew they were bad and deserved the chastening of getting little for their efforts (1:9)? Ah, they thought they were being good, obeying the king like God’s people should, when he ordered the work on the temple stopped. But they should have known from the example of the 3 Hebrews in Daniel 3 that they weren’t to obey the king if he ordered them to do something against God’s orders. They also should have known it was time to build the temple from Daniel 9:25, so they shouldn’t have been saying it wasn’t time to build the temple (1:2).
What little they did bring home God blew upon (1:9) with His fiery breath (Isa. 30:33 cf. 40:6,7), and it went up in a figurative puff of smoke. All because they let the house of God lay “waste” while they “ran” to build their own houses (1:2 cf. 1:4). That word “run” shows they were obeying God but their heart wasn’t it in. They couldn’t wait to stop serving God and start serving themselves (cf. Amos 8:4-7).
God not only cut off their rain, He cut off their dew (1:10), and thoroughly chastened them (1:11). But He doesn’t chasten us. We’re not under the law that says God will chasten us if we break it (Rom. 6:14,15). Your apostle never says to consider your ways, consider what you’ve done, he says to “forget” what you’ve done (Phil. 3:13) and think about virtuous things (Phil. 4:8). But sin will have a deadening effect in your life (Rom. 8:13), so don’t watch your circumstances for evidence God is chastening you, but watch your heart for signs of deadening. Serve Him by “considering” all He has done for you (I Sam. 12:24).
The Son of Man is Seeking
A Date With A King – Haggai 1:1-4
Summary:
Israel’s prophets usually dated their prophecies by the reign of Jewish kings (Isa. 1:1;Jer. 1:1-3; Ho. 1:1; Mic. 1:1; Zeph. 1:1) But Israel had persisted in sin and rebellion so God allowed the Babylonians to conquer them. Then when the Persians conquered them, Hosea and Zechariah were forced to date their prophecies by a pagan king (1:1 cf. Zech. 1:1). God warned this would happen (Deut. 28:1-44).
Babylon’s victory over Israel began “the times of the Gentiles,” i.e., the time when Gentiles rule the world instead of Jews as God intended. These times will continue till the Lord returns and the Jews once more rule the earth under Him (Lu. 21:23-27). They are why we must obey the government even if unbelievers are our rulers (Rom.13:1-8).
You’re not under the law that says God will make someone else your king if you disobey Him (Rom.6:15), but you can make sin your king (Rom. 6:16). Balaam couldn’t curse Israel but taught Balak how to get them to curse themselves (Num. 31:16). No one can curse you, but you can curse yourself by not obeying God.
The Persian king allowed Israel a “governor” (1:1). His name means “born in Babylon,” which means he was born on the wrong side of the tracks, spiritually speaking, but he built Israel’s temple and helped bear the Messiah (Mt. 1:12,13; Lu. 3:23-27). You too can be used of God no matter where you were born.
Haggai prophesied “in the second year of Darius” (1:1) which means right after some troublemakers convinced the king to order work on the temple stopped (Ezra 4:1—5:2). Haggai wrote “the governor” because he could order the Jews back to work (1:1), but he also wrote “the high priest” because the problem wasn’t the king’s order to stop the work, the problem was how the Jews were reacting to it. They were too quick to give up (1:2).
“Aren’t God’s people supposed to obey the government?” Yes, unless they order something contrary to God’s orders (Acts 4:19,20). If they order us to stop preaching Christ, we shouldn’t because we are building the temple of Christ’s Body (I Tim. 3:15).
God called the Jews “my people Israel” 28 times, but called them “this people” when He was displeased with them, like the Lord called His Father’s house “your house” in speaking to those who rejected Him (cf. Jo.2:16; Mt. 23:37,38).
Only the most luxurious houses were ceiled (1:2) or plastered, so God was saying, “How come it’s not time to build Me a nice house but it is time to build yourselves nice homes?” They should have felt as David did (II Sam. 7:2), and challenged the ruling on legal grounds. Long before a Persian king ruled the temple not be built, an earlier king ruled it be built (Ezr. 1:1-3). They should have pointed out that that earlier law could not be altered (Dan.6:8).
Instead they did what Christians today do, they interpreted God’s will by their circumstances instead of by God’s Word. They knew Cyrus was right to order the temple built because Isaiah predicted he would (Isa. 45:28). Instead of interpreting the opposition to the work as God’s will, they should have remembered that any time you serve God you will experience opposition.
It’s always easier to let opposition make you think something is not God’s will and then find ways to justify it. God says men should work for a living, but men come up with excuses not to (Pr. 26:13-16; Eccl. 11:4). If you stop serving God every time the going gets tough, you’ll never accomplish anything for Him. Paul says we are appointed to opposition (Acts 14:22; I Thes. 3:3).
Instead of giving up on building the temple, the remnant should have had the same attitude David had when he was just trying to find a place to pitch the tabernacle for God. He said he wouldn’t sleep in his bed till he found it (Ps. 132:1-5), and he said that amid his “afflictions.” They included dodging javelins chucked at him by Saul! So no matter what afflictions are in your life, why not choose to say with David that God’s will comes first in your life?
Accepted in the Beloved
The Cold Shoulders of Paul – 2 Timothy 4:13-22
Summary:
A “cloke” (v.13) is not a coat (cf. Lu. 6:29), it was more like a mantle or a shawl. Paul left his cloke with Carpus in Troas, where Paul had to raise a man from the dead who had fallen asleep and fell out a third story window (Acts 20:1-16). But Paul probably didn’t forget the cloke in all the excitement. He had chosen to walk from Troas to Assos on a warm day and probably sent the cloke with Timothy, who went by ship, and somehow they never connected.
So Paul wasn’t asking Timothy to go 200 miles out of his way to get the cloke before coming to see him, he was just asking for him to bring it with him from Ephesus. It is important to let other members of the Body of Christ minister to us, especially when it is not inconvenient for them!
Paul also left some “books” (v.13) in Troas. Those could be the books of his Bible (cf. Dan. 9:2), but it is more likely books about the Bible, since he asked Timothy “especially” to bring “the parchments” (v.13), which were probably his Bible. Either way, Paul read books about the Bible and encouraged Timothy to do so also (I Tim. 4:13). If even Paul read more than just the Bible itself, we probably should too!
Of course, the parchments could have been blank, and Paul could have been asking for them “especially” to write more epistles. He was burdened with “the care of all the churches” II Cor. 11:28) and planned to keep ministering to his last breath, even though he was in prison on Death Row (4:6). His hand clave to the sword of the Spirit (II Sam. 23:9,10).
Since Paul warned Timothy to be ware of Alexander the coppersmith (v. 14,15), he was probably the Alexander of Ephesus where Timothy was (Acts 19:28-34), the man “of like occupation” with the silversmiths. The mob was going to kill Paul for saying there are no gods made of silver, so the Jews put Alexander forward to show that one of their own didn’t object to idolatry. He “withstood” Paul’s words by imitating them (cf. I Tim. 3:8). If he was willing to sell out Judaism for money, he was probably willing to sell out Paul’s message for money once he learned it (Tit. 1:10,11).
When Paul says Alexander “did me much evil” by withstanding his words, it showed he took it personally. But he was willing to let the Lord reward him (v.14) as He said he would (I Cor. 3:14; II Cor. 5:10). That’s an example of Paul praying God would do what He said He would, which is a good way to pray. For example, the Lord promises to always be with us, but Paul still prayed He would be (II Tim. 4:22).
Of course, if Alexander wasn’t saved, he’ll still be judged “according to his works” at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:12). We should let God do all the judging of unsaved homosexuals, abortionists, etc. We’re here to help save them, not judge them (cf. Luke 9:53-56).
Paul’s “first answer” (v.16) was his first answer in court (cf. Acts 26:16). None of the 27 people Paul said hello to in Romans 16 stood with him in that Roman court appearance. Sometimes you have to stand alone for the truth!
The Lord always “strengthens” His people (4:17 cf. Ps. 37:39)), but under the Law He also promised to deliver them if they were righteous (Ps. 37:39,40). Paul was righteous, but wasn’t under that law (Rom. 6:15). But God delivered him at his first answer because He always delivered His prophets until they could deliver His message (cf. Jer. 15:20,21). He delivered Paul in the past (Acts 18:9,10; 23:11) and at his first answer so he could be released from his first imprisonment so the preaching of the mystery could be fully known among the Gentiles (4:17).
The “lion” could be a literal lion, since history tells us that Christians were often fed to the lions, but it could also be the devil (I Pe. 5:8). But Satan is more of an angel of light today (II Cor. 11:14), so I think the lion was the king who had him in prison, since kings are often called lions (Pr. 19:12; 20:2; Jer. 50:17; Ezek. 32:2).
Paul was executed shortly after saying the Lord would deliver him (4:18). Was he mistaken? No, God delivered Him eternally to his “heavenly kingdom” (4:18 cf. I Cor. 15:50). He couldn’t heal Trophimus (4:20) because the gift of healing had ceased by that time, and all other gifts.
The New Man
Ephesians 4
The Loneliness of Paul – 2 Timothy 4:9-12
Summary:
Paul had been sentenced to die (4:6) and so asks Timothy to come see him. Paul craved fellowship (cf. II Cor. 2:12,13) and, staring death in the face, asked Timothy to come “diligently.” That word is used in some serious ways (Deut. 17:2-5; 24:8; Titus 3:13), so Paul must have been serious about wanting to see Timothy.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “If Paul could write Timothy, why couldn’t Timothy write Paul and comfort him that way?” Well, a letter can be comforting, but it is no substitute for fellowship. Similarly, a church’s internet ministry might be comforting, but it is no substitute for being in church.
Paul craved Timothy’s fellowship all the more in the wake of losing Demas (4:10). He was one of Paul’s “fellow-labourers” (Phile. 1:24). His fellowlaborers were like family to Paul, as the Lord’s were to Him (Mt. 12:47-50). The Lord found it unbearable to lose one of His laborers (Ps. 55:12-14), and I’m sure Paul felt the loss of Demas just as keenly.
Demas “loved this present world” (4:10), the world the Lord died to save us from (Gal.1:4). The secret to not loving the world is to love His appearing (cf. 4:8; Tit. 2:12-14). The only way to resist the attraction of the world is to look beyond the world to the next world (Col. 3:1,2).
Demas perhaps went “to Thessalonica” because they had trouble with fornication in the church (I Thes. 4:3-5). What better church to go to if you love the world? But Crescens perhaps went to Galatia because he had the opposite problem, legalism. Not everyone that leaves the faith goes into carnality, some go into legalism, thinking grace pastors are too soft on sin. Lordship Salvationists are good for this.
Of course it doesn’t say Crescens forsook Paul and the context isn’t just the apostasy of Demas, it’s also the loneliness of Paul. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt since love “believeth all things”(I Cor. 13:7),i.e.,believes the best about someone when there is a doubt about their character. We’ll also believe the best about Titus, who left for Dalmatia.
But if rough and tumble Titus did forsake Paul, and meek Timothy didn’t, that shows that spiritual fortitude isn’t always tied to personal manliness.
At least Paul had Luke (4:11), a kingdom saint who wrote a kingdom book of the Bible, but became Paul’s traveling companion in Acts once God put the kingdom program on hold. His skill as a doctor (Col. 4:14) would come in handy to Paul’s battered body (cf. II Cor. 11:23-33).
“Mark” (4:11) didn’t start out “profitable” to Paul, or the Lord either. When Mark wrote the Lord “cometh” with the 12 for the last supper, that meant it was at his house, so he was probably the one awakened by the hymn (Mt. 26:30) and who followed the Lord out in a sheet, deserting Him when they arrested Him (Mark 14:50-52). Mark is the only gospel writer who records this. Similarly, Mark served as Paul’s gopher (Acts 12:25; 13:5) but left when the going got scary (Acts 13:13). This caused Paul to form a low opinion of him (Acts 14:36-38). But Barnabas knew Mark better, being related to him (Col. 4:10), and knew he was a “profitable” man, and eventually so did Paul!
You’d think Timothy would jump at the chance to come comfort his father in the faith, but he was surely concerned about his church in Ephesus (cf. I Tim.1:3). So Paul assures him, “Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus” (4:12). Hearing that, Timothy would know his church was in good hands, for he would know what Paul said about Tychicus (Eph. 6.21; Col.4:7).
Paul gave Mark a second chance because he knew that God is a God of second chances. Aren’t you glad he gave Adam one? And Moses, David, Jonah, Peter and many others are glad for their second chances as well. If you’re thinking Mark couldn’t be as used of God as before he failed Paul, think again. God used Mark to write a book of the Bible, and not just any book, the book that presents Christ as a servant. Matthew presents Him as king, Luke as a man, John as God, but Mark presents Him as the perfect servant of the Lord. Written from the unique perspective of a man who failed as a servant. What grace!