From This Day Forward - I Will Bless You
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
(Hag 2:10-19 NKJV) On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in
the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the
prophet, saying, {11} "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Now, ask the
priests concerning the law, saying, {12} "If one carries holy meat in
the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew,
wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?" ' " Then the priests
answered and said, "No." {13} And Haggai said, "If one who is unclean
because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?" So
the priests answered and said, "It shall be unclean." {14} Then Haggai
answered and said, " 'So is this people, and so is this nation before
Me,' says the LORD, 'and so is every work of their hands; and what
they offer there is unclean. {15} 'And now, carefully consider from
this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple
of the LORD; {16} 'since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty
ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out
fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty. {17} 'I struck you
with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet
you did not turn to Me,' says the LORD. {18} 'Consider now from this
day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the
day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid; consider it:
{19} 'Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree,
the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from
this day I will bless you.'"
The foundations of the Temple were the beginnings of blessing. This
passage is an Old Testament indication of God's unconditional love
and grace towards sinful men and women who take the first steps
towards real obedience and turning away from self-interest. Firstly
God tells them that they are universally contaminated and unclean,
that the good people in their midst are contaminated by the bad and
the good works are made unfit by the sins - but not vice versa. To do
this Haggai uses the illustration that holy meat does not make other
food holy but that hands defiled by touching the dead make all things
unclean. Then Haggai adds 'So is this people, and so is this nation before
Me,' says the LORD, 'and so is every work of their hands; and what
they offer there is unclean." This is devastating! How discouraging
that must have been and how hopeless the situation. Its like the
whole nation was defiled by those that sinned - their sin stained
everything just like a person who touches the dead makes all he
touches unclean. The stain of sin was universal - it besmirched the
people, the nation, every work of their hands and even their
religious sacrifices! Righteousness could not be "passed on" but evil
could - and was!
In verses 15-17 God outlines how He was angry with them and destroyed
the works of their hands... "{15} 'And now, carefully consider from
this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple
of the LORD; {16} 'since those days, when one came to a heap of
twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to
draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty. {17} 'I
struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your
hands; yet you did not turn to Me,'" says the LORD. Their
unrepentant self-centredness had just drawn wrath, rebuke and
frustration upon them.
But something changed...suddenly they were being blessed by God!
After demolishing them and any pretensions to righteousness they
might have had God then adds "from this day on I will bless you!".
In other words they are being blessed DESPITE being unclean in
themselves, their nation, every work of their hands and in their
religious observances. Despite their pollution they were loved! What
triggered God's change of heart? It seems that laying the foundation
of the Temple was the key. Blessings were unleashed on a thoroughly
undeserving people by grace. They were blessed simply because they
accepted God's word into their life and began obeying it. It was
repentance (from apathy) and faith (in Haggai's prophecies)
bringing reward from God.They still had a long way to go, they were
not being blessed because they had achieved anything spectacular in a
moral sense. They were still unclean - but at last they were
listening! At last they were moving in the right direction - not just
with their lips but with their muscles - a temple was underway!
Is God calling you to something that requires repentance and faith?
Is He calling you to salvation? To service? To quit smoking? To go to
Bible College? To stop grumbling or gossiping? When you repent and
then put that into action - from that day on God will bless you!
Remember the day you became a Christian by repentance and faith -
from that day on He has blessed you - hasn't He? Well that applies to
countless minor areas of Christian growth as well. He might call you
to stop being greedy and to trust His word about contentment and His
ability to provide. He might call you to stop living for comfort and
to have faith in His word about missionary work and preaching the
gospel. Once you start moving - He will start blessing! He knows your
faults, He knows you are "unclean" and "not good enough" but He is
gracious and will bless you anyway. Obey God and hear His word to you
- from this day forward I will bless you!
Prayer:
May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you in power granting repentance
and faith so that you may enter fully into the blessings of God.
Amen.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
Editor - Eternity Online Magazine http://www.eternity-magazine.org/
Cults, exegesis, bible teaching, Christian life and leadership.
For the thinking Christian!