Bible Lesson: Parables Of The Old
Testament: Holy Flesh
Spoken By: Haggai
Location: Jerusalem
Bible Text:
Haggai 2:10-14 NLT (Blessings
Promised for Obedience)
10 On December 18 of the second year
of King Darius’s reign, The Lord sent this message to the prophet
Haggai:
11 “This is what The Lord Of
Heaven’s Armies says. Ask the priests this question about the law:
12 ‘If one of you is carrying
some meat from a holy sacrifice in his robes and his robe happens to
brush against some bread or stew, wine or olive oil, or any other
kind of food, will it also become holy?’”
The priests replied, “No.”
13 Then Haggai asked, “If
someone becomes ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person and
then touches any of these foods, will the food be defiled?”
And the priests answered, “Yes.”
14 Then Haggai responded, “That
is how it is with this people and this nation, says The Lord.
Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin.
The Prophet Haggai,
speaking for The Lord, asks the two following questions:
1) ‘If one of
you is carrying some meat from a holy sacrifice in his robes and his
robe happens to brush against some bread or stew, wine or olive oil,
or any other kind of food, will it also become holy?’”
The priests replied, “No.”
2) Then Haggai asked, “If someone
becomes ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person and then
touches any of these foods, will the food be defiled?”
And the priests answered, “Yes.”
Then the prophet answers...
Haggai 2:14 NLT
“That is how it is with this
people and this nation, says The Lord. Everything they do and
everything they offer is defiled by their sin.
And just what was
their sin? They had neglected the rebuilding of the temple.
The Players:
King Zerubbabel: Appointed
governor of Judea, by Cyrus.
Haggai: Prophet of the
captivity.
Cyrus: Head of the Persian
Empire.
Darius: In succession after
Cyrus, King Darius of the Persian Empire.
The People Addressed By Haggai:
Exiles of Jerusalem.
Joshua: The High Priest.
Zerubbabel and Joshua had laid the
foundation of the temple some 15, to 16 years earlier, but nothing
had happened since.
Haggai 1:2-4 NLT
2 “This is what The Lord Of
Heaven’s Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not
yet come to rebuild the house of The Lord.’”
3 Then The Lord sent this message
through the prophet Haggai:
4 “Why are you living in
luxurious houses while My house lies in ruins?
Lethargy and
indifference had fallen upon the people of God. True the Samaritans
did all they could to stop the building, but the enthusiasm of the
people had died.
So, what were the
results?
Living Under
Judgment:
Haggai 1:5-7,
9-11 NLT
5 This is what The Lord Of Heaven’s
Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you!
6 You have planted much but harvest
little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still
thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages
disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with
holes!
7 “This is what The Lord Of
Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you!
9 You hoped for rich harvests, but
they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it
away. Why? Because My House lies in ruins, says
The Lord Of Heaven’s Armies, while
all of you are busy building your own fine houses.
10 It’s because of you that the
heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops.
11 I have called for a drought on
your fields and hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and
olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and
your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to
get.”
Haggai's
Parables (read again, above):
- Holy Flesh: A holy offering does not make holy whatever it comes in contact with.
- An unclean thing, pollutes anything it comes in contact with.
The people of God
had spent year after year making and beautifying their own homes,
while not lifting a hand to rebuild the temple of God.
The meaning:
Dear people of God, all the good works you do, will never compensate
for the neglect of doing what you should do!
\
8 Now go up into the hills, bring
down timber, and rebuild My house. Then I will take pleasure in it
and be honored, says The Lord.
Haggai 1:12-15
NLT (Obedience to God’s Call)
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,
and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant
of God’s people began to obey the message from The Lord their
God. When they heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom The
Lord their God had sent, the people feared The Lord.
13 Then Haggai, The Lord’s
messenger, gave the people this message from The Lord: “I am with
you, says The Lord!”
14 So The Lord sparked the
enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the
enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the
enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to
work on the house of their God, The Lord Of Heaven’s Armies,
15 on September 21 of the second
year of King Darius’s reign.
Haggai 2:4,5 NLT
4 But now The Lord says: Be strong,
Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be
strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to
work, for I am with you, says The Lord Of Heaven’s Armies.
5 My Spirit remains among you, just
as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.’
Doesn't this sound
eerily familiar, dear friend?
Dear people of
God, all the good works you do, will never compensate for the neglect
of doing what you should do!
Romans 5:1 KJV
Therefore being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 6:23 KJV
For the wages of sin is
death; but The Gift Of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Romans 11:6 NLT
And since it is through God’s
kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that
case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and
undeserved.
Ephesians 2:8,9
KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is The Gift Of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man
should boast.
Titus 3:5 KJV
Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of The Holy Ghost;
All the righteous
works in the world, to “earn-salvation, God's blessings”, will
only bring judgment.
Salvation (God's
blessing) is by obedience!
Matthew 7:21 KJV
Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of My Father which is in heaven.
Acts 2:21 KJV
And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of The Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:13 KJV
For whosoever shall call upon the
name of The Lord shall be saved.
The people of God
in Haggai's day, put their own (selfish) works, ahead of The Lord's
will, and they only met with judgment until, they stopped to hear the
voice of The Lord.
What pleases God,
what brings God's blessings to us today, is being obedient to the
voice of The Lord.
John 3:14-16 KJV
14 "...The Son Of Man be lifted
up:
15 That whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that
He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not His Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be
saved.
18 He that believeth on Him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of The Only Begotten Son Of God.
Matthew
10:37 KJV
He that loveth father or mother more
than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more
than Me is not worthy of Me.
Matthew 19:29
KJV
And every one that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or
children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold,
and shall inherit everlasting life.
Matthew 28:18-20
KJV
18 And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of The Father, and of The Son,
and of The Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
