"Prophetability - lessons of strength and power in the minor prophets!"
Haggai’s prophecy happened at a time when the people of Judah were very vulnerable. They had been greatly humbled by their exile to Babylon, hopeful in their return to their Promised Land, and then so discouraged by the opposition of their rebuilding of the temple that they quit. Now, sixteen years later, with Haggai blaming their lack of food, their clothing, and the lack of shelter on their failure to rebuild the temple, the Jews were receptive to his message of rebuilding the Lord’s house. There were four messages given by the prophet.
This one comes from Haggai chapter 2. The word of the Lord says; “6 For the Lord of Armies says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of Armies. 8 “The silver and gold belong to me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. 9 “The final glory of this house will be greater than the first,” says the Lord of Armies. “I will provide peace in this place”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.”
The premise of this prophecy includes the belief that strength and power can be gained from an Awareness that disappointments happen.
In life, sometimes gory precedes glory. God says in Haggai 2:6 “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. To give a little background, God’s people finally left Babylon and when they returned to Jerusalem they found the temple in ruins. No doubt it shook them up a bit. It wasn’t sin. They were just shaken up. Just because you get disappointed at times does not mean you are sinning or that you have displeased God. Sometimes Disappointment is just part of life.
The Bible says it shouldn’t surprise us when Christians suffer disappointments. 1 Peter 4 says; 12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. There is no salvation without suffering. There is no peace without pain. There is no deliverance without disappointment. Haggai 2:7 says; 7 I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of Armies. Remember that treasures succeed shaking.
There is Treasure in your Trauma.
Hopefully that will encourage you. Sometimes God has to shake a nation to shock a nation back to life. From time to time God has to shake you to shock you back to prioritizing His purpose in your life. The saying; “You don’t know what you have until its gone” may have been particularly applicable to God’s people. It possibly took 100 years in captivity for them to be willing to rebuild their worship but they learned something while in captivity. There are many testimonies of God’s people receiving revelations from God while in Captivity. Daniel in the Lion’s Den and The Three Hebrew Children in the Fiery Furnace to name a couple.
In the Hebrew Bible the 12 minor prophets are 1 book called the 12 prophets. There were some distinguishing characteristics about these prophets. One in particular was that they were ecstatic about what they were prophesying. You may think Anointed preaching is just some church tradition but it was a defining characteristic of the prophets of the Bible. The prophets were described as speaking with power. They were Apostolic – meaning they had been sent with a specific message. Sometimes it takes something out of the ordinary to get people’s attention. God will use the extraordinary to push you out of your ordinary. Haggai was able to get the attention of God’s people and motivate them to work on the rebuilding of the temple. That’s a bit of an illustration of how there can be treasure in your trauma.
There is no lack with the Lord.
Haggai states; 8 “The silver and gold belong to me—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. ”When your will and God’s will match GREAT THINGS are bound to happen. One of the unique aspects of Haggai’s prophecy compared to all others is that God’s people listened and obeyed. As a result, they were blessed. If there is lack in your life it is most likely a result of disobedience. There are exceptions. It could be sin. It could be for a season for God’s unknown purpose. However, God blesses obedience. Child psychology studies have shown that reinforcing positive behavior in our children is far more productive than punishing negative behavior. God does not reward disobedience that results in lacking in some way. If the reverse is true then obedience results in blessing! It will not be the amount we give that will guarantee the future success of the church but the faithfulness of our giving that will guarantee the future success of the church.
One of the great benefits of the church being successful is peace in the church. One of the great benefits of Christians being successful is peace in the Christian.
There is no greater privilege than peace. Most people don’t want to live in a constant state of conflict. Instead, we want to live in Peace. Haggai points out that; 9 “The final glory of this house will be greater than the first,” says the Lord of Armies. “I will provide peace in this place”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.The first house knew no peace. This house will know nothing but peace. There is to be a sort of snow ball effect to God’s Blessings when we receive them.
When God decides to rebuild something in your life He may very well start by tearing down something else. However, this action will eventually lead to the building up of something far greater. - Dr. Hughes
Rev. Wiley Hughes
D.Min., Psy.D., FBPPC, LPCA, NCC
Apostolic Leader of Destiny Now