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Haggai 2
There is a limit and a longing to us all. And that interaction between the limit and the longing defines our human condition. We are finite creatures, and yet this finite world does not satisfy.
The prophet Haggai wrote to the Israelites in the 6th century BC: a strange kind of in-between time. They had returned from the Babylonian captivity, but they hadn’t exactly returned from exile. The true end of exile would be the coming of the Messiah.
And so the people had an experience something like our own. They, like us, were waiting for the Messiah to restore all things. And they, like us, felt their limit and their longing very keenly. The prophet describes their experience as one of constant frustration:
“Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.” (Haggai 1:6)
It brings to mind Lord Byron’s description of his own longings:
“drank early, deeply drank, drank draughts. That common millions might have quenched; — then died. Of thirst, because there was no more to drink”.
Our longings and limits collide and disappoint us all.
But Haggai tells them the solution. The people must invest in the Messianic future. They need to rebuild the house of God (1:8). Physically speaking it won’t be a patch on Solomon’s old temple (2:3). But in another sense it will be more glorious (2:9) because Christ Himself will come to it.
Just as Malachi also prophesied, the Messenger of the Covenant will grace the second temple with His presence (Malachi 3:1). And when Christ and the temple come together it makes both Malachi and Haggai consider the end of all things.
Why would this be? Well Jesus comes to tear down the House of God and to build it again (John 2:19-22). In the Bible, God’s House could mean the temple, it could mean the world or it could mean Christ Himself. And actually all three will go through a death and resurrection. Christ comes to demolish and then to renovate. And when Haggai thinks of Christ colliding with God’s House, he starts to think of this world’s cosmic renovation:
For thus saith the LORD of hosts; “Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory”, saith the LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:6-7)
Haggai sees beyond his current circumstances, beyond Christ’s first coming and describes the end when Christ shakes this world right. It’s a fearful prophecy. Not just an earth-quake. A heaven-quake. A creation-quake!
But through it, there’ll be a renovation. On the other side there will be glory! And notice the interaction between limit and longing. The One who shakes down the whole cosmos is also our true Object of desire. The nations will end in him and delight in him! He is their destruction and their desire! Beyond the destruction is a glorious and much-desired future. The Messiah will be this world’s true limit and longing.
He is the Desire of all nations. The deepest longings of the Japanese, the Argentinians, the Fijians, the Swedes, the Kenyans, those from all ages, all backgrounds, all nations – they are met in Jesus.
Who could possibly shake this world right? Who could possiblysatisfy this world’s thirst? What kind of Person is Haggai describing? Only Jesus, Messenger of the Covenant, Hope of the Ages, the House of God, the Faithful Bridegroom, the Fountain of Living Waters – the Desire of all nations.
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Micah 5
How did Israel understand its Messiah?
That’s a question Jesus himself asks in Mark chapter 12. Jesus directs his hearers to Psalm 110 and asks the question:
35 How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? 36For David himself said by the Holy Ghost,
“The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.” [Psalm 110:1]
37David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? (Mark 12:35-37)
Here is the argument: ‘The Christ’ must be far more than a descendant of David. ‘The Christ’ is David’s “Lord”. So there is no excuse for an Israelite to think of the Christ in such miniature, earth-bound terms. The Christ is Cosmic and He is Ancient. He was present to the Old Testament saints and was consciously known and loved by the faithful.
It’s true that David looked forward to the time his Seed would sit on his throne to rule the world (2 Samuel 7:12-16). But David also knew that his Seed was his Lord!
In the words of Revelation 22:16, Christ is both the “root” and the “offspring” of David. Christ produces David as his Lord, yet He is also produced by David as his Seed.
All of this means that the child born in the town of David was old. He was an ancient baby. Micah, the prophet, spoke of this in words made famous by Christmas readings:
2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting… 4And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5And this man shall be the peace
Just imagine it: ‘goings forth’ from everlasting. This is the nature of the Messiah. He is the Light of the world, eternally radiant. He is the Word of God, eternally communicative. He is the Sent One of the Father, eternally outgoing. When we see Christ in the Gospels, we are not witnessing a limited and local saving concern. In Jesus we see the eternal nature of Israel’s Ruler. From of old, from everlasting He has been the Mighty Shepherd. He always goes forth to feed us, to give us a home and an unshakeable peace.
Today we can rejoice. If we have laid hold of Jesus, we have laid hold of the eternal love of God
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Jonah 3-4
Is Jonah the Bible’s most successful evangelist? In Hebrew his sermon consists of just 5 words. And yet, in response, the 120 000 residents of Nineveh cover themselves ‘in sackcloth and ashes’ and turn to the LORD.
Sackcloth was the clothing of mourning. Ashes were also a reminder of mortality. To cover oneself in sackcloth and ashes was to identify oneself with the death-dealing judgement of God. When the LORD sees their repentance, He turns from His wrath and brings salvation instead.
This is even more remarkable because of the preacher’s blatant rebellion and xenophobia. Jonah detests the Assyrians, whose world capital, Nineveh, he is commanded to evangelize. And he does everything he can to thwart the missionary purposes of God.
When he is commissioned in chapter 1, he flees in the opposite direction. But the LORD does not want to save the Ninevites apart from the preached word. He sends a storm to bring down Jonah’s ship. Jonah, the guilty one, is hurled into the sea to save the innocents on board and in chapter 2, he is brought even lower. Swallowed by a monster of the deep, he spends 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a fish. Yet after this death and resurrection experience, Jonah is sent to the nations. And, just as Jonah had feared, they repent. So, in chapter 4, Jonah is furious at the grace of the LORD. The book ends with a petulant missionary despising the salvation of God while the LORD explains His global love.
It’s then that we realise the truth. Jonah is not the Bible’s greatest evangelist. The LORD is.
When He came in the flesh, it was in total obedience to the missionary call of His Father. Though we had sinned, He was cast into the depths to save the guilty. He spent 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth before rising again to a global mission. By the sending of His Spirit He gladly accompanies and empowers the evangelisation of the nations. He is the true expression of the Father’s heart who is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
For every soul that repents “in sackcloth and ashes” it is Christ who saves them by His Spirit. He remains the world’s greatest evangelist. And so great is His passion for the lost, He can even use faithless preachers like Jonah. And like me! Evangelists take heart: nothing can thwart His gospel mission to the ends of the earth.
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Jonah 1-2
“Arise, go to Nineveh” says the LORD. Jonah arises and runs in the opposite direction. There is much that is comic about the book of Jonah. Its protagonist is something of an anti-hero. Jonah does everything in his power to thwart God’s evangelistic mission to Nineveh. First he runs in the opposite direction. Then when he’s humbled and brought to the great city against his will he preaches a five word sermon of destruction. Finally, when the LORD saves the Ninevites, he becomes furious at the grace of God. If we’re looking for a hero in the book of Jonah, it’s not Jonah. But Jonah does picture his LORD in an incredible way.
You see as Jonah flees from the LORD he boards a ship heading to Spain (Tarshish). The LORD hurls a great wind onto the sea, stirring up “a mighty tempest.”
When we considered Psalm 107, we saw how storms are a sign of the chaos and darkness of this world. So in Jonah chapter 1 we have the LORD’s prophet on a boat in the midst of the tempest. And how will these sea-farers be saved?
Jonah said unto them, “Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.” (Jonah 1:12)
The prophet of the LORD is hurled into the abyss. He is swallowed by a great monster of the deep (it’s not called a “whale” in the Bible, but that’s how we’ve come to remember the story). And through the judgement of the one, the many are saved.
And Jesus said:
40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (Matthew 12:39-41)
Jesus is One far greater than Jonah! We were the ones fleeing from the LORD, He was the one true Innocent. Yet He joined us in our predicament and willingly cast Himself into the abyss. He was swallowed by that greatest monster – death – so that we might be saved.
This is the LORD’s heart – He is not just for the Ninevites. At the cost of His own blood, He pursues a lost world to the pit of hell.
As we see God’s grace in the face of Christ, do we love His outgoing mission? Or do we flee it, like Jonah? More tomorrow…
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Hosea 7-8
“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Paul’s saying from Galatians 6:7 is a common biblical theme. The judgement which befalls the wicked is not an alien imposition. It is the way they’ve been heading all along. It’s simply the fruit of their lives.
Hosea looks on the northern kingdom, about to feel the force of the Assyrian super-power. And he says:
“They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7)
Israel has been chasing after foreign gods like a harlot chasing lovers. Now Israel will experience what it’s like to have them as lords. We talk about “playing with fire” and getting burnt – Hosea speaks of investing in high winds and getting a hurricane as a pay-out.
What is most chilling is not God’s judgement. It is the madness of the human heart which reaps its own doom. This is especially tragic since, all the while the Bridegroom – Christ – pursues harlots like us to win us back. He stands between sinners and hell with arms outstretched. If we want Him we can have Him. If not, we shall reap what we sow.
When we picture judgement, we should not imagine the hurling of unwilling reprobates into perdition. Instead it’s the handing over of hell-bent sinners to their heart’s desire. Judgement is when God gives people what they want. They have sown the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind.
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Hosea 1-3
How would you feel if your yearly work review summed up your performance as, “Unfaithful?” You might expect negatives like “incompetent” or “lazy”. But, “unfaithful”? What if your your work was described as“adulterous”? Adulterous? Surely you’re not married to your job!
And yet, throughout the Bible, the LORD says to His people, “You are unfaithful… You are adulterous… You play the harlot… You play the whore.”
We expect verdicts like “disobedient” or “wicked” or “transgressing”, but “unfaithful”? Are we meant to be married to the LORD? Yes.
You see the Bible is a love story. It begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve. It ends with the marriage of the Lord Jesus to His people (Revelation 19). And all throughout we are told that our relationship to the Lord is likea marriage. He is not simply our Master, but our Husband as well.
But the course of true love never did run smooth. Which brings us to Hosea. He was a contemporary of Isaiah, living in the northern kingdom in the 8th century BC.
Essentially the LORD said to Hosea, “I’ve got a task for you. You’re going to experience what it feels like to be Me in the great Love Story.” This is what happened:
“The LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. So he went and took Gomer.” (Hosea 1:2-3)
When Hosea marries the prostitute Gomer, the world is shown a little of how we treat the LORD. True to form, Gomer doesn’t stick around for long She leaves the marital home and returns to the brothel. But Hosea’s job was not over. Even though she left him, God called him to pursue her and to win her back. This is what He tells poor Hosea:
“Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.” (Hosea 3:1-3)
Hosea has to go to the brothel and pay 15 shekels – the prostitute-price – to get his wife back.
Can you imagine it? Banging on the brothel door. “I’m here for Gomer… I’m her husband… Fine, I’ll pay whatever it costs, I just want her back.”
He is so vulnerable. He’sputting his heart on the line once again with a woman who keeps spurning his love. Why should he pay for his own wife? Because that’s what the LORD is like.
When we look to the Cross, we see a Husband who has left His home, come to our house of slavery, begs us to return and who pays the price to redeem us. He is vulnerable, and shamed, arms outstretched to receive us back.
What is your view of the LORD?
An impersonal force? A Sergeant-Major in the Sky? A Heavenly Slave-Driver? A Moral Policeman? A Cosmic Headmaster? If we’ve inherited such views, it’s not been from the Bible.
In the Bible, the LORD is a Bridegroom. A Husband. A Royal Prince, who pledges Himself in marriage to we who “play the harlot.”
This means the LORD is not looking for soldiers, slaves or moralists, He’s not seeking good intentions, good efforts or good works. He’s calling Gomers to come home.
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Daniel 7
Given the suffering of this world, how can anyone believe in a good God, or a happy ending?
In Daniel 7, the prophet has a vision of horrific cruelty. It was a “vision by night” that left him, in his own words, “grieved in my spirit… and the visions of my head troubled me.” (v15) “My cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me.” (v28)
This is what caused him such consternation: a vision of four ruthless kingdoms, devouring everything in their wake.
The first kingdom was like a lion with the wings of an eagle. It was fast and powerful in its conquests. The second was like a merciless bear which devours its people. The third was like a leopard with four wings – bringing swift destruction. And the fourth? This is like nothing Daniel had ever seen. It is “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly” (v7). From the fourth kingdom will come a king who will be an anti-Christ figure. Verse 25: “He shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws.” Unsurprisingly, as an anti-Christ, he does the opposite of Jesus. He blasphemes the Father, oppresses His children and tampers with the Bible’s teaching.
And so Daniel is faced with the ruthlessness of earth and the rebelliousness of hell – all of it worked out in the warring power-plays of this world’s kingdoms. And then comes verse 18:
“But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.”
There is a good God who is “high” over this suffering world. And there is a happy future “for ever and ever.” How can this be?
Well the vision of the four kingdoms gives way to a vision of heaven, and that makes all the difference:
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” (Daniel 7:9-10)
With our eyes fixed on the earth, all we see are monstrous power plays. Daniel looks up to see One called the Ancient of Days – One who has seen it all before. This figure is not indifferent to evil. A fiery stream flows from His throne to judge the beasts (v11-12). The evil of earth and hell will be consumed by the judgement of heaven. All wickedness will meet its end in the judgement of the Ancient of Days. That’s good news – but how will the Most High destroy evil without ending us too? Haven’t we contributed to the beastliness of the earth? How can we have a happy future “for ever and ever”?
From verse 14 we seen another figure approaching the Ancient of Days. He is not beastly : He is quintessentially human – the son of man.
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:14-15)
The Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days. He is not swept away in the blazing purity flowing from God the Father. He belongs in the presence of the Most High. And to Him is given “everlasting dominion.”
There is a way from the evil of earth to the thrones of heaven – that way is the Son of Man. This Son enters heaven not in His own name, but on behalf of His people. And everything that is given to Him belongs to His people also.
Take verse 27 for instance. It says:
“the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to…”
… we might expect the verse to end, “the Son of Man.” After all, verse 14 tells us that everlasting dominion belongs to Him. But now in verse 27 we read that everlasting dominion is given to…
“the people of the saints of the most High.”
The Son of Man does not inherit the kingdom for Himself alone. He inherits it for all those who belong to Him. When Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, He took us with Him. All that is His is ours.
Can we believe in a good God? Yes, there is a Most High seated on the throne. And from His blazing goodness, judgement will flow out to consume the evil of this world.
Can we believe in a happy ending? Yes, there is a Son of Man who, on the cross, fought upstream through a fiery judgement to bring us into an unshakeable kingdom.
In Jesus we have a good God and a happy ending – for ever and ever.
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Daniel 6
The Bible is all about dramatic reversals.
Perhaps Mary said it best when she was told that the Mighty Christ would be born into her humble circumstances:
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. (Luke 1:52-53)
Christ brings dramatic reversals into this world. He is the Mighty Lord who becomes meek to exalt “them of low degree.” And He is the Servant who rises to topple the proud.
Not surprisingly the Bible is filled with phrases to describe these great reversals.
On the one hand we have the victory of the underdog. There’s the “giant killing” of David and Goliath. There’s escape “by the skin of my teeth“. We remember that “Blessed are the meek” (Matthew 5:5). We speak of Lazarus back from the dead (John 11). And we glory in the biblical taunt “Where O death is thy sting!” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
On the other hand we read of devastating come-downs for the rich and powerful. How the mighty are fallen. Pride goeth before a fall, etc, etc. And in Daniel we’ve already seen mighty empires with feet of clay and the the writing on the wall for an arrogant king.
These dramatic reversals continue in chapter 6 as Daniel enters the lion’s den. Again Daniel is shown to be a righteous and humble servant. In Daniel 6 all he does to deserve the lion’s den is to pray to the LORD. Yet royal advisers, jealous at Daniel’s success, tricked King Darius into outlawing such prayer. Darius liked Daniel but his hands were tied – “the laws of the Medes and Persians” were irrevocable, (a famous phrase of its own).
And so the righteous servant of the LORD was cast into the pit to be devoured by roaring lions (see 1 Peter 5:8 where the devil is described as the ultimate “roaring lion”). Daniel is very Christ-like in his righteous suffering. What would happen next?
We pick up the story halfway through Darius’s sleepless night:
“Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? 21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. 22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” (Daniel 6:18-23)
Even as Daniel enacts the part of Christ, he is also saved by Christ. He proclaims to the King: “My God hath sent His Angel.” How was Daniel saved? Not through a bolt of lightning from on high. No, this is how the Father always saves – by sending His Son into the midst of the trouble. The Angel of God (or “God’s Sent One”), descends into our plight to rout all our foes. This is the power, the pattern and proto-type for all the great reversals of the Bible.
When Christ descended into our pit, on the cross, He spoke of the roaring lions that surrounded Him (Psalm 22:13). Jesus endured the horror of what Daniel was spared. And through His sufferings, we too are spared from the great judgement. Therefore we can cry out, with Daniel: “My God hath sent His Angel!” The Mighty One has descended and we the helpless are rescued. Hallelujah!
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Daniel 5
In the Fuhrerbunker, Hitler married Eva Braun and his generals toasted the “Thousand Year Reich.” But “the writing was on the wall”. This phrase denotes a judgement of doom that gatecrashes the dinner party.
The original party-pooping judgement happened to the Babylonian King, Belshazzar. In all probability, the invading Medes were upon them and so the royal family decided to enjoy life while they could. Instead of turning to the LORD of Israel, (whose temple furnishings lay in the palace), they decided to use the LORD’s things to have one last hurrah.
“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. 5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. (Daniel 5:1-6)
The mighty king is reduced to a quivering wreck, even before he reads the writing on the wall . Once again Daniel must interpret this message from God. He tells Belshazzar the story of his father, Nebuchadnezzar from Daniel 4. Nebuchadnezzar had humbled himself before the Most High God and had acknowledged God’s reign through the Lowliest of Men (Daniel 4:17). In contrast, his son has exalted himself and despised the LORD God and His Christ. Therefore Daniel translates the writing, pronouncing God’s judgement:
This is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. (Daniel 5:25-28).
The words are all units of currency – a mina (meaning counted), a shekel (meaning weighed) and half a mina (therefore with the idea of divided). And the words to Belshazzar are words to all those who would scoff at the judgement of the Most High and His Servant King: Our days are numbered, our lives are found wanting in the scales of God’s justice and judgement will fall.
For Belshazzar, and those at his table, it was too late – the writing was on the wall. His was the tragic case of a king lifting himself up in arrogance. Yet chapter 5 ends with Daniel being clothed in scarlet and made ruler. The exalted king is struck down. The humble servant is raised to honour.
As that judgement fell, the question was this: with whom do you stand? Do you raise a glass to the reigning king and try to distract yourself from the inevitable? Or do you stand with Daniel, the Spirit-filled servant?
The future does not belong to the king of this age. The writing is on the wall for the whole race of Adam – it is condemned already, (John 3:18). The future belongs to Christ, the Lowliest of men – and to those who belong to Him.
