Sermon Tone Analysis

*Haggai 5**.*

This year we have been having a look at the book of Haggai *[P]* – a series of five prophecies given over a period of just under four months.

The situation, as you recall, was that a godly remnant had returned from exile in Babylon to Judea and Jerusalem with edict to rebuild the temple of יְהוָה there.

But the situation changed and due to opposition they stopped this work and, instead, built their own estates.

But they encountered frustration; יְהוָה was speaking through circumstances, through frustration and failure in their agriculture; telling them to get back to the task of building His house.

And so He sent a message of rebuke *[P]* through Haggai to tell them to stop their own activities and get on with His business.

Praise God, the governor, high priest and people heeded this message and got on with the job, so יְהוָה sent another message through His prophet Haggai, this time commending them *[P]* and assuring them that /He was with them/.

But as they got on with the job they were discouraged because what they were doing seemed so pathetic compared to the lavish and glorious temple that Solomon had built – and so יְהוָה sent yet another message to them through Haggai, a message to encourage them *[P]*, telling them that He would act, shake all things, fill the temple with His glory and give peace: wholeness and completion.

Now another couple of months have past, it is now almost 4 months since the initial message that Haggai delivered (3 month and 23 days).

The remnant in Jerusalem had responded to יְהוָה’s word as He spoke to them, they had continued to labour on, working on His house.

So this time יְהוָה spoke a word of blessing to them *[P]*.

You know?

יְהוָה blesses obedience *[P]*, those who respond to Him when He speaks to them.

So let’s read this message of blessing.

But as we do, note how the relationship with יְהוָה has changed.

At first it was a message of rebuke, יְהוָה speaking a command to His people; now, the nature of speaking has changed: it is a dialogue.

יְהוָה speaks through question and answer, there is communication restored.

God speaks to them, and they speak back to Him.

Through this interchange He brings them to the point He wants to make.

He establishes a principle.

[*Haggai 2:10-19* /On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of יְהוָה came to Haggai the prophet, saying, “Thus says יְהוָה of armies, ‘Ask now the priests for a ruling: ‘If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’ ” And the priests answered, “No.”

Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?”

And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.”

Then Haggai said, “‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ declares יְהוָה, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

‘But *now*, do consider/ (lay to heart)/ from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of יְהוָה, from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty.

‘I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares יְהוָה.

‘Do consider/ (lay to heart)/ from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of יְהוָה was founded, consider/ (lay to heart)/: ‘Is the seed still in the barn?

Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit.

Yet from this day on I will bless you.’/

”] “/From this day on I will bless you/” Hallelujah!

Wonderful!

But the word “blessing” is overused (at least in religious circles): “God bless you” – as trivial as a sneeze.

But the blessing of יְהוָה is wonderful, particularly if you have been under His curse as these people had.

The blessing of יְהוָה is tangible; it is not just a word, a pious, well-meaning sentiment.

I speak the priestly blessing over Hannah every night – not just nice words, but God’s favour imparted from heaven!

And יְהוָה brings out how wondrous and significant His blessing is by first establishing a principle, then showing how His blessing overrides this universal principle.

He goes through a bit of logic and reasoning to set out the universal principle first.

The principle is self evident – at least it was to the priests of Haggai’s day – perhaps not quite so evident to us, at least not at first, but it is really.

You all know it intuitively – let me show you.

I have some fruit, say some oranges *[P]*, then I notice that one of them is starting to go off *[P]*, it’s got just a little bit of mould.

What should I do?

I have these nice fresh oranges *[P]* – perhaps I should put it with them?

*[P]* Maybe it will catch some of their freshness, copy them?! What will happen?

It is obvious – the bad orange will make the others go rotten *[P]*, it will keep on getting more rotten, until it is completely rotten through and through *[P]*.

The principle is obvious.

Corruption is irreversible, it can only go in one direction *[P]*.

You can slow it down by refrigeration but you cannot undo it – a fridge cannot make a rotten oranges good, but a rotten orange can make a barrel of good oranges, go rotten.

So here is the principle *[P]*: rottenness spreads!

It is self evident – if one person with the flu is in a room full of healthy ones, what happens?

Bad is contagious!

יְהוָה asked the priests for their judgement – if there was something, some food and it came in contact with something holy, consecrated to יְהוָה would it make that food holy – the answer was “No” – the principle is that goodness cannot be caught *[P]*.

But on the other hand if there was someone who was unclean, defiled, they had been in contact with death; when they touched the food, the ruling was that it become unclean also.

So corruption is contagious, spreads; but goodness doesn’t.

And isn’t that true?

I remember my younger sister going to school for the first time, so cute and innocent; within days she was turned into a swearing, mean-spirited monster!

Don’t we see it?

It is evil that affects others not the good.

I remember speaking to a girl at work who was Christian, she was getting married to a non-believer.

And Paul, not known for his diplomacy, set about to tell her how wrong it was.

But she maintained that she had flatted with non-Christians and kept her faith, going to church regularly.

But what tends to happen is that it is the Christian that is dragged down rather than the other made holy.

Now the situation is different if someone gets saved after being married but their spouse does not [*1 Corinthians 7:14* /For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy/.].

But there is this universal principle that righteousness isn’t contagious but, sadly, evil is.

The sin of Adam infected every descendant after him – sin passed to all man.

Jesus said a little leaven leavens the whole lump, Paul said the same: (cf. 1 Cor 5:6; Gal 5:9) – corruption spreads.

The principle established is that holiness cannot be transmitted.

We cannot impart our holiness to another.

Food that was holy could not, by touching un-consecrated food, make it holy – it had to be consecrated itself.

We cannot carry others with us, nor can we ride on another’s holiness.

I remember my Dad preaching, he would say: “I would love to collect you all together in a big net and take you with me – but I cannot.”

Those that are set apart to God must be done so individually.

יְהוָה asked for a ruling on the case of holy touching neutral things, then He asked a ruling on if an unclean thing touches neutral things.

Although holiness doesn’t spread, uncleanness does.

Corruption spreads, until all is contaminated – evil has an effect on those around.

We cannot but become contaminated by the evil all around us.

We live in a sin contaminated world and it affects us – our feet become dirty from walking the streets of this world – that is why Jesus commanded us to wash each others’ feet.

Do you ever feel dirty just by what you come in contact with?

(Pastor Wayne).

We must guard against corruption, avoid contact with it, for it will contaminate us.

So יְהוָה set forth this principle that operates and seems to be universal.

*[P]* But why was יְהוָה saying this?

What was the application to those building the temple?

What has this to do with blessing?

Stick with me.

The priests gave their ruling, the principle was set forth, now Haggai brings the application: [/Then Haggai said, “‘So is this people.

And so is this nation before Me,’ declares יְהוָה, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

‘But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of יְהוָה, from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty.

‘I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares יְהוָה./]

The contamination had spread!

They were unclean!

Defiled!

And it had its consequences – they were under God’s disfavour.

Becoming clean, as it were, would bring YHWH’s favour and constitute a solution to the pressing economic problems among them.

The priests gave their ruling in response to יְהוָה’s questions – holiness is not contagious but uncleanness is.

Now Haggai applies this ruling, this principle, to the people and nations in this message from יְהוָה.

The temple was unclean – desecrated by the Babylonian invaders, it still lay in ruins – it had not been rebuilt and consecrated since its destruction.

Therefore the people, the nation, were also unclean – because uncleanness, defilement, spreads – they were unclean by association.

So too were all their deeds, the works of their hands, and the offerings that they made there ("there" being at the altar at the temple site which had been rebuilt – cf.

Ezra 3:1-6).

Unclean people offered the sacrifices so, by association, the sacrifices were unclean – unacceptable before יְהוָה.