Haggai 2:4 [Be Strong]

[Things to Meditate On]

1. The passage above records God's word delivered through the prophet Haggai during the reign of Darius, king of Persia. The prophet Zechariah also prophesied to the Jews at that time (Ezra 5:1–2), and through these two prophets, God encouraged Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, Joshua the priest, and all the people to rebuild the temple. However, some of the people were disappointed because the temple of Zerubbabel being rebuilt was far less magnificent and impressive than Solomon's former temple (Ezra 3:12, Haggai 2:3). Therefore, through the prophet Haggai, God encouraged their hearts by saying, “I am with you, so be strong!”

2. When we look at the words recorded in the Bible, we can see that the part God does and the part man must do are clearly distinguished. In the passage above also, the part God would do was that He would be with them. And the part that Zerubbabel and all the people had to do was to believe this and be strong. To give a few more examples besides this word:

(1) In the beginning, God permitted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of every tree in the garden of Eden, but He commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God created the garden of Eden and brought man there; that was the work God did. However, within that garden, not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the part Adam and Eve had to do (Genesis chapters 2-3).

(2) At the time of the Exodus, when God brought the ten plagues upon Egypt, the Israelites did not have to take any action to escape the first nine plagues. However, the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, was different. Through Moses, God gave instructions to the Israelites, and they had to obey His word by killing a lamb and applying its blood to the two doorposts and the lintel of each house. Thus, during the tenth and final plague, the Israelites themselves had to obey God's word "in order to live" and be spared from the death of the firstborn (Exodus chapters 7-12).

(3) The same is true of Jesus coming to this earth and dying on the cross. This great work also was done for us freely by God through His grace (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 5:8). And our proper part in response to this grace is that whoever lives must live unto the Lord, and whoever dies must die unto the Lord. This is because the Bible says that for this purpose Jesus died and rose again (Romans 14:7-9, Galatians 2:20). This is not something demanded of us as payment, but because living this way is beneficial for us. Therefore, with “thanksgiving” and a “willing heart,” we must fulfill our part: to live for Jesus and to die for Jesus.

Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

Even from just these few examples above, we can see that the part God does and the part man must do are clearly distinguished. Then how should we now receive the word of God spoken through the prophet Haggai, “Be strong”?

3. Now is the time when we need an active “decision of faith” to act with a willing heart. This is because, as mentioned above, this is our part. We must believe that God is with us and become bold by faith. A representative example of this is “Esther.”

Esther 4:13-16 "13Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. 14For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? 15Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, 16Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish."

In fact, Esther was already queen, so even though Haman had plotted to destroy all the Jews, she could have thought that she alone might be able to survive. Also, in Mordecai’s words above, when he said, “who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” the phrase “who knoweth” is somewhat uncertain. Therefore, from Esther’s perspective, she could have thought that she had become queen not in order to save the Jews, but simply because she was more beautiful than the other women. If Mordecai had instead spoken clearly by the word of God and said, “You became queen in order to save the Jews at this time,” perhaps it might have been a little easier for Esther to make her decision. In any case, in a situation where she did not know exactly what the will of God was, Esther made an amazing decision to fast for three days and then go to the king, even though it was against the law. Thus, Esther made the decision of faith by herself, saying, “If I perish, I perish,” and through Esther, God saved the Jews from Haman’s wicked plot.

If Esther had not made the decision of faith, then, as Mordecai said, God would have saved the Jews through another person or another way. Through this event also, we can see that God intended to save the Jews, and Esther was used as God’s instrument by willingly risking her life. Because Esther believed in God’s salvation and fulfilled her own part by willingly acting, God saved the Jews through Esther. In the following passage, the prophet Isaiah also shows us that he was able to be used by God because he offered himself with a willing heart.

Isaiah 6:8-9 "8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9And he said, Go, and tell this people..."

Through words like these, we also must know that when we, by faith, willingly say, “Send me,” and seek to offer ourselves willingly, we too can be used as instruments of God.

[Decision and Application]

In Luke 11:9-13, Jesus said, “Ask, seek, and knock!” This word also teaches us to fulfill our part. A heart that has no desire to act, but only waits for someone else to do everything, cannot be called a right attitude of faith. Sometimes we say, “Jesus will take care of everything. Amen! I believe!” At first, this may sound like a confession of faith. However, we need to discern whether this confession truly comes from faith, or whether we are shifting responsibility onto Jesus. This is because, as we have seen above, the Bible clearly distinguishes between the part God does and the part man must do. Without making this distinction, we must not ask Jesus to do even the part that we ourselves must do. Jesus is the One who answers us when we ask, lets us find when we seek, and opens when we knock. Therefore, we must now ask Jesus by faith, seek, and knock.

The word spoken through the prophet Haggai, “Be strong,” means that now, not because someone else tells us to, but each one of us must believe that God is with us and become strong by faith. People sometimes try to strengthen themselves with the power they possess or with the things of this world. But those things can never truly make us strong, because the things of this world can disappear at any time. So when the things they relied on disappear, we often see that those who relied on them fall together with them. Only by “the eternal word of Jesus” can we become strong (Acts 20:32, Matthew 7:24-27). Esther did not try to protect herself through her position or through the beauty she had. Rather, after hearing Mordecai's words, she went to King Ahasuerus with the strong faith that said, “If I perish, I perish.” Now we also must each stand firmly by faith upon the words of Jesus, so that we may fulfill the part given to us. If we faithfully carry out the work of the Lord entrusted to us, Jesus will surely reward us for our labor and will not let our work be in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

2 Chronicles 15:7 "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded."

Amen.