Story so far…

God is sovereign

In the book of Ezra we read of how God miraculously and sovereignly delivers the Jewish nation out of exile in Babylon back to Jerusalem. We learn that the first Jews back find Jerusalem in ruins and once they’ve settled in at home they prioritise rebuilding their place of worship.

Building up the… altar!

The first thing they rebuilt was not the walls of Jerusalem although that would have protected the city, nor did they start with the temple, but the first thing to be rebuilt was the altar. Worship came first. The altar was the place of both sacrifice and celebration, and this came before any other activity. By the end of chapter 3 we have a fully functioning altar and the foundations of the temple.

In our context, we must prioritise worship of Jesus above anything else we wish to build. We offer our lives as living sacrifices and celebrate the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.

Our bodies and our churches are temples to God (1 Cor 3 and 6). And as we build ourselves up in the most holy faith (Jude 20) we find that there is an enemy who will not sit back and let us get on with it.

Opposition from the foundation

By the end of chapter 4 the work has halted. Jerusalem’s enemy Babylon saw that holy city as dissident and rebellious.

Likewise, we are seen by Satan and his kingdom as a rebellious and dissident, and definitely a threat. He may try to use fear tactics to keep us from building ourselves up in Christ, but it is he who really fears us.

Nevertheless, for the returning exiles, the empire of Babylon used physical force to stop the building of the temple. Biblical historians tell us that the pause in building was around 18 years.

So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

Ezra 4:24

Whatever the reason for the delay, God’s purposes still stand. He will do whatever is required to see that his kingdom is established.

Back on track

Ezra 5

At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. ² Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them.

³ But Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues soon arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure?” ⁴ They also asked for the names of all the men working on the Temple. ⁵ But because their God was watching over them, the leaders of the Jews were not prevented from building until a report was sent to Darius and he returned his decision.

Ezra 5:1-5

At the start of Ezra chapter 5 they are encouraged by the prophets to resume building. All Ezra tells us is that it was because of the prophets that the building resumed. He does not give us the details of the prophecy.

But Haggai does.

Haggai, a prophet mentioned at the start of our reading gives us some interesting detail that we don’t read in Ezra. Here’s Haggai chapter 1:

Haggai 1

On August 29 of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord gave a message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

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 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! 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. 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.”

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 implying they were not before.. ¹³ Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord: “I am with you, says the Lord!”

Why did the building work stop?

1: Opposition

We know from Ezra 4 that the builders were stopped by force from building. The opposition was just too much. But should it have stopped?

Until now I’ve thought when reading Ezra 4 that the pause in building was symbolic of the pauses we sometimes experience in our own lives. What feels like delay is God’s timing.

It was authorised from Babylon that the building work was to stop.

But could they actually have put up a fight? Is it possible that there was a bowing to the enemy for a time? We already know from chapter 4 that some of the Jews were open to bribery in order to disrupt the building. Perhaps there was a lukewarmness in the group. Perhaps some would receive the agreed bribe money if the building stopped.

With what God is building in our lives, sometimes there is delay as part of God’s timing. And at other times, we just have to keep on building.

2: Lack of opposition

Of course, as soon as the building stopped, the opposition went away – there was nothing for the enemy to oppose.

With the lack of opposition, it was easier for the people to get comfortable in their containment. But Haggai chapter 1 emphasises the lack of building is not something God is happy about. And it’s quite possible that money, self or greed was beginning to creep in. It seems the returning exiles, after an initial show of enthusiasm for celebration and sacrifice have got distracted by building their own homes.

Imagine coming home after 70 years and just getting a few things sorted out in your house and then having to go up to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Might it be tempting when the enemy uses force to stop you to just go back home and finish those DIY tasks? In Haggai they get a bit of a telling off for this.

And imagine you are attempting to build yourself up in the Lord. You are settling into a daily routine of bible study and prayer. You are meeting regularly with other believers. Perhaps you are just about to ask about joining a home group but the enemy sends in a curve-ball. Your car becomes unreliable or the weather takes a turn for the worst. You might as well stay at home this time and watch that film. There’s some nice ice cream in the freezer too.

Or perhaps imagine you have begun helping out in the wider church. Maybe you’ve decided to increase your giving to a ministry, or offer time and help somewhere. You are moving forward into a lifestyle of kingdom-building, seeking first his kingdom, trusting him for everything else. But some kind of distraction seems to get in the way. You revert to family and home and leave the building behind. You build an unnecessary conservatory instead of giving to the works of Compassion, Open Doors or putting regular money aside for the local church.

There is very little opposition from our spiritual enemy when we shrink back and relax in the comfort of our own lives and neglect the work of the Lord in us and in his body the church.

Are you sitting comfortably? I hope not.

The consequences of not building

1: God is not happy

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? ⁵ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you!

Haggai 1:3-5

In Haggai 1, God repeats that line that sounds like a proper telling-off in the NLT: “Look at what’s happening to you!” Ever had a parent say that to you? “Look at yourself!” God is saying this to his children in this passage. It is a call to examine themselves and weigh up their actions. Take a bird’s-eye-view of your life in kingdom context.

If we want to please God with our lives, we must put his kingdom first. When God is not happy with our lives, he will send things our way to bring us back to intimacy with him. In this situation it was dissatisfaction and poverty.

2: We are not happy

In Haggai 1 we see that, although the Jews have gone back to their homes to rebuild them and make them comfortable, they are not happy.

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!

Haggai 1:5-6

God goes on to say that it is he who has stopped them from enjoying their lives.

This is not because God is cruel. The bible shows us that he is slow to anger and quick to forgive. What God is doing here is attempting to get the attention of the people.

Once the building of God’s temple stopped, the workers went home and built their own homes. But they just were not happy! It’s quite a paradox that we see in our world today. They should have been happy because their homes were nicer!

There is nothing wrong with having a nice home! God your loving dad wants you to have a nice home. And to look after it. But if you have those things and God does not have your heart you will not be happy. And you won’t find true prosperity. If we end up putting material things first, he is saddened. And you are not happy because you are not living the way your creator designed you to live.

With all the wealth possible but with no connection to God, you’re just not satisfied with your life.

The poverty and lack in this passage was God’s way of keeping his beloved children close to his heart. He may put some consequences in your way to get your attention, but it is only because he wants you back as his true friend.

For us in this passage the general picture is a lack of satisfaction with your life when God is not at the centre. Keep building yourself up!

Our response

Does this even apply to me?

You know you’ve gone off course when you’re saying this…

“The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’”

Haggai 1:2

“It’s not the right time.” How many times have you heard this? Can I say to you that if you are putting off making God the centre of your life, that today is the day. Now is the right time. Tomorrow may be too late. Perhaps you’ll thank God you heard this today.

This is exactly the right time to rebuild the house of the Lord, your personal temple of the Holy Spirit, that is, to edify yourself again, to rebuild a life around his word, around prayer and around fellowship with other believers. If the people are saying it’s not the right time, tell them they are wrong. Align with the prophets of old and speak the truth in love!

1: Partner with the Holy Spirit and keep building

Your bodies are temples that the Holy Spirit lives in and we as a church are a temple that God is building.

This building work must never halt. Even if the government tells us to stop.

This is essentially what had happened in Ezra’s day. Their existing government was not God-honouring and insisted that they stop building. So they did.

There are countries today where the Christian Church has been told to stop. It is illegal to be a Christian. You could die if caught. Those Christians who ignore this command to stop building themselves up and to stop building the church put themselves in great danger but are fully aware of Jesus’ declaration that he will build his Church and the gates of hell will not stand against it.

So lesson 1 is to keep building.

Whatever opposition you are facing, temptation to say, “It’s not the right time,” or the world distracting you from God’s way of thinking, keep building. Get into the word daily. Pray. Pray in tongues. Pray scripture. Draw near to God. Ultimately, he wants intimacy with you. He wants you to come to the altar, the place of sacrifice and celebration and draw near to him in the secret place. He wants you to be a light to those around you, lit by the warmth of his presence.

God had to send prophets to kick-start the rebuild.

You may remember the prophet Zechariah was also around in those days and encouraged the start of the building. In Zechariah 4 he tells God’s people not to despise the day of small beginnings. He also says, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6).

Thus, without the Spirit, the building would not be completed. If the Jews tried to fight their enemy in their own strength they would die. But when God’s Spirit is on something, we don’t need our own strength. We just need to obey.

We need the Holy Spirit when building ourselves up. After all, we are temples of the Holy Spirit! As well as praying in tongues, we can ask the Holy Spirit to teach us as we read his word, not just to fill our heads with knowledge, but to hear directly from Father God.

And we certainly need to echo those words, not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the LORD” when it comes to building anything in his kingdom. I’ve had enough of man-made programmes. What I desire is to be led by his Spirit and get on board with what he is building.

2: Resist the devil and he will flee from you

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

(James 4:7)

So now the building in Ezra 5 has recommenced under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit through the prophets. You can guarantee the enemy will not sit back and watch.

But the enemy’s attempt to stop the building altogether was ultimately shown to be pathetic. We know that the temple was ultimately rebuilt and that Jesus walked through it, taught in it and cleansed it by driving out the impure practices.

In our lives, perhaps at times we’ve allowed the world, the flesh or the devil to infiltrate our ranks or our thinking. We may have gone on to forget his teachings, go our own way, take things into our own hands that we should have surrendered to him, or even got distracted by building our own homes.

If this is the case, don’t despair! God has a greater plan for your life and he can easily and quickly turn it around. Look how simple it was for the Israelites to turn back to God and begin re-building. They heard the word and they repented. You can do the same!

Allow Jesus into your temple to teach you, cleanse you and bring you into ultimate intimacy with God whereby you can boldly enter the holy of holies and talk to him. That is what he died for.

Ezra 6 – a decree and a dedication

You will read in Ezra 6 that once the Spirit of God was on the case, kickstarted by the prophets, it didn’t take long for all heaven to break loose and have a decree from the king of Babylon that the temple must be built with no opposition! The building work commences, is completed and dedicated.

That’s how quickly God can turn things around when we just keep building!

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