“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.”
Haggai 2:6 (NIV)
If we think chronologically for a moment, we will realize that Amos spoke of shaking first, then Isaiah, then Haggai.
Haggai’s purpose was encouragement to the people involved in the work of rebuilding the temple and restoring worship in Jerusalem after they returned from captivity in Babylon. The message of verse 4 “be strong and work” and the message of verse 5 “my Spirit remains among you, Do not fear.” , is an encouraging Word for us today, and is an indication that in many ways God’s people who returned from the exile are the ones whose lives and ministry closely parallel ours. We live in a pagan culture, where others hold authority over us. Church will never be a power in our society, yet we are called to “be strong and work”, to believe that “the Spirit is among us” and that “the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house” (vs 9).
It seems that Haggai’s message to the people of his day was that gold and silver will come from the nations into Jerusalem, as a result of the shaking of the nations by the LORD.
The writer to the Hebrews understood this verse in light of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as he compared the old covenant under Moses to the new covenant under our Lord Jesus Christ in Hebrews 12:25-29, he applied it as a warning to obey our Lord in light of the shaking that was yet
to come.
to come.
Let us believe this warning delivered by Haggai and the writer of Hebrews, and worship our God acceptably with reverence and awe.
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