chongs · worship

What does a “minor” prophet from 520 B.C. have to say to our post-Christian culture? Quite a lot actually. In the last fortnight, our church went through the book of Haggai and were challenged to “give careful thought to our ways” and to refocus our wandering attention back to kingdom priorities of Christ our great Servant King.

To help prepare for the series, I translated Haggai from the Hebrew text (with occasional peeks at the LXX translation, especially around Haggai 2:6-7). On the text, I found Andrew Hill’s contribution to the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries at a good level of depth and detail for a busy pastor. Michael Prodigalidad’s excellent 9 Marks article gave good pastoral reasons to tackle this book as a church. Some timely help also came from conversations with two Hebrew-reading friends (one who is about to begin her PhD in Old Testament post-exilic narrative – great!)

For preachers, bible study leaders and keen readers, here’s a few thoughts in no particular order:

• The average church-goer is unlikely to have read Haggai. So it’s important to set the scene and explain where this minor prophet fits within the biblical storyline. I found Vaughan Roberts God’s Big Picture schemas a quick and helpful way to paint the post-exilic picture for God’s broken people, living in God’s place, longing for God’s rule.
• Preaching Haggai has to be a balance of challenge and encouragement. Chapter 1 has the Lord’s well-known rebuke of people seeking material comfort over kingdom priorities (“panelled houses” over completing God’s temple, 1:4). But context matters: it’s written to people who were already faithful – they’d obeyed the call to leave Babylon almost two decades earlier, they’d begun the rebuild, and were worn out by the constant opposition (c.f. Ezra 3-4). Our listeners today are likewise not faithless people to rebuke, but faithful people who have lost heart, been discouraged, and saturated with the messages of our world.
• I think that’s also why the LORD repeats the phrase “Consider your ways” (or literally, “set your heart upon your ways”; 1:5, 1:7, 2:15, 2:18). It’s the language of wisdom (e.g. Job 1:8, 2:3, Daniel 1:8), rather than a fiery rebuke. So our tone and posture matters, especially since we’re exposing deeply-held beliefs and values shaped by our society and culture’s materialism (who of us hasn’t been sucked in by the “I want” songs of our age?). But as we repent of our self-centred pursuits and return to kingdom priorities, there will surely be great blessing for God’s faithful remnant.
• If Haggai 1 challenges the returnee Jews’s FOMO (fear of missing out), Haggai 2’s prophecies tackle their FOBO (fear of better options). After all, a few months into a 4-year rebuild it could be tempting to lose heart when “it seems to you as nothing” (2:3). And after restoring offerings and sacrifices it could be tempting to think holiness can be transferred to a people who are still defiled (2:14). Whether to the people, the priests, or Zerubabbel himself, the underlying fear is one of committing to the Lord’s will for our lives. Haggai gives us a startling vision worth committing our lives to: God shaking the nations with His peace (v6-9), God blessing a defiled people with his holiness (v19), and God promising a great servant He has chosen (v20-23).
• I think Isaac Watts was well-meaning but incorrect in treating Haggai 2:7 as a direct Messianic prediction in the carol, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (verse 4 starts with the famous line, “Come Desire of Nations come”). The Hebrew text reads, “they will come (plural), what is desirable/precious of all the nations” (וּבָ֖אוּ חֶמְדַּ֣ת כָּל־הַגּוֹיִ֑ם). Although the LXX renders the subject as singular (“he/it will come”), the object is translated as “the chosen things” (τὰ ἐκλεκτὰ), so it’s more likely a description to the “treasures” among the nations coming to worship the LORD, rather than a single individual.
• Accordingly, I think it’s better to preach this verse (and prophecy) not being fulfilled by Jesus the Messiah individually, but rather by us corporately as we join in God’s mission to fill His temple with the glory of treasures from the nations (c.f. Rev 7:9-11). As a well-known Maori saying puts it: What is the greatest treasure? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. (It is people, it is people, it is people.) As we cross the pew, cross the street, or cross the oceans with the fragrance of Christ (2 Cor 2:15), this proverb and Haggai’s prophecy becomes truly fulfilled.
• Rather, I think the Christ connection more readily comes from two places. Firstly, in God’s promise to be present with His people as they resume His kingdom-building work (“I am with you”, 1:13, 2:4), we see a foretaste of the risen Lord Jesus, whose Spirit is truly with us — always — as we fulfil His Great Commission (Matt 28:20).
• And secondly, in Haggai’s personalised prophecy to Zerubabbel (2:20-23), we get another glimpse of Christ from the Old Testament. The Hebrew in v23 literally reads: “For in you I have chosen” (the בְךָ֣ construction is the same as Genesis 12:3 where the LORD says to Abraham: “In you, all peoples of the earth will be blessed.”). But if Zerubabbel is the signet ring, who is the chosen one in Him? Who else? Jesus. Son of David (Mk 10:47). Once a future seed in Zerubbabel’s line, now our chief Cornerstone and foundation of God’s ultimate dwelling place – His church (Eph 2:19-21). There’s no better option than Him.

At our church, we considered Haggai over two talks (though perhaps three would have been easier!) You can hear our English service sermons on Soundcloud, Spotify and elsewhere (just search “PCBC English”).

(Image credit: Isaac Mui)

Our church has journeyed through the book of Acts over the past 6 months as part of our 30th anniversary theme, “How Firm A Foundation”. It’s been timely for my own heart to dig deeper into this important book with a team of preachers as we saw time and time again how (as the Quizworx team once put it): “The message of the risen Lord Jesus cannot be stopped!”

To help prepare for the series, I translated most of Acts from the Greek text and read a few commentaries. On the Greek text, Scott Kellum’s EGGNT volume was a reliable guide. On planning the series, David Cook’s Teaching Acts (Proclamation Trust) was especially helpful in highlighting how to navigate the larger sections (e.g. Acts 24-26) and suggesting listener-friendly outlines. Alan Thompson’s The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus (NSBT) offered some really helpful explanations of Old Testament fulfilment. For issues relating to the social and cultural background of the many speeches and writings, consulting Ben Witherington’s Acts: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary was heavy(!) but helpful. Other conversation partners included Sam George’s Journeys of Asian Diaspora and a range of missions biographies and prayer partners.

For preachers, bible study leaders and keen readers, here’s a few thoughts in no particular order:

• Acts is a historical narrative first addressed to Theophilus and his fellow readers (Acts 1:1-3), and much of what follows this introduction is described, not prescribed. For example, we’re not instructed to get a snake bite like Paul, or hang ourselves like Judas; it’s described! So we need to discern from context why something occurs, and whether we are given a direct command (e.g. “repent and be baptised”, Acts 2:28), a pattern to follow (e.g. “preach the whole counsel of God”, Acts 20:27), or broader principles to trust (e.g. God is in control of all of circumstances, good and bad, Acts 27). Asking “Is this described or prescribed?” and “why did Theophilus need to hear this?” helps us to consider questions like “does Acts teach us to pursue a second Spirit-baptism?” or “is speaking in tongues a mark of a true believer?” in a clearer way.
• Also, Acts completes what Luke’s gospel started and earlier prophets hoped for. This means much of why something happens has an Old Testament background. The speaking in tongues at Pentecost reverses the confounding of languages at Babel and fulfils the hopes of Joel 2:28-32 that sons and daughters will prophesy and that everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved. The conversion of the Ethiopian fulfils the Servant Song promises in Isaiah 56:3 that foreigners and eunuchs will one day be part of a spiritually fruitful family. Before we look forward and pursue a specific “Acts” experience or strategy, it’s helpful first to look back and see what hopes from Israel’s world are being fulfilled in the lives of the first Christians — and understand our own questions in that light.
• Acts is a drama in three “acts” – Acts 1:8 is the interpretive key to the whole book, where the risen Lord Jesus declares to his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” From this, you have the three main movements of the symphony that is Acts: Jerusalem (ch. 1-7); Judea and Samaria (8-12); and to the ends of the earth (13-28). I took David Cook’s suggestion on structuring Acts as three mini-series or “seasons” along these divisions.
• The story of Acts is to be continued! It was a treat to welcome several guests who shared their missions and church-planting experience alongside the expounding of God’s Word, including Johan and Debbie Linder (church-planters in Thailand), Matt and Cristelle Nicholas (heading to the Philippines), Rowan Hilsden (Auckland EV) and more. During our third series in Acts 13-28, we also took time to pray specifically for a number of different countries and people groups (and enjoying their delicious food!).
• Acts is a multi-cultural story – Preaching Acts in an immigrant church highlighted some of the cultural and language-related aspects of the storyline I’d failed to notice before. Whether it’s the grumbling between Hebrew and Greek-speaking Jews in Acts 6, or Paul switching languages when talking with different people in Acts 21:37-22:2, the early church was a diverse mix of immigrant and diaspora groups who spoke several languages and had to cross cultures frequently. We are not the first generation to wrestle with the gospel and “biculturalism”, meetings in multiple languages, and how to welcome “outsiders” into our midst!
• Reading Acts cross-culturally also helps us make sense of the diverse ways that the Word increases and multiplies greatly. Some entered God’s Kingdom through patient reasoning until they understood Jesus as the promised Messiah. Others had no knowledge about Jesus but yearned to worship unknown gods that Paul makes known to them (Acts 17:16-34). Still others needed a power encounter with the unsurpassed authority of King Jesus (e.g. among the superstitious people in Ephesus and Asia Minor). Because God is calling different cultures to Himself, different metaphors of Jesus will connect with different people. Notice too how each sermon in Acts is tailored to a particular audience: whether in a Jewish synagogue, outside a pagan temple, or before rulers and authorities. While the content of the gospel doesn’t change, what is effective evangelism and ways to communicate this will vary depending on our particular audience.

At our church, we looked at the book across 25 talks. You can hear our English service sermons on Soundcloud, Spotify and elsewhere (just search “PCBC English”).