(Jeconiah, Matt. 1:12; Coniah, Jer. 22:24, 28), and therefore of the royal line of David. But instead of wearing a crown and sitting on a throne, Zerubbabel was the humble governor of a struggling remnant of the Jewish nation, trying to complete the building of a rather inglorious temple. What a discouraging situation for a royal prince to be in!
So, God gave His servant Haggai a special word of encouragement for the governor. Were the nations around Jerusalem larger and stronger? Rest assured that the Lord will care for His people Israel as He has always done in the past. The same God who enabled Moses to defeat Egypt, and Joshua to conquer the nations in Canaan, would protect His people so that His purposes could be fulfilled through them. Israel will endure until the last days, and then the Lord will defeat her enemies and establish her in her kingdom.
The Lord called Zerubbabel “my servant,” an exclusive title reserved for specially chosen people, and Zerubbabel was indeed chosen by the Lord. God compared him to a royal signet ring. The signet ring was used by kings to put their official “signature” on documents (Est. 3:10; 8:8, 10), the guarantee that the king would keep his promise and fulfill the terms of the document.
Zerubbabel’s ancestor, King Jehoiachin (Coniah), had been rejected by God, but Zerubbabel was accepted by God. “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet would I pluck you off’” (Jer. 22: nkjv). God was reversing the judgment and renewing His promise that the Davidic line would not die out but would one day give the world a Savior. That’s why we find Zerubbabel named in the genealogies of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27).
This message must have encouraged Zerubbabel to stay on the job and finish the work God gave him to do. He was special to God, chosen by God, the servant of God! He was as near and dear to God as a king’s signet ring. The people of Israel would have many centuries of struggle and suffering before them, but the Messiah would come, and one day, Israel’s enemies would be defeated and the glorious kingdom established.
As you read the Old Testament, you see how “salvation history” progressed from age to age, always moving toward the fulfillment of the messianic promise. Many people played different roles in the drama, but each of them was important. Abraham founded the nation, and Isaac and Jacob built it. Joseph protected it in Egypt and Moses redeemed the people from Egypt. Joshua gave them their promised inheritance, and David established the kingdom. In spite of sin, suffering, and failures, the Davidic line never ceased, and the day came when Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was born in Bethlehem.
When the Christian church celebrates the birth of Christ, people remember Mary and Joseph, the magi, the shepherds, and even wicked King Herod; but they rarely think about Zerubbabel, a humble player in the drama, but a faithful one.
We can’t leave Haggai without noting some practical lessons for God’s people today.
1. The work of God is begun, sustained, and encouraged by the Word of God. “So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo” (Ezra 6: niv). When God’s servants proclaim God’s Word in the power of the Spirit, things begin to happen. “Is it not clear, as you take a bird’s-eye view of church history,” said Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “that the decadent periods and eras in the history of the church have always been those periods when preaching had declined? What is it that always heralds the dawn of a Reformation or of a revival? It is renewed preaching.”
2. God’s servants must work together to build God’s temple. Haggai and Zechariah, an older man and a younger man, both ministered the Word to the Jewish remnant, and God blessed their mutual efforts. It’s tragic when preachers and churches compete with one another and even carry on public disputes that give the enemy ammunition to oppose the gospel. “For we are laborers together with God” (1 Cor. 3:9).
3. When the outlook is bleak, try the uplook. Apart from God’s promises, we have no hope. As Vance Havner used to say, “Faith sees the invisible, chooses the imperishable, and does the impossible.” Our work today is a part of God’s work in the future, and we want to do our best.
4. Putting God first is the guarantee of God’s best blessing. Why should God’s work suffer while we pursue pleasure and comfort for ourselves? An affluent generation of Christians that is wasting God’s generous gifts on trivia and toys will have much to answer for when the Lord returns. Matthew 6: is still in the Bible, and so is Romans 14:12.
5. Apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, our labors are in vain. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2: nkjv). God still demonstrates His power and receives great glory through the weak things of this world (1 Cor. 1:26–31). If we’re too strong in ourselves, the Lord can’t use us. That’s what ruined King Uzziah, “for he was greatly helped until he became powerful” (2 Chron. 26:15).
Z E C H A R I A HNow, we turn to Haggai’s associate, the young prophet Zechariah, and study his striking prophecies and Jerusalem, the Jews, and the Messiah.