Peace on Earth

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

— Philippians 4:4–6; Psalm 85:1 (Opening verses usually read on this, the third Sunday of Advent)

If you have read my previous posts, you know that I did a whole series on rejoicing.  This is truly a season of joy, of hope, of peace on earth.  And if you read the last post, you saw a connection or correlation between Jesus, the Hope of Man's Desiring, and Joshua, the high priest of the Restoration.  I want to build on that foundation again today.

Have you ever been afraid?  Have you ever been discouraged?  Of course you have. We all have had those emotions.  Even Jesus.  Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched by the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."  The Bible says, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You." (Psalm 56:3).  I think Jesus knew this.  And I think I have found a passage of Scripture that must have been one of Jesus' favorites.  As we go over it today, I hope that it will become one of your favorites, too.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: "Speak to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people.  Ask them, 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?  How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?' " --Haggai 2:1-3

By way of context, the prophet Haggai is talking to the Jews who have returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile in Babylon, the most wicked place on earth.  When they saw the Temple, they must have been very discouraged.  But they were there, and each man had the ability to roll up his sleeves and fix it.  They all together had the ability to team up and rebuild the Temple of God.  Haggai's prophecy was intended to encourage them in that endeavor.

You will see that I highlighted the name of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.  You will remember from last time that Joshua, or "Yeshua" in Hebrew, means "God saves."  His father's name, Jehozadak, combines the name of Jehovah, or "Yahweh", with the Hebrew word "Sadeq", which means to be just.  So the meanings of the name Jehozadak are "Yahweh has justified", or "The Lord has made just", or even "God is Righteous."  I can imagine the times that Jesus went off by Himself, away from the crowds, to be alone with His Father and pray, that He might have meditated on this Scripture, as it could be speaking to Him by name:  Yeshua, the son of The Righteous God Who Deals Justly, Who Has Justified Us.  Read on to see the encouragement.

"But now be strong, O Zerubbabel," declares the Lord.  "Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong, all you people of the land," declares the Lord, "and work.  For I am with you," declares the Lord Almighty.  "This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.  And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear."  --Haggai 2:4-5

Be strong.  Work.  My Spirit is with you.  Do not fear.  How many times do we need to hear those words spoken over us?  Even Jesus, I would imagine, had times in His life when He needed to hear these words spoken over Him by the Father.  And lest we fall into despair and despondency, saying "What's the point?", the encouragement goes on.  God says "this is the deal I made with you, the Covenant, when I brought you out of Egypt."  He was speaking directly to the nation of Israel, who, you will remember, were slaves in Egypt until God delivered them by the hand of Moses.  I think the words also speak directly to Jesus.  You will remember the account of Christ's birth, when Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the children two years old and under.  God warned Joseph in a dream to get away, and to take Mary and the baby to Egypt.  But they did not stay there.  When the angel told them that Herod had died, Joseph and Mary moved back to Israel, and settled in the district of Galilee, in a town called Nazareth "so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: 'He will be called a Nazarene'." (Matthew 2:23).

 So Jesus could take this passage and apply it directly to His own life.  And we can apply it indirectly to ours.  Each of us has been called out of a foreign land, to follow God in this life, and to hope in a promised land.  We may not have had to cross geographic borders, but we have been called to a new life, a new way of living--a new culture, if you will.  And we all can take courage in the words the Lord spoke through the prophet Haggai: be strong, work, My Spirit is with you, do not be afraid.

I love the hymn that Charles Wesley wrote about the coming of Christ in Christmas.  It is not generally sung as a Christmas carol, but it is significant during this season, and for this study.  The first verse goes like this:

Hail, thou long-expected Jesus,
    Born to set Thy people free!
From our sins and fears release us,
    Let us find our rest in Thee.

Again, I highlighted the word "fears".  Jesus came to release us from our sins and our fears.  When we trust Him with all our hearts and minds and strength, and His Spirit lives in us, then we can know peace.  We can heed the words of the prophet Haggai: "And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear."

Let's read on.

 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.  I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory," says the Lord Almighty.

There are three interpretations for this passage.  One, obviously, was to the exiles rebuilding the Temple.  Once they had completed their work, the God of Abraham would again take up residence in the Holy of Holies.  Whenever God moves, the earth is turned upside-down.  The second interpretation, I think, is when Jesus came to fulfill what the prophets had spoken.  He turned the political and religious world upside-down.  He shook things up, so that we would all look upon His glory, and give glory to Him all our days.  The third interpretation, according to Bible scholars, is with the Second Coming of Christ to this world.  When he comes not as a Lamb for sacrifice, but as a Lion to root out injustice and to establish His Kingdom forever.

You will notice that I highlighted the phrase "the desired of all nations".  The Apostle Paul spoke of this in Romans chapter 8: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved." (Romans 8:22-24a).  Maybe this is what Wesley had in mind when he penned the second verse of his hymn:

Israel's strength and consolation,
    Hope of all the saints, Thou art;
Long desired of every nation,
    Joy of every waiting heart.

 Malachi 3:1 speaks of this earnest desire for the coming Messiah.  "See, I will send my messenger, who will  prepare the way before me.  Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty."  All creation waits for His appearing.  The sons of God await with eager anticipation.  The wicked await His coming with fear and trepidation.

Can you see how Jesus, when He was living on this earth as a man, may have been encouraged by this passage?

"The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty.  The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house," says the Lord Almighty." --Haggai 2:8-9a.

Everything belongs to God.  He may allow us to use it for our purposes, but ultimately it will be used for His glory.  The people who originally heard the words of Haggai, who were looking at a pile of rubble where their temple used to be, were encouraged by the words, "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house."  I am sure that gave them motivation to roll up their sleeves and get to work restoring and rebuilding and refurbishing the Temple.

Jesus, too, may have been encouraged when reading and meditating on these words.  The "house" or body in which He resided at the time of his Incarnation was subject to pain and death.  But He knew that in time His resurrected body would show that "the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former."  He knew that his purpose was to bring the kingdom of God to man.  We see this in the third verse of Wesley's hymn:

Born Thy people to deliver,
    Born a child, yet God our King,
Born to reign in us for ever,
    Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

 God's plan was for Jesus to reign in us, and over us, and through us forever.  God's desire is to rule in our hearts.  Our desire is for peace on earth, good will to men.  These disparate desires are met in Jesus.  Haggai's last words in this passages read this way:

"And in this place I will grant peace," declares the Lord Almighty.  --Haggai 2:9b

What did the Angel first say to Zechariah the priest, the husband of Elizabeth and future father of John the Baptist? "Do not be afraid." (Luke 1:13).  What were the Angel's first words to Mary, the one betrothed to Joseph and the future mother of Jesus?  "Do not be afraid." (Luke 1:30).  What did the Angel say to the shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night? "Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy." (Luke 2:10)  Then the Angel was surrounded by a great number of other angels, and they sang together, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:14).

Recent unrest in our nation has brought out protesters, who chant the slogan "No justice, no peace."  As we saw at the beginning of this piece, God Almighty brings Justice.  For all who truly want peace, He offers His Son.  True justice cannot be found in a courthouse; true peace cannot be found in the streets.  We must make room for Jesus, the Prince of Peace, whose father is the God Who Deals Justly. Thus we end with the fourth verse of Wesley's hymn:

By Thine own eternal Spirit
    Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit
    Raise us to Thy glorious throne.