COMFORT in a SHAKEN WORLD

 

March 20, 2024

Haggai 2:6-9



For thus says the Lord of hosts: “Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of hosts. “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,” declares the Lord of hosts. “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former,” says the Lord of hosts. “And in this place I will give peace,” declares the Lord of hosts.

COMFORT in a SHAKEN WORLD

The Old Testament book of Haggai was written to people who had returned from Babylon to rebuild the destroyed temple of God. The writings were to be an encouragement and a call to rebuild amidst rubble, hope despite desolation, and belief even during times of hardship and disappointment.

In verses 6 to 9, Haggai spoke of a time to come when the world would be shaken up as it had never been shaken before. Think of that message. How would you receive it? If on Sunday morning in worship your pastor stood up and said thus says the Lord of hosts: “Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations …. How would you feel to hear that all the unrest, and outrage, and wars and injustice that fill our news streams is a “shaking of the nations” by its creator?

Surprisingly, this message of a “world to be shaken” was intended to be a comfort for people who were standing in rubble! This may seem difficult to understand at first glance, the New Testament writer of Hebrews gives some insight, that writer took comfort in the shaking of this world, as it “indicates the removal of things that are shaken … in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain … a kingdom” (Hebrews 12:26-28).

At the core of Haggai’s declaration that all of creation (v. 6) and all nations (v. 7) would be shaken, there is the promise that “the treasures of all nations shall come in.” “Treasures” is a Hebrew noun that can function as either singular or plural. In other words, in this context not only will the treasures of the nations be brought to the house of God in tribute, but there will also be One, the true treasure, who fills the house of God with glory, and this One is to be prized above all the wealth of the world. That One the New Testament tells us is JESUS. According to Haggai, it was only when the world was shaken that we could see what really will stand and which treasures will endure.

Earlier I asked you to think of this message and how you would receive it. Would you find the message comforting, or might it cause you a level of fear or worry? I guess what I am asking us to consider today is this: when your world shakes, are you shaken with it, or is your faith unshakable in spite of the rubble, desolation, and disappointment? When the treasures of your heart let you down, does your heart fail, or does it take hold of the treasure of all nations, Our Lord, Jesus Christ?

LET US PRAY

God, help us to hold onto your unshakable kingdom when our world is being shaken; help us to remember that Jesus Christ experienced the earth shaking of the cross, so we would not be moved; and to remember that while the treasures of the world may fail, you are the treasure of all nations. In Jesus Name, Amen.