The attitude that affects everything (Hag 2:10-19)

Some years ago, a local government leader in New Zealand had an extramarital affair for two years. Some called for his resignation, but many pleaded for his private life to be left alone. A century ago, such a person would have been forced to step down, but today we increasingly compartmentalise life into private and public spheres. In a similar vein we separate the sacred or spiritual from the secular. This worldview is so pervasive today that it is difficult for many to see how adultery has any bearing on someone’s ability to fulfil a public office or why one’s private religious views should have an impact in a secular environment.

Holiness and impurity

Haggai, on the other hand, makes it clear that our lives cannot be separated into neat little boxes. He uses an illustration from an area obscure for us, but familiar for his readers, from the sphere of ritual impurity and holiness. Like Jesus, who asked questions to stimulate thinking, he gets the priests to give a verdict on the basic rules on how far holiness and impurity spread (Hag 2:11-13). Essentially, impurity is more contagious than holiness so that the holy meat from a sacrificial offering makes ritually holy what it directly touches but not beyond (meat—garment, vv.11-12; Lev 6:20), while a corpse contaminates the person and, in turn, anything that person touches (corpse – person – object, v.13; Num 19:22).[1]

How the relationship with God affects our lives

Haggai then applies the principle of impurity metaphorically to the people (Hag 2:14). As Baldwin so graphically puts it, ‘the skeleton of the ruined Temple was like a dead body decaying… and making everything contaminated.’[2] Not only did it affect the Jews but even their sacrifices were polluted by their attitude. The exiles wanted God in their lives only up to a point (having an altar), but not the full experience of His presence (the temple). When our attitude to God is half-hearted, even the spiritual things we do (praying, reading the Bible, church and serving God’s people) are ineffective and not pleasing to God.

At its root, the issue goes even deeper, as Motyer describes it in a striking way,

In their agriculture, they sought creation’s blessings without loving the Creator; in religion, with their offerings, they sought redemption’s blessings without loving the Redeemer.[3]

This is a tempting path in our modern context, to get the goodies without the relationship, no strings attached. It reminds me of the study our home group is doing on the phrase ‘in Christ’ that Paul uses frequently. In Ephesians, he describes the breadth and depth of what we receive ‘in Christ’ (Eph 1:3-14). The point is, that we are given redemption, blessings, and an inheritance in union with Him, not apart from Him. As in marriage, we cannot get the blessings of a happy marriage apart from the relationship, so we cannot enjoy the promised blessings without that deep intimacy with the Lord.

But from now on…

The prophet reminds his audience of their lack in agricultural terms, which was God’s wake-up call for them spiritually, but now turns to the future (Hag 2:15-18). By this stage in December (the ninth month) the seed was no longer in the barn but sown in the ground with no fruit showing yet. God, however, sees the people’s willingness to take a step towards a deeper relationship with Him (the temple foundations have been laid) and meets it with His commitment to bring blessing (Hag 2:19).

This passage challenges us to consider what our relationship with the Lord looks like. Do we recognise how every area of our lives is intertwined and affected by this central concern? Does God matter more than His blessings or are we tempted to seek the blessings apart from the Giver? Does the Lord matter to us enough to seek that intimacy with Him that takes time and commitment? When we look at the past, we may recognise our failings, but if that prompts us to turn to Him then God is saying that there is a future ahead, ‘from this day’ that can be fruitful and blessed in Him.

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[1] See Michael Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel (Oxford: Clarendon, 1985), 296-98.

[2] Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary, TOTC (Downers Grove: IVP, 1972), 33, cited in J. Alec Motyer, ‘Haggai’, in A Commentary on Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Vol. 3 of The Minor Prophets, ed. T.E. McComiskey (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 963-1002 (996).

[3] Motyer, ‘Haggai’, 998.

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