The second chapter of Haggai falls into 3 parts:
- God's promise for the here and now (the building)
- God's blessings
- God's promise for the future
In the first part of this chapter we see that God encourages His people to be strong and to work because He is with them(v3-4). He reminds us that everything is His (the silver and the gold is mine v8). And that the glory of this new building will be even greater than the former one. And that in this temple He will give His peace (v9).
In the second part we read that God wants to bless His people even though they were unfaithful to Him, disobedient - whatever they did, whatever they offered was defiled (v14). God tried to warn them by stricking all they did (v17) but they still did not turn to Him. But this parts ends with God saying: 'From this day on I will bless you' v(19).
The end of this chapter (and the book) Haggai gets the word of the Lord for the second time and in it God repeats what He has said before in chapter 2 v6-7. He warns them of a shaky time to come but that He will take His servant (Zerubbabel --> political leader of Judah)and make him like His signet ring because He has chosen Him (v23). (--> chosen, sent by God with God's authority)
During the CBS we had loads of different interesting inputs linking this book with different books in the bible (read Ezra 5&6; Matt 6 V33; Col. 3 v1&2; Josh. 1 v9; Rev. 3v14-17; John 15). It was really cool to see how important messages are repeated by God through His Word. This little book of Haggai is filled with great warnings, promises and blessings and teaches us a lot about priorities and action. As was said on the last CBS: "It's not because it are hard times that we can't offer anything - it are hard times because we don't offer what God really longs from us'.
We also pondered about what we could offer and someone said it was important to offer from the heart - not because you have to, but because you want to - you want to please your Creator because you Love Him. Another person said that it was OK to be in a period where you dont feel like you can offer anything much, meaning that there are different seasons in our lives; times where we are full of His presence and joy and times when we're working things out and are just not so sure. And that's OK.
Another person shared that He felt God wanted him to offer more of his time to God, another said it could by energy, money, studies, etc. It could be different depending on where you are at and what you are doing now.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
11-12-2009: Haggai chapter 1
The first chapter of Haggai falls into 2 parts:
- The command to build God's house (v1-v11)
- The people's obedience (v12-v15)
In the first part we see Haggai boldly explaining the situation to the Zerubbabel (Z.) the son of the governor of Judah and to Joshua (J.), the son of the high priest. He makes it clear that it is time to work on God's house instead of putting all the effort in building their own houses. v6 especially spoke to us:
'You have sown much, and bring in little, you eat, but do not have enough; you drink but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.
In the second part we see that the power of this confronting message impressed Z. and J. and the people and they aboyed the voice of the Lord and the words of Haggai as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared (respected) the presence of the Lord. After the step of obedience Haggai spoke God's next message to the people emphasizing that God was with them (v.13). In the last part of this chapter we see that God awakens/arouses/opens their eyes and they started to work on the temple.
- The command to build God's house (v1-v11)
- The people's obedience (v12-v15)
In the first part we see Haggai boldly explaining the situation to the Zerubbabel (Z.) the son of the governor of Judah and to Joshua (J.), the son of the high priest. He makes it clear that it is time to work on God's house instead of putting all the effort in building their own houses. v6 especially spoke to us:
'You have sown much, and bring in little, you eat, but do not have enough; you drink but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.
In the second part we see that the power of this confronting message impressed Z. and J. and the people and they aboyed the voice of the Lord and the words of Haggai as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared (respected) the presence of the Lord. After the step of obedience Haggai spoke God's next message to the people emphasizing that God was with them (v.13). In the last part of this chapter we see that God awakens/arouses/opens their eyes and they started to work on the temple.
Haggai
For our first cafe bible study we choose to turn to one of the prophets of the old testament called Haggai. It's a small book about the rebuilding of God's temple around 520 B.C. and is full of encouragement for a people who had been discouraged, dissatisfied and disinterested in putting God's will first in their lives.
Author: Haggai (meaning festive), was a prophet after the exile out of Babylon and lived during the same time as Zechariah. Haggai was a good encourager whose word was in tune with the hearts of the people and the mind of God, he was the Lord's messenger, bringing to discouraged people the assurance of God's presence.
Date: Haggai's ministry covered a period of slightly less than four months during the second year of the reign of Kind Darius, who ruled Persia from 522 BC to 486 BC.
Background: Haggai joined the exiles who had returned to their homeland in 536 BC to rebuild the temple of the Lord. They had started well, building an altar and offering sacrifices, then laying the foundation for the Lord's house the following year. Construction ceased however, as enemies mocked the builder's efforts. But the ministry opf Haggai and Zechariah caused the people to rally and complete the task within 5 years. The rebuilt temple was dedicated in 515 BC.
Source NKJV
Author: Haggai (meaning festive), was a prophet after the exile out of Babylon and lived during the same time as Zechariah. Haggai was a good encourager whose word was in tune with the hearts of the people and the mind of God, he was the Lord's messenger, bringing to discouraged people the assurance of God's presence.
Date: Haggai's ministry covered a period of slightly less than four months during the second year of the reign of Kind Darius, who ruled Persia from 522 BC to 486 BC.
Background: Haggai joined the exiles who had returned to their homeland in 536 BC to rebuild the temple of the Lord. They had started well, building an altar and offering sacrifices, then laying the foundation for the Lord's house the following year. Construction ceased however, as enemies mocked the builder's efforts. But the ministry opf Haggai and Zechariah caused the people to rally and complete the task within 5 years. The rebuilt temple was dedicated in 515 BC.
Source NKJV
When and where do we meet?
We try to meet up twice a month in a cosy cafe in Brussels where there is space to read and discuss the Word of God. Our next meeting will be at Cafe de l'Opera situated in the centre of Brussels right next to the opera house near the Brouckere.
Our next meeting will be on Friday April the 16th at 8pm at Cafe de l'Opera
Our next meeting will be on Friday April the 16th at 8pm at Cafe de l'Opera
Our aim
Our aim is to go deeper into God's Word as 'the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart' (Hebrews 4:12, NKJV).
We want to welcome you to join us if you have a desire to learn more about God through His Word. You can join us by coming to the cafe bible study or you can join us online through this blog. We will post the readings and the comments from the bible study and you can join us by reading the same chapter at home and adding to the discussing by using this forum.
We want to welcome you to join us if you have a desire to learn more about God through His Word. You can join us by coming to the cafe bible study or you can join us online through this blog. We will post the readings and the comments from the bible study and you can join us by reading the same chapter at home and adding to the discussing by using this forum.
What do we do?
We meet up in a enjoyable environment, take our bible with us and order a drink and maybe some food and then dig into the Word of God.
We long to have insight into God's Word and at the same time we want to keep it easy-going and maintain a relaxed atmosphere. We enjoy sharing with one and other because God speaks to all of us in different ways and as we listen to eachother we gain a bit more insight into who God is.
So... what do we do exactly? Well, we choose a book of the bible, do some digging around in it (Who's the author? What's the background? When was it written and why?...) and start by reading 1 chapter. Afterwards we share what has spoken to us in that chapter and any questions we might have or certain words that come back etc.
In order to get more insight into His Word we do some prepatory work at home so that we have already spend some study time in this chapter before coming together. We also advice people to go to BibleGateway and print out the chapter we will be discussing. In that way people can bring their own structure to the text, underline and highlight some words/phrases that stand out to them.
We recommend people to read the chapter that we discussed again at home and read the next chapter in preparation for our next meeting. If more insights or questions arose in the mean time, people are welcome to share them at the meeting or on this blog. In order to leave comments on the blog you will have to register by creating a gmail account.
We long to have insight into God's Word and at the same time we want to keep it easy-going and maintain a relaxed atmosphere. We enjoy sharing with one and other because God speaks to all of us in different ways and as we listen to eachother we gain a bit more insight into who God is.
So... what do we do exactly? Well, we choose a book of the bible, do some digging around in it (Who's the author? What's the background? When was it written and why?...) and start by reading 1 chapter. Afterwards we share what has spoken to us in that chapter and any questions we might have or certain words that come back etc.
In order to get more insight into His Word we do some prepatory work at home so that we have already spend some study time in this chapter before coming together. We also advice people to go to BibleGateway and print out the chapter we will be discussing. In that way people can bring their own structure to the text, underline and highlight some words/phrases that stand out to them.
We recommend people to read the chapter that we discussed again at home and read the next chapter in preparation for our next meeting. If more insights or questions arose in the mean time, people are welcome to share them at the meeting or on this blog. In order to leave comments on the blog you will have to register by creating a gmail account.
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