Haggai V: Faith

By Pastor Jason Unzicker

Do you have the right kind of faith? Hi, I’m Jason Unzicker, Pastor of Oak Street Baptist Church speaking to you from the prophet Haggai today as we continue our study of this book.

Now, you will remember that the book of Haggai is a unique book in the Old Testament. Rather than simply describing the acts and events of God’s people at that time in history, this book also describes the condition of the people’s hearts and their relationship with God. We find very early in the book that although the people are allowed to return from exile to Jerusalem, they were not willing to serve and obey the Lord.

The reason for their return was primarily to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, but the people spent 20 years building their own houses and attending only to their own affairs. This is when God used the prophet Haggai to rebuke the people about their rebellion against God, and through Haggai’s preaching, which displayed the power of the Lord, the people repented and began to obey God. Finally, the work of rebuilding the temple began.

However, although the work was being done, and aside from a little discouragement, it was being done very well, the people were still not pleasing the Lord. Oh, they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. They were laying the foundation of the temple, and they were even offering sacrifices to God on the altar. But something was wrong. Something was missing from their offerings, something was missing to such an extent that God was offended by their actions and he rejected their offerings.

God stated it this way as he spoke through the prophet Haggai in chapter 2 and verse 14, saying “Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled, says the Lord Almighty.”

The picture we are given is that of Haggai preaching to all the people as he stood on the construction site of the temple, and then as he declares the Lord’s words, he points at the altar where offerings are made and as he points he says, “whatever you offer here, is defiled.”

The problem was that the people were making offerings to the Lord, but they had no faith. Scripture tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, and God was not pleased with their offerings. He rejected them as unclean, unholy and defiled—all because they were not offered in faith.

You see, they thought the act of the offering itself was enough. They thought that if they were faithful to sacrifice at just the right times, just as the law requires, then, they would be forgiven of their sin and made clean. What they were really doing was placing their faith in themselves and their offerings rather than in God.

Now, you and I know that scripture shows us that we are all sinners and that nothing we do can take away the offense of our sin in God’s sight. We can’t offer enough things to God; we can’t do enough good works to cover over our sin. We need a different offering—a sacrifice offered by someone else, someone who was sinless, someone who has the ability to forgive our sins and grant eternal life.

That someone is Jesus Christ and his act of sacrifice on the Cross.

If you are realizing for the first time today, that your life has been void of faith—that you have been making offerings to the Lord, but have not offered them in faith. Now is the time to trust in Christ’s offering, his sacrifice, rather than your own. He is the only one who can forgive your sin, cleanse your heart, and make your life an acceptable offering to the Lord.

Until next time, this is Pastor Jason Unzicker reminding you to live this day for God and for his glory alone.