Haggai 1 Camp 2014 Talk 1

Haggai: Building for God Talk 1

Bethshan Conference Centre Wyee
IHG Church Camp Jan 2014

Historical background:

If you have ever read the Book of Daniel you learn that God’s people the Jews had fallen into sin and God used the Babylonians to judge God’s people.

The Jewish nation had been divided into two Kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.

The Southern kingdom was known as Judah
Thousands of people from Judah were deported and taken to Babylon in three stages.
Thousands of people lost their homeland and were forced to live in a Pagan country.

In the time of captivity we read the stories of Daniel and his three friends.
Jeremiah had prophecised that the nation would be in captivity for 70 years.

Eventually the King of Persia issued a decree to say that the people of God could return to their land.
God raised up Cyrus of Persia who allowed the Jews to return to the land under the leadership of Zerubbabel to rebuild the Temple.

Babylon was not meant to be the nation’s permanent home.
God used the captivity of the Jews in Babylon to discipline the nation.

God had ANOTHER city for His people to live in and God had a Temple for his people to rebuild.
You know I think we can be a bit like God’s people in Babylon.
It can be tempting to forget where our real home is.
We can get so tied up in this world that we can forget that Heaven is our real home.
It is so easy to get caught up in this (Babylon), this material world and it is easy to forget that God wants us to be building for Him and not just ourselves.

In the book of Haggai God’s people had an unfinished project, it was the Temple of God.