THE PATH OF RECOVERY: HAGGAI’S PROPHECY

Richard M. Brown

While I recognise the present ruined state of the church of God, and bow to the consequences of God's government of His people, and though I see from the Scriptures that lukewarmness is the last state of the church publicly, one’s earnest longing and constant prayer is that there might be a return to the devotedness and committal that marked Christians at the beginning, even if it be amongst only a few – because the Lord is about to return. But the question before the minds of godly souls is how this is to be brought about. How are Christians to be weaned away from the things of the world to answer to their place as the heavenly bride of Christ, faithfully witnessing to Him here, while looking out for Him to come at any moment? We need reviving. And while such a work is God's own, it is clear from the Scriptures that it requires that subjective state in the saints that recognises the need for it. It is this one seeks to awaken.

The book of Haggai is striking because it bears on a time in the history of God's earthly people very much like our own, and for the way it sets out so clearly the moral process in us that must form the basis of any revival of God's work amongst us. Haggai's prophecy addresses those who, like ourselves, were in touch with a great work of recovery. They had returned out of captivity to Jerusalem, but the initial enthusiasm for the work had subsided, and the temple remained unfinished.

It is noteworthy that Haggai makes no mention of the external enemies who had hindered the work (see Ezra 4). This establishes an important point. While we can see that the opposition incited by the Jews' enemies was the immediate reason why the building work ceased, Haggai shows that the underlying cause was a state of complacency with the people themselves. It is a question whether this finds its parallel in our own day. Some may say that the present condition of things is the result of the crises which have taken place within the last forty years. Undoubtedly we must recognise and bow to the consequences of God's governmental dealings with us. But I would venture to suggest that the crises were merely symptomatic of a deeper malaise, that of moral and spiritual weakness. The vigour and freshness that marked the recovery of the truth in the last century, where people were gripped by the light presented to them, had waned: truths such as the body of Christ being the true church of God, the presence and operations of the Holy Spirit here on earth, the imminent rapture of the saints, the millennial reign of Christ and the future restoration of Israel, had, perhaps, become commonplace, and no longer produced the manner of life that had gathered souls out of the various religious bodies of Christendom, often with much personal sacrifice and accompanied by considerable reproach, to meet on scriptural lines alone.

It would appear that the people in Haggai's time, having lost their initial fervour, lost too their appreciation of God's house, with the result that they had become more concerned with their personal comfort than by what was due to God. The prophet asks: "Is it time for you that ye should dwell in your wainscoted houses, while this house lieth waste?" Then, as a true prophet, he not only thus exposes their state, but he also presents them with the remedy. If we desire a word from God we must be prepared for the searching it brings (it would not be God’s word without this), but if our hearts are right we shall find that it shows us the way forward. So Haggai sets out in three simple steps the path of recovery. In chapter 1 verse 5, God through His prophet appeals to His people to arrive at an honest assessment of their state. In chapter 2 verse 5 He draws attention to what evidences there were of His presence among them; and in verse 9 He brings them back to the purpose of God. Let us look at each in turn.

“Consider your ways”

One discerns increasing concern with exercised persons about the advance of worldliness amongst us. This concern is right as far as it goes. The next thing to see is that when the people of God own in humility before the Lord our generally low spiritual state, and our responsibility for it, this will provide Him with a basis to come in and revive His work amongst us, should it please Him to do so. Therefore the first step to recovery is to arrive at a sober judgment of our present state.

Some may say that they have never known anything different from what obtains at present, whereas God would have us judge the present by what there was at the beginning. Let us therefore ask: If the Acts of the Apostles sets out what is normal Christian experience, are we really satisfied with what we have today, with the lukewarmness, the worldliness etc.? It says that "they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers. And fear was upon every soul, and many wonders and signs took place through the apostles' means. And all that believed were together, and had all things common, and sold their possessions and substance, and distributed them to all, according as any had need. And every day, being constantly in the temple with one accord, and breaking bread in the house, they received their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people; and the Lord added to the assembly daily those that were to be saved."

Where today is the devotion, the separation, the sacrifice, the unity, the brightness of testimony, that marked God's people at the beginning? Where is the love of the truth, and the earnest desire to be faithful to it? Where are the distinctive gifts which Christ has given to edify His church? If you do not see these things, dear reader, the question is, why? How do we account for the apparent lack of results from our gospel preachings? The prophet says: "Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but are not satisfied; ye drink, but are not filled; ye clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages for a bag with holes." They were going through the motions, doing what they had always done, but were not prospering – a form of piety, perhaps, but denying the power of it.

Similarly, when the Lord addressed Ephesus in Revelation 2, very little had changed outwardly. They were still going on with the exalted truths ministered to them by the apostle Paul. They were still doing the same things: working, labouring, enduring, and not becoming wearied. Yet something had changed, something which perhaps only the Lord and those near Him could discern, since He refers to their fall and asks them to repent. They had left their first love. Though little might have changed outwardly, it was nevertheless motives other than love for Christ that now moved them. Herein lies the root of the church's defection. As it succumbed to the world, the church professed that Christ was not sufficient for it.

Now, the responsibility before God for the present state of the church is that of all those who comprise it. Having received the forgiveness of sins and been sealed with the Holy Spirit we become part of God's house, and as such, we are responsible for its present condition. It is important to see that responsibility for specific acts is something else, and may only apply to certain persons. But if we are not responsible for the sins of our fathers, we are responsible for the state which those sins have produced. The Scriptures afford us with examples, such as the word to Belshazzar (see Dan 5: 22), the Lord’s words to the Jews (see Luke 11: 49-51), and Stephen’s address in Acts 7, where persons’ knowledge of God’s past dealings with His people forms the ground of His judgment of them in the present. Thus, when we speak of state, it is the responsibility of all.

So Daniel confessed his sin, and the sin of his people. They were the same thing. He accepted the sin of his people as his own, and bore it in humility before God (see also Ezra 9 and Nehemiah 1). Consider how the Lord would love to identify Himself with persons who take this ground, and in such a day, when all seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ. Who is able to enter in to how the ruin has affected Him? Who can share sympathetically His own feelings about what has befallen His beloved church? Who feels the blow that has been dealt to the glory of God, the occasion that has been given to His enemies, those “haters of Jehovah”, who compare what the church was at the beginning, the glory in which it was first set up and the powers with which it was invested, with what there is today, and ask, "Where is thy God?" If we think of recent assembly history, who feels the shame and sorrow of the departure that has come even into the recovery of the truth? Above all, what must it mean to the Lord Jesus, just at the moment when He is about to return to receive His heavenly bride to be with Himself, that many of those who form it are preoccupied with the pursuits of the very world that put Him to death! If He could weep over Jerusalem, what must He feel about that which is even nearer to His heart?

The important point is that there can be no recovery without repentance else it would appear that God sanctions the departure. The importance of self-judgment is that it opens the door for His intervention, and leaves Him free to do what He loves. Thus God was quick to identify Himself with Daniel, and give him fresh light and strength for his path. Indeed, in one sense, He had an obligation to do so, having bound Himself to hear the prayer of His people in captivity long before they fell into that predicament (Deut. 30 & 2 Chron. 6); and I believe we must take this ground ourselves, and acknowledge the rightness of His hand in discipline upon us, if the Lord is in anyway to be free to revive His work amongst us, even if it be with only a few. Have we the courage for it?

“The Word … and my Spirit, remain among you”

There will never be a restoration publicly of the condition of things that existed in the time of the Acts. This could not be. It is an abiding principle of God's ways dispensationally that He never restores to its original state what once has failed on the ground of responsibility. This was as true for the Jewish remnant brought back to Jerusalem in Ezra's time, as it is for those who seek to walk in the light of the assembly today. It is important therefore, if there is to be any true recovery, to see what is possible in the present conditions, by taking account of those resources that God has vouchsafed to His people in spite of the conditions. He says: "The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit, remain among you: fear ye not." This is both a comment on the ruin and a testimony to the faithfulness of God. On the one hand, there was no ark; there was no re-establishment of the throne at Jerusalem; which previously had represented the public connection of the people to God. Yet, on the other, the word and God's Spirit remained – in spite of that long catalogue of the people's failures, and those years in captivity – what a God! And so it is for us, dear brethren. There will never be the public manifestation of the unity of the one body since the Lord removed the church's lamp out of its place. But although the church will never be restored to that pristine state in which it was first established, and although its last state publicly is one of lukewarmness, for those who have the heart for it, the word of God and His Holy Spirit remain.

Thus the basis of every true recovery has been a return to the word of God. It is the means by which we can judge where there has been departure, in order that we might "put away the strange gods" from amongst us. I would affirm that there can be no revival until the Holy Scriptures have complete authority over us. That is, not only assenting to the wonderful heavenly side of the truth, but also simple obedience to the instructions given therein as to personal holiness, as to our deportment and dress, and as to all our associations of life. Without this practical application of the word there is the danger that ground which may have been right as far as the principles are concerned is denied in practice. May we ever remember that the truth is maintained by Christians who practice it.

In addition to this there is the presence and operations of the Holy Spirit. The distinctive feature of this dispensation is the abiding presence of one divine Person in the assembly. When the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost He not only sat upon each individual, but He "filled all the house where they were sitting." The Spirit thus claimed a sphere in which to commence His operations. A definite circle was marked out by Him. I believe this circle exists today. To suggest otherwise would be to imply that the Holy Spirit has been unable to maintain what He took possession of at the outset. Furthermore, from Revelation 2 and 3 we learn that the Spirit will continue to address the assemblies up until the end of this dispensation. The challenge is as to who will hear Him. It is easy to go on without Him for He is easily quenched. It is not difficult to see how His presence has been usurped in the church publicly. Less obvious, but no less fatal, is when His presence is withdrawn from those who have known what it is to walk in the truth, but who remain unaware of it because their spiritual sensibilities have become dulled by constant compromise. It says of one that “he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him”, Judges 16: 20. It ought to be a vital concern, therefore, and a matter of much prayer, as to how we can be maintained in touch with the present activities of the Holy Spirit, and those He is guiding into all the truth. The working out of the truth of the one body is very distinctly connected with His Person, as in 1 Corinthians 12: 13 and Ephesians 4: 4 for example.

Now the point to be reached is this: that the privileges belonging to the body of Christ can be known and enjoyed by a few who, while accepting responsibility and suffering for the failure of the whole are maintained in subjection to God's word, and in dependence on the Holy Spirit. This is not ground to be presumed, but is to be arrived at by those who have taken the moral road to it. This was proved by those in Nehemiah's day, who reached a height of things never known even in the time of David and Solomon (Neh 8: 17). It was proved by those Christians first recovered to assembly light in the century; and it is open to us, dear brethren, in the very midst of the breakdown, to provide something precious to the heart of the Lord Jesus just before He returns to catch us away to be with Himself.

“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former”

As the people responded to Haggai's word and applied themselves to the building work they proved the reality of that principle set forth in the life of Abraham, that as one answers to divine light and takes the consequent step in faith, more light is given. Thus God through His prophet lets them in to the wonderful secret of His purpose regarding His house. "The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts." Could this be true? With Jerusalem in ruins, surrounded by enemies without, afflicted by weakness within, who would have dared suggest such a thing? Yet because God's glory is so inextricably bound up with the welfare of His beloved people He will act Himself to vindicate the glory of His name, and bless them in so doing; and because He cannot be hindered in any of His thoughts the end will demonstrate that there has been no loss to Him or them. Rather the opposite: the latter glory will be greater.

So in Ephesians 1 we see, firstly, that God's purpose is to head up all things in the Christ, and secondly, that Christ’s headship will not be complete without the assembly. The Son has been established heir of all things, they having been created by Him and for Him. Every true heart would readily declare that He is worthy of such distinction, and rejoice in God's purpose that He must have the first place in all things. But a further thought, and no less blessed, is that the church shares in His exaltation, with everything predicated of Him as Man. Thus we are called to form His body, united to Him and one another by the Holy Spirit, to be with Him in glory and share in His dominion.

This is precious light, to be cherished in the hearts and enjoyed by those who, while feeling the ruin, seek to answer to God's thoughts about them now. It is remarkable that there should be almost as many references to what is "in Christ Jesus" in Paul's second epistle to Timothy, written in the light of the breakdown, as there are in his epistle to the Ephesians, which presents the very height of the truth. It is the knowledge that all will find its consummation in glory that helps us to be committed to the work. The very smallness of conditions and the apparent lack of results often weary those who are not in the enjoyment of God's purpose. But every act of faithfulness is treasured up by God. When the heavenly Jerusalem comes down out of heaven, “having the glory of God” it is not only adorned with gold, speaking of what it has acquired through occupying the place nearest to divine Persons; but also with pearls, which might suggest what has been wrought in the saints through suffering. That is where you and I come in, dear reader. We who live in the day of small things have an opportunity through committal to the interests of Christ here of contributing something to that illustrious vessel which, in its latter glory, will not only be at the centre of all that is for God's praise, but will also be His eternal dwelling-place. "So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."

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When God brought that tiny remnant back to Jerusalem He had something far greater in view than the blessing of those immediately concerned. The Messiah was coming; and God's people were to be in their appointed place to receive Him. How much more so today when the Bridegroom is coming, should there not be those who, with true bridal affection are watching for Him, and with the Spirit can say, "Come"? The Gospels show that when the Messiah arrived there were only a very few who, having entered into God's thoughts about Him, were able to receive Him. If it must be only a few today then so be it. But if it must be a smaller testimony let it be a brighter one. Let us seek the strength and support from the Lord needed to renounce the world, and to take our place in suffering with Him now, in the happy knowledge that we shall be glorified with Him then.

 

R.M.Brown

EAST FINCHLEY

October 1997