God used two different prophets to deliver the same message to the reurning exiles from captivity. Let's look at the significance of this story.

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At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them. -- Ezra 5: 1-2 (NLT)

So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. The Temple was completed on March 12, during the sixth year of King Darius's reign. -- Ezra 6: 14-15 (NLT)

Sometimes the Old Testament can be a little confusing in the order and the overlap between historical records and the prophets that served during such times. Such is the case involving the return of the exiles from Babylon. Briefly to recap, after King Solomon died, the nation was permanently split into the ten northern tribes called Israel and the two remaining tribes called Judah. Israel had no righteous kings after Solomon's death and eventually God would use the Assyrian empire to scatter them permanently. Judah had a few kings who followed the Lord but many who did not and a hundred years following the loss of Israel, Judah was taken captive by the Babylonian Empire and Jerusalem was destroyed. For seventy years the exiles were held captive as they watched Babylon fall to the Persians. God then would prompt King Cyrus of Persia to allow some to return to their homeland. This is where we meet Ezra the Scribe, also known as Ezra the Priest, and find our key verses for today which highlight for us the relationship between the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Before we get there, let's finish the history.

The group that went back to Jerusalem was about 50,000 people. They returned with 5400 articles of gold and silver that had been taken from Solomon's Temple seventy years earlier. Worship was restored in Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the temple had begun. But some arose to oppose the rebuilding. Realize beloved that there will always be people arising in our lives to oppose the work we are doing for God. We cannot allow them to dissuade us. The remnant here however, stopped the work on the temple for about 15 years while they built their own homes and settled back into life as free men. God would send two prophets to speak to the people; Haggai and Zechariah. Eventually the people would get back to the work of God and finish the temple. Years later, King Artaxerxes would send his cupbearer, Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This is the first important point for us to consider today. The walls represent the protection for the people. Walls are necessary in our lives as there are always enemies to the work we will undertake for the Lord. The temple however is where the people would go to worship God. It is where they would go to offer sacrifices to God. The temple represents our relationship with God. For fifteen years the people ignored the temple, after only the foundation had been laid. They turned their focus to their own lives and God was pushed to the back burner. God would have to get their attention:

Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: "Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: Look at what's happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! -- Haggai 1: 3-6 (NLT)

Look at what is happening to you! Have we ever gotten to this place in our walk as well? Where we are seemingly never satisfied? Where our harvest seems meager and things have gone cold? It may be time to examine our relationship with the temple versus our relationship with our own paneled houses. God does not want second place in our lives beloved. Nothing can be right in our lives if our relationship is wrong. It can be a very long walk sometimes. It is easy to become distracted by life. Our career, family, or even ministry can require so much of our attention that the temple is falling into disrepair. We got that big promotion at work but we don't read the Bible every day anymore. We have our daily family time scheduled but no daily worship time. We make sure that everyone sees how committed we are in our ministry but if they only knew the lack of commitment in our prayer life. What we fail to realize is that it is the relationship with God that is more important in every area of our lives. The closer we are to God the better we can hear that still small voice when it comes to our career decisions. The family is strengthened by an active relationship with God. Ministries will only stand the test of time if they are rooted in God. Paneled houses may look nice but if they lack God they will not survive the storm:

But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash." -- Matthew 7: 26-27 (NLT)

We need to make sure the state of our temple is right before God. To get our attention God will use different people and different styles. Too often these days we see people espousing a "my way or the highway" mentality when it comes to their particular theological bent. As most know, I am a stickler for proper theology. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy to guard only two things -- his life and his doctrine. As a minister I am even more careful because one day I will stand before Jesus to explain what I did with the Gospel and every careless Word I uttered. Proper doctrine is crucial. That does not mean however that there is not room for differing styles for delivering the uncompromised Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have heard the lament from people that this preacher is too hard or that one is too soft. This one doesn't tell enough stories and that one tells too many. This one likes to run around a lot and that one is more of a stoic teacher. God made us all different but only one version of the Gospel. That means as long as the message is uncompromised, the messenger should not matter.

As if to prove this point, God sent two different prophets to preach to the remnant in Jerusalem at the time they had abandoned the rebuilding of the temple. One was Haggai and one was Zechariah. They preached at the same time and they had the same message -- get back to rebuilding the temple! But their styles were markedly different. Haggai did not mince words. He was the fire and brimstone pastor. He was Paul Washer:

"This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: Look at what's happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord . You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. It's because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. I have called for a drought on your fields and hills--a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get." -- Haggai 1: 7-11 (NLT)

Then Haggai responded, "That is how it is with this people and this nation, says the Lord . Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin. Look at what was happening to you before you began to lay the foundation of the Lord 's Temple. When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty.   I sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy everything you worked so hard to produce. Even so, you refused to return to me, says the Lord . -- Haggai 2: 14-17 (NLT)

For every Paul Washer there is a Charles Stanley, peaceful, serene, yet still preaching the Gospel. Zechariah was the Stanley to Haggai's Washer:

"I, the Lord , was very angry with your ancestors. Therefore, say to the people, "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies.' Don't be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.' -- Zechariah 1: 2-4 (NLT)

But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings. Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don't be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple! -- Zechariah 8: 11-13 (NLT)

The audience is the same. The time frame is the same. The message to finish the temple is the same. But the messengers are completely different. Haggai bringing down the thunder and Zechariah with the velvet gloves. I see some important considerations for us today. There are reasons God used these two different styles and why He still uses so many different styles today. The first consideration is that it is the message that is important -- not the messenger. If you are following a preacher that seems to make it all about him you need to run! It is all about Jesus Christ beloved. It is all about God and the temple He is building in each and every one of us. I remember at my old church there was a regular guest preacher that I simply felt I could not "get anything" from. Have you ever felt that way? Halfway through every sermon I would be lost. I prayed about it but God basically laid the problem at my feet. Every message can have something for us if we are truly listening, despite our prejudices or preferences. I have heard people say they cannot "get anything" if the person talks to slow or if they use the Old Testament too much. Or heaven forbid use a Bible other than the KJV! These are all stumbling blocks that we must fight through. We should go to every church service expecting to hear from God not dismissing the sermon based upon the messenger. We need to tune our ear to the still small voice inside of us and not the person standing before us. Once I readjusted my approach, I was always able to hear something from God when I heard that preacher speak. It wasn't her -- it was me.

The second consideration for us to consider is that God uses Haggai and Zechariah because sometimes we need the fire and brimstone and other times we need the encouraging teacher. If you look at the life of Jesus; He was not a cookie cutter preacher. He preached on love and forgiveness but also repentance and wrath. He healed the sick and cleared out the money-changers. God knows exactly where we are. He knows if we are so deep in the valley that we need to hear the promises of God to assure us to keep walking through. He also knows if we are backsliding and need a not so gentle reminder of what thus sayeth the Lord. This is what is so dangerous about some modern theologies that seek to pigeon hole God by wrapping Him up in hearts and cherubs or wrapping Him in barbed wire. Neither is Biblically correct because it is only half the picture. You cannot present Zechariah with Haggai.

Lastly, I believe the usage of both these prophets was so that we can learn to discern better the Gospel from false teaching. The same style would eventually sound like a droning. If we tend towards one style I think it is harder to spot heresy within that style. If we are pre-disposed to liking the preacher with the kumbya feeling then I think it becomes easier to accept compromise when it is presented in that manner to us. Same for the opposite. God was completely aware that we would always have a tendency to follow man instead of God. There is still way too much pastor worship going on in the modern church today. It becomes then about personality instead of God. How does someone with over 10,000 people following him like Rob Bell fall off the theological cliff like he did? Pride would be my bet but I am more concerned about the 10,000 people he left behind and whether they would just follow him off the same cliff.

After Zechariah and Haggai, God would send Nehemiah. He would have a vision from God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. That vision did not come to pass however until the temple had been rebuilt. People fall of theological cliffs or follow heretical pastors because they are too busy rebuilding the walls while the temple still lies in ruins. They are putting on outreaches, constructing new ministries, and packing the pews while the temple lies in ruins. Same goes for our individual walks. We can be the best dressed, lead   five ministries, and serve on the council but if our temple is lying in ruins -- we are not doing it for God. The walls can wait. The worries of this world can wait. Fix the temple first and watch Him God take care of the rest. After taking 16 years to rebuild the temple, God had Nehemiah complete the rebuilding of all the walls surrounding Jerusalem in just 52 days! When everything is right in the temple -- watch God move! Focus on the message and not the messenger. Amen, glory to God.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- September 4, 2012

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.