Lesson # 6

Zephaniah & Haggai

Scripture Readings:

Day 1: Zephaniah 1

Day 2: Zephaniah 2

Day 3: Zephaniah 3

Day 4: Haggai 1

Day 5: Haggai 2

1. I will __________ _________ ____ ________from off the land, saith the _______. I will consume _____ _____ _______; I will consume the ________ ___ _________, and the _______ ___ _____ _____, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will _____ _____ _____ from off the land, saith the LORD. 1:2-3

2. Creation itself suffers because of man’s sin. What does Hosea 4:3 say?____________

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Such harsh judgment! The Lord is furious with His people! What sins were the people involved in? Many of the same sins that are prevalent today. They worshiped Baal. We worship football. (You and I are not included in this we, I hope!) They carved and sculpted gods and then made offerings to them. We wave flags, paint our faces, and wear our lucky socks. Baal was considered the god of agriculture. Peyton Manning and Brian Urlacher are considered gods of football. Their sacrifices and rituals were conducted in hopes of plentiful crops. Our rituals are in hopes of a Super Bowl victory! (*See note at the end of the lesson.) They also worshiped the sun, moon, stars and planets. We might read our horoscopes or dial-a-psychic. What might even worse than all of this? They lumped in the Most High God with all of these insignificant, created gods!

3. And them that worship the ______ ___ ________ upon the housetops; and them that worship and that _______ ___ _____ _______, and that swear by ___________;

1:5 They were double-minded!

4. What did the inspired James say about a double-minded man?__________________

_____________________________________________________________ James 1:8

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. 1:7 In a previous lesson we discussed the day of the Lord. We learned the day of the Lord, found throughout the scriptures refers to both impending historical judgments from God and to His final judgment at the end of the world. This particular day of the Lord was coming up fast. Habakkuk 3:2

5. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. 1:8 What might be the significance of this verse? __________________________________

6. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will ________ ____________ _______

_________, and _________ _____ _____ that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will _____ ___ ______, neither will he ___ ______. 1:12

7. What are some of the judgments that would befall the complacent men of Judah? 1:13ff_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. He hath shewed thee, O man, _______ ___ ______; and what doth the ________ __________ of thee, but to do _________, and to love ________, and to walk _________ with thy God? Micah 6:8

9. Who is judgment being pronounced against in Zephaniah 2:4,5,8,9,12,13__________

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10. Who is the remnant that will inhabit the sea coast? 2:6-7______________________

11. Woe is pronounced against Jerusalem. 3:1-6 What did God accuse her of?_________

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God did not give up on the Nations, nor did He give up on Israel! For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. Zephaniah 3:9-10 They needed a pure language (a picture of what is in the heart) to glorify God. James. 3:10, Matthew 15:11 God wanted the Nations to be converted and Israel to be restored. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

12. ______, O daughter of ______; shout, O _________; be ______ and __________ with all the ________, O daughter of _____________. The LORD hath _________ _______ thy _______________, he hath cast out ________ ________: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. Zephaniah 3:14-15

This book has given me so much hope! I pray that each of you have gleaned from this study as I have and that we will make the necessary applications to our own lives. I am so grateful for a long-suffering God!

Haggai

All that we know about Haggai is found in found in the first verse of the book bearing his name. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,… 1:1 He is the tenth of the Minor Prophets, and the first to prophesy after the Babylonian captivity. He name means Festal and might imply that he was born on a festival day.

1. Thus speaketh the _______ ___ ______, saying, This people say, The ______ is ____ ______, the time that the ________ _______should be _________. Then came the ______ ___ _____ _______ by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your _______ _________, and ______ ________lie waste?

2. The NKJV translates ceiled houses as paneled houses. What is the idea here and what house was lying in waste?__________________________________________________

Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Haggai 1:5-6 It seems God is saying, “What is your purpose in life? You go to work, but don’t make ends meet. You eat and drink, but are still hungry and thirsty, etc. I will tell you what your purpose is. You should be about My business!” Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. 1:7-9 God continues on with letting the people know that He has withheld blessings from them, even caused drought because they have not rebuilt the temple. 1:10-11

3. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, ______ ____ the _________ of the ________, ________ the voice of the ________ their ______, and the words of ___________ the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the _________. Haggai 1:12

4. After the people feared and obeyed the Lord, Haggai speaks to the people: I am with you, saith the LORD. 1:13 Was God’s being with them conditional? Explain your answer:

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? 2:3 Rebuilding the Temple of the Lord was a tall order. The people could easily become discouraged if they were to compare their work to the Temple that Solomon built. Josephus indicates that Solomon’s temple was 120 cubits in height, and the rebuilt temple was only 60 cubits tall. Six hundred talents of gold (perhaps ten million dollars) were spent in ornamenting the holy of holies in Solomon’s edifice; no such funds were available for the structure (see Coffman, p. 200) Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:2:4 What could be more comforting than the Lord saying I am with you?

According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. 2:5 More comfort! More encouragement! Exodus 29:45-46, Numbers 11:17

5. The ______ of this _________ ________ shall be greater than of the __________, saith the _______ of ________: and in this place will I give _______, saith the _______ of hosts. 2:9

6. We know that the rebuilt temple was not more ornate than Solomon’s. How then would the latter house be greater than the former? What peace was/is given? Consider

1 Timothy 3:15:__________________________________________________________

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7. What convicting question is posed in 2:12? __________________________________

And in 2:13?_____________________________________________________________

Haggai 2:18-19

8. Why might God be promising to bless them from this day?______________________

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In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts. 2:23 “The people are now back in their homeland and Jehovah has assured them of temporal blessings, of the overthrow of the heathen, and of the spiritual promise through Zerubbabel. The honor bestowed on Zerubbabel was not realized in him as a person, but in his office and lineage. Matthew confirms the fullfillment of this promise as he point out that Jesus is the heir to the throne of David through Coniah and Zerubbabel (1:12,16) ( Hailey, p.315).

Have a wonderful week!

Jenni