Presents
Pamphlet #4220
Presents
Pamphlet #4220
My Note: Is the seed yet in the barn?Ref. Scripture Haggai 2:19
Is the seed yet in the barn?
Scripture: Haggai 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
Complete text: Haggai 2:10 ¶In
the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius,
came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,
11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now
the priests concerning the law, saying,
12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt
of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine,
or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said,
No.
13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean
by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests
answered and said, It shall be unclean.
14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is
this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is
every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
15 And now, I pray you, consider from this
day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple
of the LORD:
16 Since those days were, when one came
to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the
pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but
twenty.
17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew
and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me,
saith the LORD.
18 Consider now from this day and upward,
from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that
the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it.
19 Is
the seed yet in the barn? yea, as
yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree,
hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
A spiritually dead priest or preacher can surely pollute the Word of God
and cause the sacrifice of others to be unclean.
[Is the seed yet in the barn?]Haggai 2:12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.
No matter who we are or what sacrifice we make,
neither you nor I have ANYTHING to do with the holiness
of the bread
or the pottage or the wine or the fruit or the oil,
understanding of course what those things represent spiritually.
So just because some priest or preacher
handles the Word of God,
that doesn't mean what he or she
is teaching is the truth.
On the contrary,
a spiritually dead priest or preacher
can surely pollute the Word of God
and cause the sacrifice of others
to be unclean.
[13] Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
That is the whole point,
i.e. the people have become spiritually
dead,
as we shall see in the next verse
when Haggai answers back.
Note: In the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, God uses graphic imagery to allow us to visualize this spiritually dead condition of our people. The prophet Ezekiel "sees" a valley full of "dry bones", symbolizing spiritually dead people, and he is told to teach "them dry bones" the Word of God, the breath of life, and life did enter into them and they stood up and lived (Ezek. 37:10). That valley is "this nation" (next vs. in Haggai), the true house of Israel. Ezekiel 37:11 "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts."
[14] Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
(Notice He does not call them "my people"... to emphasize that they are spiritually unclean indeed!)
So is this people, this whole nation, a bunch of "dead souls", i.e. spiritually dead.
However, you can be sure they do
not think they are spiritually dead
and that they think their works,
their polluted sacrifices upon
the altar,
will sanctify them and make them
whole.
The fact is though,
if you do not build your house
according to God's will,
according to His Word,
your good works become unclean,
even iniquitous.
Let's listen to Jesus Christ expound upon what we are learning here in Haggai:
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
These are present day Christians who say Lord, Lord, Praise the Lord.
If you want to attend the wedding "feast" of the true
Bridegroom,
you had better carefully "consider" the words of Christ,
even those He speaks through His servant Haggai.
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
In fact, most are so Biblically illiterate they do not even know what His will is!
That is not a criticism of our beloved brothers and sisters, but merely a statement of fact!
Having never been taught, they
do not know the difference between the holy and profane,
between God's Word and the traditions
of men!
They have eaten the polluted fruit
from the hands of so-called Christian ministers all their lives
and they truly and sincerely think
that their sacrifices and works will sanctify them.
Consider what Jesus Christ will say to these hard working Christians "in that day", the day of His return!
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
It is just that they are sorely
deceived by priests and preachers
who tell them Jesus is Lord all
right
but then proceed to pollute the
Word of God with the UNCLEAN traditions of men!
Is that not exactly what Christ said would happen in these last days?
Mark 13:5-6 "And Jesus answering them began to say,
Take heed
lest any man deceive you: [6]
For
many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and
shall
deceive many."
"Take heed" is "blepo" in Greek which means to "consider carefully".
It is used 5 times in Mark 13 just as "consider" is used
5 times in the Book of Haggai
whose message is to be wise and "consider carefully"
your ways and the way in which you build God's house!
You see, your foundation had
better be built upon the Rock of His Word
or you are in big trouble when
the "mighty shakings" come!
[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Again, that foundation upon which we must build His house is Jesus Christ, the Word of God.
Take Heed!
Consider!
Haggai 2:15 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:
Consider the time and where you go from here!
Also, you who have eyes to see and
ears to hear
consider how things were before
a stone was laid,
i.e. before you "came out of confusion
(Babylon)" as one like Zerubbabel,
whose name means "sown or born
in babel"! Remember?
[16] Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.
You see, if one does not labor
according to His ways,
holding fast to His righteousness,
i.e. His Holy Word, using the straight
and true plumbline when building His house,
just like Zerubbabel did which
we shall learn about in Zech. 4:10 concerning God's elect,
then the LORD will not bless you.
Moreover, He will even curse the filthy "works of your hands".
The next verse documents it for us.
[17] I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.
God will send the pestilence and allow the "locusts" to come and consume all your gardens and vineyards and fig trees and olive trees.
Take Heed!
Consider!
Which do you choose, Feast or Famine, Blessings or Cursings?
Deut. 30:19 "I call heaven and earth
to record
this day against you,
that I have set before you life
and death, blessing and cursing:
therefore choose life, that both
thou and thy seed may live."
Amos 4:9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
NO!
By turning to His WORD!
Yes!
Haggai 2:18 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it.
Think long and hard about it!
Take personal inventory!
How productive have the temple workers been?
According to Rev. 7:1-4 we still have work to do and you know what?
We learn from this great Book of
Haggai
that the LORD has promised to BE
WITH US to the end
and He has also promised to BLESS
US if
we do the job according to His will.
You see, for God's elect, His servants,
there need never be famine,
for at His table there is always
a "feast"!
Do not participate in the famine of the end times!
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Eat heartily and then get to work (see Ezek. 3:1).
Haggai 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
Again, the choice is yours... Feast or Famine!
The work which lies
ahead of us is to make sure the seed,
His Word,
is
no longer left in the barn!
We must take it out and make sure it gets sown and planted among our brothers and sisters!
First however, we must make sure
we study His Word
and know the difference between
that which is holy and that which is profane
in order that we can discern
between the clean and the unclean.
Else how can we teach others?
[Is the seed yet in the barn?]
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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