Let's begin tonight in Isaiah
chapter 44. The year was 536 B.C. The Jews had been in Babylonian
captivity for 70 years. First Nebuchadnezzar, then his
cruel son, than his even more cruel grandson had held them
in bondage. Finally, the day came when Darius
the Mede and Cyrus the Persian overthrew Babylon. Cyrus turned
out to be the man that God had chosen in eternity to return
the Jews to their homeland and restore the temple. This man
Cyrus was not a believer, He did not know and did not worship
God. He was a pagan, heathen man. But this man Cyrus, the great,
mighty Persian king, was putty in the hands of God. Just putty in the hands of God. The God of glory controlled Cyrus
absolutely controlled his thoughts, the emotions of his heart, and
the deeds of his hand. 150 years before Cyrus was born,
the Lord did something that stands to me as a glaring demonstration
of the inspiration of Holy Scripture. He gave a specific prophecy. You'll see that when you read
the scriptures and prophecies are made, the prophecies are
somewhat different than the prophecies of these charismatic Pentecostal
preteen prophets of our day. You know, they make very general
prophecies. You know, I see somebody who's
got hair on their head. I see somebody who may have a
little pain in their bodies. That's not prophecy. That's fleecing
sheep. God made a very specific prophecy
by his prophet Isaiah concerning this man Cyrus. He declared that
this unbelieving king, this pagan named Cyrus, would be raised
up to deliver his people from Babylon. That this pagan king
named Cyrus would send his people back to Jerusalem, rebuild his
temple, and revive the worship of God in Israel. Let's see it. Isaiah 44 verse 28. God says of Cyrus, are you there? God says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd
and shall perform all my pleasure. He uses this man Cyrus as a type
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is my shepherd and shall perform
all my pleasure. Even saying to Jerusalem, thou
shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid.
Thus saith the Lord, Isaiah 45, verse 1. Thus saith the Lord
to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue
nations before him. And I will loose the loins of
kings to open before him the two lead gates, and the gates
shall not be shut. I will go before thee and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass and cut and sunder the bars of iron. And I will give
thee the treasures of darkness and hidden treasures of secret
places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord which call thee
by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant's sake.
and Israel mine elect. I have even called thee by thy
name. I have surnamed thee, though
thou hast not known me." What a remarkable prophecy. This is
written 150 years before Cyrus' mama named her baby boy. God
speaks specifically. This man, Cyrus, raised in idolatry,
was ordained by God Almighty to be his shepherd and to lead
his children home. At last, the hour came. Cyrus
had become ruler of the nation that held Israel captive. Some
historians tell us that Cyrus was a kind, benevolent man whose
heart broke for the captive Jews, maybe. Others picture him as
a haughty, cruel, bloodthirsty tyrant, more likely. It really
doesn't matter. The God of eternity chose this
heathen king to be the deliverer of his people and makes this
heathen king as certainly a judge and deliverer in Israel as he
did Samson or Gideon of old. Turn to the book of Ezra, chapter
1. Here we read about the decree of this man Cyrus, this king
of Persia in the first year. In order to fulfill the word
of the Lord spoken by his prophet Jeremiah, the Lord moved Cyrus
the king of Persia to make a proclamation, a proclamation throughout all
his land and put it in writing so that it could not be repealed.
Ezra 1 verse 1. Now in the first year of Cyrus,
king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus,
king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all
his kingdom and put it in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, king
of Persia, the Lord God of heaven. Imagine a Persian king writing
like that. The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms
of the earth. And he hath charged me to build
him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Now, remember who
this fellow is. This is Cyrus, the king of Persia,
the king of Babylon. This would be just about equivalent
to taking the Saudi prince and him giving a decree for the building
of the temple at Jerusalem and establishing the Jews permanently
as the residents of the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants
and the rightful possessors of the land of Israel. Cyrus, this
king. He says, God made me the greatest
king in the world so that I would build a house for him in Jerusalem
and revive his worship in Israel. Verse 3, Who is there among you
of all this people, of all these Jews? His God be with him. And let him go up to Jerusalem,
which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of
Israel. He is the God which is at Jerusalem, or in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any
place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him
with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts,
besides a freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Now here's the long and short
of that. The Jews who were held in bondage in Babylon for 70
years were suddenly free to go home. Can you imagine? what must have gone on inside
those folks. Try to picture what people feel
in circumstances. Can you imagine after all those
years of tyranny and oppression and bondage behind the Great
Wall separating the Germanys, those people in the East, what
they must have felt when that wall came tumbling down and they
were free to leave. go back and forth across the
border, visit family and friends they hadn't seen in 40, 50 years. That must be something like these
Jews felt. They're free now to go home.
Not only to go back to Jerusalem, but those who chose not to go
are required by the king of Persia to make a contribution out of
their own pockets to help the ones who go, go back to Jerusalem.
Besides that, they were to take up a freewill offering among
the people for the rebuilding of the temple. Cyrus then took
all the valuables, all the treasures that Nebuchadnezzar had taken
from Jerusalem, and he gives them back to the children of
Israel. A thousand gold trays, a thousand silver trays, thousands
of miscellaneous things, and all five thousand gold and silver
items are returned to the people for the building again of the
house of God. In Ezra chapter 2, you can look
at it later, verses 1 and 2, the Spirit of God lists the numbers
and names the groups of people who returned at this time to
the land of Israel. And names two people specifically.
Joshua, the son of Josedek. Now he is the grandson of the
great priest in Israel that Nebuchadnezzar had killed. And he restores Joshua
to the priesthood. This makes him typical of our
Lord Jesus, our great Joshua, the high priest, the great high
priest of God's Israel. And then a man by the name of
Zerubbabel. This man is in the direct lineage
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's the great grandfather of
our Savior. Zerubbabel was chosen by Cyrus,
chosen by our God to be the governor of the New Jerusalem. This man,
Zerubbabel, is held before us in Scripture like Joshua, the
priest. He's held before us as a magnificent
type of our Lord Jesus Christ, and an instructive type he is.
The picture is so, so delightful. Zerubbabel is named, the name
Zerubbabel is used in the Scriptures referring to Christ specifically,
just as our Lord is called David, he's called Zerubbabel. Just
as David was in the lineage of Christ, Zerubbabel is in the
lineage of Christ. But Zerubbabel is named by Cyrus
to be the governor of the newly built city of Jerusalem. Zerubbabel
is named by Cyrus to be the man whose responsibility it is, whose
charge it is, to build again the house of God. Now, God's
last message to his prophet Haggai is a message specifically to
Zerubbabel. This is a message specifically
to our Savior. When you read the Scriptures,
that shouldn't surprise you. Often in the Psalms, you'll find
Psalms where there's a message from God to our Savior, our Mediator,
our Redeemer, the King. We're called upon to pray for
the King. Our Lord Jesus is frequently addressed in the prophets, by
the prophets themselves. And here, this Zerubbabel is
addressed by Haggai in the closing words of Haggai chapter 2, beginning
in verse 20. Again, the word of the Lord came
to Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month. That's the
same day mentioned in verse 10. You mean this fellow actually
preached twice in one day? He sure did. He had a message
from God in the morning, had another in the evening, a message
to the priesthood of God's Israel in the first part of the day,
and now a message to Christ the great priest. Again, the word
of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day
of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah,
saying, I will shake the heaven the heavens and the earth. I
will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy
the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen. And I will overthrow
the chariots and those that ride in them, and the horses and their
riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, I will take thee, O Zerubbabel,
my servant, the son of Sheateel, saith the Lord, and will make
thee a signet. For I have chosen thee, saith
the Lord of hosts. Three times in verse 23, we're
told that this message is the message of Jehovah, the Lord
of hosts, to Zerubbabel. The message of the triune God
to Zerubbabel. The message of Jehovah the Father,
Jehovah the Son, and Jehovah the Spirit to Christ the Mediator,
our Savior and our Redeemer. Haggai is commissioned then to
close his prophecy with a particular and special message to Zerubbabel. a particular special message
to the governor of Judah who is set here before us as a type
of the Lord Jesus. Now it will be obvious to any
who take the time to compare scripture with scripture that
it is the intent of the Holy Spirit that we read the words
of Haggai as the words of the triune God to our divine mediator. Let me show you plainly the shaking
of heaven and earth. refers to the overthrow of Satan's
kingdom and power. It refers to the overthrow of
heathen idolatry and all that opposes Christ and the blessed
gospel of God's grace in him. Our Lord Jesus overthrew Satan's
kingdom. He said, now is the prince of
this world cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, will
draw all men unto me. He's described in Revelation
20 as that mighty angel who comes down from heaven having a great
chain with which he bound the old serpent and cast him into
the bottomless pit. Our Lord Jesus overthrew Satan's
influence among men, fulfilling and ending all the legal ceremonies
of the Old Testament, of the Old Covenant, those things by
which Christ was portrayed and redemption was pictured. He did
so by abrogating and abolishing all the traditions that the Jews
had invented, and by exposing and destroying the idolatrous
superstitions of men. Our Lord Jesus comes in the power
of his saving grace and he shakes heaven and earth in the soul's
experience of every chosen sinner when he calls him by his grace.
He causes those strongholds of men's hearts where Satan has
entrenched himself to become the stronghold of God. He binds
the strong man and cast him out, shaking the heavens and the earth
with trouble and vexation. with darkness and evil, with
sickness and disease, with war and rumor of war, with drought
and pestilence. These are things that have been
going on throughout this gospel age, throughout this dispensation,
and will continue until the last day of this earth's time, because
our God continually shakes and destroys everything on this earth. He would have us to build our
homes and no trees, or our nest, and no trees in this dark forest,
but rather to set our hearts upon heavenly things. Turn with
me to Isaiah 43, if you will. Isaiah chapter 43. Brother Merle
read this just a little bit ago. All the shaking of heaven and
earth, all the wars and rumors of war, all the disease and pestilence,
all the drought and hunger, all the troubles that men and women
face in this world, by which God continually makes people
uneasy. He continually makes everything
unstable. You hear on the news, and the
news media and politicians play it up, and I guess it's easy
enough to play up. Everything seems so unstable.
Every four years we have a presidential election. Do you know what I've
been hearing every four years for as long as I can remember?
Boy, the economy's bad. Boy, times are bad. Times are
bad. You know what? Times are bad.
And they're going to stay bad. They're not going to get good.
They're not going to... God won't let it happen. He constantly
has the whole world teetering Because he's shaking the heavens
and shaking the earth for the gathering of his elect from the
four corners of the earth. Look at it, verse 6, Isaiah 43. He is saying to the north, give
up. And to the south, keep not back. He is saying to all creation,
bring my sons from far and my daughters from the ends of the
earth. Even everyone that is called by my name for I've created
him for my glory. I formed him Yeah, I have made
him now back in our text Haggai chapter 2 verse 22 In verse 22 God gives sweet assurances
to his son Assurances to him as his servant He tells his son
that he shall not fail. I say he's speaking to his son
because I want, as we look at this passage, for the type to
be lost in the reality. Christ must prevail. He shall not fail. He must reign. Oh, what a word. He must reign. Children of God, don't forget
it for a second. Christ is on his throne and he's
not going to turn loose. He sits in the heavens with ease
and rules the universe with absolute sovereignty. And he will never
cease to do so till all his enemies are manifestly made his footstool. He says, I will overthrow the
throne of kingdoms. The psalmist tells us he does
it by pouring contempt upon princes and causing them to wander in
the wilderness where there is no way. Just let your imagination go
wild. He makes the mighty princes of
the earth to wander around like a senseless mad dog who can't
find his way. By putting down the mighty from
their seats and exalting them of low degree, he overthrows
the throne of kingdoms. Daniel tells us that he changes
times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up
other kings in their stead. He destroys the strength of kingdoms,
overthrows the chariots and their riders, the mighty armies of
great nations. And he does this rather than
allow any injury or any harm to be done to his kingdom, rather
than allow any part of the purpose of his grace to be thwarted or
hindered. Our help is in the name of the
Lord who made heaven and earth. Though the heathen rage, And
the people imagine a vain thing. God's response is, yet have I
set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. And he says to his son,
the king, ask of me and I will give you the heathen for your
inheritance. And he commands the heathen to be warned. The
raging people of the earth who will not bow to God's sword. The raging ignorant men of the
earth who will not willingly submit to the rule of Christ.
The raging fools of the earth who dare live in rebellion to
God's darling son. He says, kiss the son lest he
be angry when his wrath is kindled but a little. Let the heathen
fall down and kiss the son for he must reign. The fact is there
is a council. A council in heaven that will
break in pieces all the contrary councils of men. The stone that
is cut out of the mountain without hands, Christ Jesus the conqueror,
will break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver,
and the gold of the earth. In the days of those kings, shall
the God of heaven, Daniel said, be set up. He will set up a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom of our God shall
break and consume all those kingdoms, and his kingdom shall stand forever. What does that mean? What does
that mean? That means, Darwin, that God's
church, God's kingdom, will consume and possess everything. Everything. One way or another,
sooner or later, the church of Jesus Christ shall be brought
to possess the whole of creation. When time is done, and the kingdoms
of this earth are brought to their end, and God makes all
things new, the kings of the earth All the kings of the earth,
all the merchants of the earth, all of those who have done business
with Babylon, all the days of Babylon shall bring all their
treasures and all their riches into the kingdom of our God and
give praise to his name. Everything that has been shall
extol his name. Everything that is shall give
praise to him. Everything that shall be shall
be brought to honor him. as it is laid down at his feet.
Now, let's go back here and look at Zerubbabel, gaze at this picture
of our great Savior in the time we have left. Is Zerubbabel called
the servant of the Lord? In that character, he became
the type of our all-glorious mediator, the Lord Jesus. You
turn to Isaiah chapter 42. While you're turning, let me
read to you the law of the servant. Now these are the judgments which
thou shalt set before them. If thou buy an Hebrew servant,
six years shall he serve. And in the seventh year, he shall
go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he
shall go out by himself. If he were married, then his
wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him
a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters, the wife and
her children shall be her masters, and he shall go out by himself.
If the servant shall plainly say, however, I love my master,
I love my wife, I love my children, I will not go out free, then
his master shall bring him to the judges And he shall also
bring him to the door or unto the doorpost, and his master
shall bore his ear through with an awe, and he'll serve him forever. Why on earth did God make such
a law as that? Why did he make such a law? Because
he wants us to know about one who is his servant, who served him the full age of
a man, six years, who served him all the days of his manhood,
and who by his service won his wife and his children, whom the
triune God had given him. And when it came time that he
could go out free, and he could at any time go out free, he said,
oh no, I'll not give up my wife and my children, because I love
my master. I love my wife, I love my children.
Here, bore it through and let all the world know I'm your servant
forever. Isaiah 42, the Lord God says,
behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I put my spirit upon him. He
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry
nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. That
is to say he's not going to come looking for pity. He doesn't
wish to be relieved. A bruised reed shall he not break.
The smoking flax shall he not quench. He will bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he has set judgment, righteousness, justice in the earth. And all
the nations of the earth, the isles, shall wait for his law. Chapter 50. Hear the servant. The Lord God hath opened mine
ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave
my back to the smiters, my cheeks to them that plucked off the
hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord
God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint. I know that I shall not be ashamed. Therefore, he says, doth my father
love me, because I lay down my life for the sheep. Is Zerubbabel
called back here in Haggai 2 the chosen of the Lord? Is he God's
elect? Here again he typifies our Redeemer. Listen to this hymn. It's a great
hymn by Isaac Watts. Jesus, we bless thy father's
name, thy God and ours are both the same. What heavenly blessings
from his throne flow down to sinners through his son. Christ
be my first elect, he said, then chose our souls in Christ our
head before he gave the mountains birth or laid foundations for
the earth. Thus did eternal love begin to
raise us up from death and sin. Our characters were then decreed
blameless in love a holy seed predestined to be sons, born
by degrees but chose at once a new regenerated race to praise
the glory of his grace. With Christ our Lord we share
a part in the affections of his heart, nor shall our souls be
thence removed till he forgets his first beloved. The Lord God in eternity chose
his darling son and set him up and brought him forth and made
him our mediator. our surety, and accepted him
as our substitute and our representative, and accepted us in him, the lamb
slain from the foundation of the world, and blessed us in
him, and made us one with him, and thus he is my chosen. Is the rebbeble called a signet?
A signet. Surely again the type is obvious.
To be made as a signet, is to be advanced and highly exalted. Signet. The king wore on his
finger his seal. The signet often placed on his
right arm in a prominent place. Joseph, you will remember, was
made Pharaoh's signet in Egypt. Because of that which he has
accomplished, our Lord Jesus Christ is that one the Father
has advanced and highly exalted. That one in all things He has
given to have the preeminence is Christ Jesus the Lord. Turn
to Philippians chapter 2. No, turn to Isaiah 45 for a minute
first. Isaiah 45. 150 years ago, a little bit more,
Spurgeon the Tabernacle, actually New Park Street Church in London,
was building the Metropolitan Tabernacle. While they were in
the process of building the Metropolitan Tabernacle, they had to find
another place to meet. Crowds were huge. And so they met at Surrey Garden Music Hall,
and the building would seat, I think, if my memory served
me correctly, thousand people. Spurgeon was just a young man,
19 years old. Huge, huge crowds. And as he
preached one night, someone screamed, fire, fire! And of course, folks
stampeded out of the building. Some were killed, many, many
people injured. Spurgeon was devastated. For
two weeks, he couldn't preach. God had laid him low. He thought
he would never preach again. And then he came to Philippians
chapter 2. We'll look at it in a moment.
And read that passage where Christ is exalted. And God seemed to
say to him, if Christ is exalted, all is well. And he preached. Outstanding sermon from that
passage called Christ Exalted. Hear me, children of God. Our
Savior, God, has set as his signet in the heavens, and Christ sitting
in the heavens is God's signature to everything. Listen to what
he says. Isaiah 45, verse 20. Assemble yourselves. Come. Draw
near together ye that are escaped of the nations. They have no
knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image and pray
unto a God that cannot save. Folks who pray to a God who can't
save are ignorant, he says. Tell ye and bring them near.
Yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
times? Who hath told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord, there is no God else beside me, a just
God and a Savior? There is none else beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For
I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word
is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto
me shall every knee bow. Every tongue shall swear. Surely
shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength.
Even to him shall men come, and all that are incensed against
him shall be ashamed. Everybody, sooner or later, gonna
bow to him. Everybody, sooner or later, gonna
confess him. Everybody sooner or later gonna
be ashamed before Him. Either ashamed in true repentance
or ashamed in judgment, but ashamed all shall be. In the Lord shall
all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory. Now here's the
New Testament version of that. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
he emptied himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Wherefore, because of all that
he's accomplished, God also hath highly exalted him and given
him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth and every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. A signet is
a seal. Christ is that one whom the Father
has sealed, we're told in John 6. He is that one by whom all
the blessings of the covenant are sealed to us when the Holy
Spirit, the seal of grace, comes to us in regeneration. Now back
in Haggai chapter 2, the last line of verse 23, look at that
again. The Lord declared that he would make Zerubbabel as a
signet for a very specific reason. He says, for I have chosen thee.
saith the Lord of Hosts. Those words might be translated
accurately, and they are translated accurately in some of the older
versions, or older translations, rather. For I am well pleased
with you, saith the Lord of Hosts. I've made you my signet because
I'm well pleased with you. The triune God is pleased and
well pleased with only one person, Jesus Christ, our mediator and
our redeemer, our mighty surrenderable. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased, he says, hear ye him. He accepts us and is
well pleased with us only in Him. This one who is here called
Zerubbabel, Jehovah's servant. He has delivered his captive
people from the house of bondage. He is that one who's spoken of
in Ezra chapter 3 as having built God's altar, Christ Jesus. made a way for man to come to
God. He is that altar. Zerubbabel
met and overthrew the enemies of God's people who sought to
destroy them. And Christ Jesus met and overthrew
the prince of darkness. He took the handwriting of ordinances
against us and nailed them to his cross and took them out of
the way. Before our mighty Zerubbabel, the mountains of adversity melt
into nothingness. He is that one who shall build
my house, Jehovah said. He laid the foundation and he
will place the top stone and a headstone in the corner, crying
grace, grace unto it. He will finish the building of
his house. And when he's done, the very
forces of the world that attempted his downfall The very forces
of the world that thought they had done away with him, crucifying
him. The very forces of the world
that thought they had overthrown his purpose shall bring everything
in their hands and lay it at his feet and confess his name
to the glory of God. What is Zerubbabel's purpose?
Why was he sent? back from Babylon to Jerusalem. What was the goal? What was the
mission he was sent to accomplish? His goal was to bring all his
people to their home, to the temple of God, to the
throne of God, to worship God. What is our Savior's goal? Why
did He come into this world? Call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins. Jesus Christ, our great Zerubbabel,
was sent and ordained of God to bring all His people home
to Himself. Home to the temple of God. Home to the throne of God. And of him, Jehovah says, he
shall not fail. Blessed be his name. Blessed
be his name. Let not your heart be troubled,
is his word to you and to me. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be
also. So everything's all right. Everything's all right. Let not
your heart be troubled. is building his house. Amen.