Isaiah 40: 1-11; Haggai 2 :1-9; Malachi 2: 17-3: 5
But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming?

Scripture Reading (Isa 40)

Prayer 

Intro: The space we inhabit is important to us as humans.

In 2003 Philip Rosedale created the online virtual world known as Second Life.  Second Life is an attempt to take virtual reality and online communications to the next level.  The project is driven by desire to construct a space in which you can do almost anything you wish to do, to establish a dream world in which the impossible becomes possible.  In the realm of Second Life you can take on a new persona – you can chose your age and your looks…you can create new lands and build cities…you can fly and dance.    

Understand, Second Life is more than an online game.  It is a virtual forum through which people can actually network with one another about real life – you can play games, …but also hold business meetings, teach students (e.g. Harvard Law), advertise, buy and sell from one another, you can build a home and even give birth to children, etc.  Membership is free, but if you want to buy land (or participate in certain experiences), you have to purchase the intellectual property rights from whoever designed the virtual property.  Real transactions take place.  The land has its own currency and there’s an online exchange in which you transfer virtual money into real dollars.  It’s an international community which last December 2007 boasted over 500,000 active users, the majority of which live outside the U.S.A. 

And the genius is that the landscape of Second Life is actually created by the residents themselves.  Members can spend hundreds / thousands of hours creating a space in which they (in so many ways) leave behind the baggage of this world and craft an ideal land without as many rough places as we find in our own lives.  Tolerance is the primary standard governing the Second Life community, and anyone who shows prejudice or social disruption breaking community standards may be deleted and barred access to the cyber-city.

Tag-lines for Second Life include:   “Your World, Your Way.”        “You only live Twice.” 

The Biblical prophets have something to say about this.  In fact, the prophets are renowned for naming the difficulties and hardships which result from human sin in this life.  It was the prophet’s job to point out the brokenness of this world and to declare hope for something more, a new and better world to come in future.  But the solution the biblical prophets foresee does not depend on the strength, creativity, and ingenuity of mankind.  Instead, men like Isaiah, Haggai, and Malachi promised a renewal and purification of the earth which would be rooted only in the sovereign power of their Lord YHWH, and especially in his promised return to live among his people and to inhabit his temple in Jerusalem.  Isaiah makes clear that this comforting word of promise is something that God will accomplish, not because of Israel’s goodness, but despite her failures.
 

When we celebrate Christmas we are celebrating the fact that God has made good on these promises….the gospels declare that in the person of Jesus, as the incarnate word…

The Lord has returned to Zion

1. According to Isaiah, The Lord’s return is inevitable.

2. According to Haggai, The Lord’s return has a global scope.

3. According to Malachi, The Lord returns to purify his people. 

(1) God’s return (to Zion) is inevitable.

Why?  Because…

(1a. God’s word declares it.  1b. God’s compassion demands it.) 

1a. God’s word declares it.

Why does it matter that this Word is spoken from God?

But also because…

2b. God’s compassion demands it.

When he says that Israel has received “double for all her sins” the prophet does not mean that God has been unjust, doling out extra punishment on the people – no – it is an idiomatic way of declaring that, in his sovereign grace, God will one day count Israel’s judgment as abundantly satisfied.  How will he satisfy it?  Ultimately one should think of Isaiah 53 and the servant by whose wounds we are healed.  This is a God compelled to move by his own compassion for those he loves.  He is mighty and sovereign, yet in his mighty rule, “…he will gather the lambs in his arms…and gently lead those that are with young.”  No one will fall behind or be neglected in the care of this shepherd.  His return is inevitable, and the cities of Judah may rejoice in his return because his mighty arm is motivated by compassion.   

Might and compassion do not always go together.  We know that from human experience.  I lament in reading news about the steady devastation of Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe.  I pray regularly that, in his mercy, God will remove this man from power.  Because here is a man with military might who knows nothing of compassion.  He knows what it is to hold a strong arm over his people, but he knows nothing of using his arms to care for them – to hold the lambs in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young.  Mugabe’s power is power for the sake of self; he oppresses his people seeking self-perpetuation and self-exaltation. 

This contrasts with Isaiah’s image of a ruler (indeed, a God) who uses power for the sake of others, who finds his own exaltation in becoming the servant of his people – the good shepherd who cares for his flock.  Yes, “…he comes with might, and his arm rules for him”, but God’s might brings benevolence and justice to his people.  He is a strong God, but his greatest strength is manifest in his compassion.  And his compassion is only known as we submit to his strength. 

**Can you accept comfort from this God?  If so, it means you will be changed by his compassion. It means you must allow him to speak to your own heart, to make a way in the wilderness of your own soul, to make the uneven ground level and the rough places smooth.  For Robert Mugabe, submitting to the compassion of Isaiah’s God would entail coming down from his high mountain to be made low – turning over the government to his rival who won the election, admitting that his flesh is like grass that withers in the breath of the Lord.  God is the one who is able to bring comfort to the land of Zimbabwe, but first Robert Mugabe must get out of the way. 

How must you prepare the way of the Lord in your life?  Where must you discover new humility to submit to his authority and to receive his comfort?  One does not come without the other.  You can either receive comfort by allowing him to clear the way and create the road he desires or you can stand in the way of the highway he is building – an obstacle which needs removing. 

Perhaps for you it will mean remembering that your flesh is grass, that you actually don’t control much, that you cannot sustain your years by your own strength, but that this Christmas your life rests in the hand of your God.   

Perhaps it will mean for you repenting of a callousness of spirit toward another church member or reconciling with a family member toward whom you have held a grudge for years.  Perhaps your submission will mean lifting up your voice for the first time without fear as a herald of the good news that God has returned to Zion!  This would be to receive God’s comfort, to acknowledge his authority, to allow his compassion to create the peaceful space which you long for in your own life.  The coming of the Lord is inevitable.  He arrived in Bethlehem of Judea long ago, and the way is still being cleared for the fullness of his Kingdom.  Will you cooperate or resist the project?  Regardless of where you stand (submissive as a sheep or stubborn as Mugabe), the Lord will complete his project.
 

We’ve learned from Isaiah that God’s return to Jerusalem is inevitable because of his word and his compassion.  Looking to Haggai we will see why… 

(2) God’s return to his temple has a global scope.

Some 200 years after Isaiah’s, we find Haggai encouraging God’s people to get back to work rebuilding the temple which had been destroyed by Babylon in the intervening years. 

Haggai 2: 4-9 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,  5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.  6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.  7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.  8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.  9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.'" 

Haggai indicates that the return of God to his temple will bring tremendous shaking to the cosmos.  This probably refer to some literal quaking in v.6, but v. 7 refers to political upheaval – a shaking of all nations – “…so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house [i.e. the temple] with glory.”  “Desire of all nations” = traditional KJV rendering which Handel uses in his score.  Many have interpreted this “Desire” as substantively referring to Christ (of course, Christ may be said to be the Desire of All Nations), but actually the grammar and the context favors the reading – “treasures…”.  “…The silver is mine, and the gold is mine”, says v. 8.  The passage is still relevant, though it speaks of Messiah more indirectly than directly. 

The people of Haggai’s day had become discouraged because they knew the temple they were constructing was not as grand as Solomon’s temple.  Haggai assures them that the wealth of the nations will flow into God’s temple.  The silver and gold which already belongs to God will one day be rightly directed toward his honor and glory when the nations recognize him for who he is. It may be correct to find an initial fulfillment of this word in the way foreign nations (like Persia) contributed to the building of the second temple, or in the way many god-fearing Gentiles worshipped in the Jerusalem temple during the Roman era, but we believe Haggai’s promise finds its final fulfillment only as the nations bestow their glory upon Jesus Christ, the one who raised up the true temple of his body on the third day.   

What other Jew can you think of who has induced a vast movement of Gentiles turning and casting their wealth to honor the God of Israel?  What other temple holds a claim to the wealth of all nations than the temple of Jesus’ body?  So Haggai promises that the Lord’s true return to Zion will entail a worldwide spiritual upheaval in which the nations direct their wealth toward God’s house.  And the result,  “in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of Host.”

God uses Jerusalem to show himself to the world. All nations belong to him, and his claim on them results in peace.  Haggai shows us that God’s return to Zion has global implications, the wealth of nations flows to honor Christ, but Haggai’s promise of peace is yet to be fulfilled. 
App As you consider Haggai’s global vision I ask:  To whom does your wealth belong?  V. 8 is somewhat startling. (Haggai 2: 8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. It’s not exactly true; some of the gold and silver is mine, right?  Is God greedy?  It belongs to me; the Bible affirms private property rights doesn’t it? Not exactly. God has a claim on all the earth; it’s his creation.  Not only precious metal, but your body also belongs to him.  I don’t mean you need to give all your money to the church.  Giving to the church is an important obedience, but only a partial obedience in terms of stewarding your wealth.  I do mean that you should render all of your wealth to God and to the glory of his kingdom in all the earth.  Ask yourself the question:  Who does my wealth glorify?  Who does my time glorify?  Who does my body glorify?

“…I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts."

If you trust Christ as Savior then you’re a part of his house now, a part of his body, a part of his temple – he finds glory in you and he is pleased to adorn his temple with you and all your wealth.   

Too often we look elsewhere for prosperity and for peace?  Haggai says these things belong to the Lord of Hosts. 

God’s return is inevitable.  His return has a global scope.  And Malachi declares that…

(3) God returns to purify his people. 

Malachi 2: 17 - 3: 5   17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" By saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them." Or by asking, "Where is the God of justice?"  ESV Malachi 3: 1 "Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.  2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.  3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.  4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.  5 "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. 

God returns to purify and in his purification he.... judges the sinful and defends the weak.

Not only does God own the silver and gold, but he knows how to refine it.  This purification requires heat and pressure and the process begins with the Sons of Levi.  Why Levi?  Because Levi is the priestly tribe designated to mediate for the people.  Malachi is writing after the Second Temple is complete – the temple Haggai was encouraging the people to finish.  The structure is now in place, but there is a problem.  The Lord is not present.  He does not reside in this house because the offerings made there are unpleasing to him.  The priests who lead and direct worship in the temple are unclean and offensive to his holiness. 

The people have wearied God with their words, saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD.” The picture is one of perversity and belligerence, stubborn unbelief and pride – a people of sorcery and adultery, falsehood and oppression, neglect and abuse.  Their impurity is not merely personal defilement, but also social prejudice based on class and race.

The text says the Lord will suddenly come to them…

Schmieder notes: “This suddenness is repeated in all the acts and judgments of the Lord.  The Lord of glory always comes as a thief in the night to those who sleep in their sins.” (cf. Keil, 656)   

God returns to purify because the presence of the Lord cannot abide impurity and un-holiness.

…who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 

But if God demands purity, where does that leave you and I? 

Malachi mentions two messengers in Mal 3:1 –  a messenger who “will prepare the way before me” and “the messenger of the covenant”.  The first is specifically identified with John the Baptist in the gospels (cf. Mk 1:2) which implies that the second “messenger of the covenant” is to be identified with none other than Jesus himself – the messenger of the New Covenant.  He is the answer for our purification.  The New Covenant he declares and which he seals in his blood for us is what enables us to stand in the presence of God at his coming. 

You see he comes not only to purify the priests, but Jesus comes to take on the priestly role himself (cf. Isaiah 53).  He will substitute himself where their sacrifices have failed.  He will bring the true offering in righteousness.  He will himself become the pleasing offering of Judah and Jerusalem.  And by faith we must find our purity in him alone.  There is no other way. 

We also need refining.  We also need purification.  And that’s why we come seeking nourishment at the Lord’s table today.  Every time we partake of the Communion elements we testify that we cannot purify ourselves.  The Temple of his body was broken for you at the cross.  As you eat and drink his body and blood take residence in a temple in which each of you, by faith, are living stones.  The Lord has returned to Zion, “Behold your God!” He has comforted his people!  He draws in all nations!  He has purified the Sons of Levi.
 

Conclusion

Let me assure you that you will never create a virtual space or any other space that is more desirable than the Supper through which we partake of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Here is true purity…here is true peace… here is true compassion…here is true holiness.  Here we partake of the temple that is his body, and here the Lord enters his temple which we are.  Here he purifies us.  Here we join all nations in gathering to him.  Here we acknowledge he has returned to dwell in our midst.  And here we do celebrate a “Second Life” in him as we receive the spiritual nourishment of his body and blood.

And you who celebrate his return today will not be surprised by his return again tomorrow.