Will Vaus

Today is an anniversary. Five years ago today, I began to serve as the pastor of this church.   Isaiah 58:12 says, “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins, and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”   I believe this verse applies to us today. We are called by God to be rebuilders of the ancient ruins. This year, our church is celebrating 155 years in this building. But the history of this congregation is much older, going back to 1639. There have been times over the past four hundred years when this congregation has waxed, and times when it has waned. Right now, we are on an upswing, and I believe the Lord has called us to spiritually rebuild his work here in Yarmouth Port.   Haggai 2 also has some interesting verses that, I believe, apply to us today…   “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But...

Today in our journey through the 66 books of the Bible we are visiting the book of the minor prophet, Haggai.   Author   The book of Haggai gives us no personal information about the prophet whose name the book bears. Were it not for references to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah in the book of Ezra, we would not even have reason to link these two contemporary figures. Neither prophet mentions the other, though their work must have brought them together in the small town that was postexilic Jerusalem.    Haggai’s name is derived from a Hebrew word that means “to make a pilgrimage”. The goal of his life seemed to be that of rebuilding the Temple that was the destination of all ancient Jewish pilgrimage.   So, what do we know about Haggai from the book of Ezra? We know that Haggai was a prophet who, along with Zechariah, encouraged the returned exiles to rebuild the temple. (See Ezra 5:1-2; 6:14.) Haggai 2:3 suggests that the prophet may have witnessed the destru...

Here is Boadt’s introduction to Haggai…. The major event of the first years after the return was the attempt to rebuild the temple. The effort had never gotten beyond laying the foundations when Haggai and Zechariah took up the cause with a series of oracles urging the people to renew their efforts. Haggai is one of the shortest books among the Old Testament prophets—only two chapters, containing four oracles, all dated between August and December of 520 B.C. He addressed his oracles to Zerubbabel, the governor, and to Joshua, the high priest. His message was simple. The land is suffering from drought and hunger, poverty and failure, because the people think only of their own houses and fortunes, and have neglected the house of Yahweh. The land has been defiled and needs to be purified and consecrated by the presence of God in his temple. Until this is done, there would be no blessing in the new community. In this message Hagggai stands in the tradition of Ezekiel,...