The message of Haggai, chapter two, is a message of coming glory (see Haggai 2:3, 7, 9; compare 1:8). The importance of the message is shown in the time in which it was given.
These chapters look prophetically to the day of the Lord. This will be a day when God will come in wrath and will judge the wicked. However, all is not lost. Those who fear the Lord will be remembered and will be spared. To them, the Sun of righteousness will rise will healing and will care for them as calves that are brought up in the stall. In closing, they are told to look backward to the law of Moses and forward to the coming of Elijah as the herald of the day of the Lord and the Messianic Kingdom to follow.
The temple was indeed completed by Zerubbabel. But that was almost sixty years ago and the people have again come to a place of spiritual deadness. They need a revival and God has prepared a special man. Ezra had dedicated his life to learning, doing, and teaching the law of the Lord (Ezra 7:10). God gives him favor with the king of Persia and he organizes a successful return to the land of promise.
Almost every scholar wants to change the meat offering to something else—although they cannot decide what else. The name is said to be confusing to Bible readers. The meat offering has no animal flesh. In fact, it is the only major offering in which no animals are killed. Why is it called the meat offering? Actually, there are very good reasons for calling it the meat offering.
The Biblical use of meat refers to solid food as opposed to drink (see Psalm 69:21; Daniel 1:10; Matthew 25:35; John 6:55; Romans 14:17). This is also the older use of the word in English. The first occurrences of meat in the Bible are found in Genesis 1:29-30 where God gives every “herb bearing seed” and the “fruit of a tree…for meat.” Obviously, the fine flour of the meat offering would fit into the meaning of the word.
But there is more. The meat offering has a very special typology that is revealed plainly by the cross references to the word meat as used by Christ. The meat offering is the offering of a “living sacrifice”—the kind Christians are supposed to give (Romans 12:1). It is also the kind of sacrifice Christ gave during His earthly ministry. Two verses especially teach this. In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” In John 6:27, He declares, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” These references to meat fit perfectly with the meaning of the meat offering.
Yet, this wonderful connection in scripture is destroyed in the modern versions of the Bible. And it is not simply a matter of them choosing another word. None that I have examined use the same word—any word—in all three passages
This lesson will deal with the different elements of the meat offering. It will then show how these characteristics apply to the life of Christ and the life of the believer.
The Biblical use of meat refers to solid food as opposed to drink (see Psalm 69:21; Daniel 1:10; Matthew 25:35; John 6:55; Romans 14:17). This is also the older use of the word in English. The first occurrences of meat in the Bible are found in Genesis 1:29-30 where God gives every “herb bearing seed” and the “fruit of a tree…for meat.” Obviously, the fine flour of the meat offering would fit into the meaning of the word.
But there is more. The meat offering has a very special typology that is revealed plainly by the cross references to the word meat as used by Christ. The meat offering is the offering of a “living sacrifice”—the kind Christians are supposed to give (Romans 12:1). It is also the kind of sacrifice Christ gave during His earthly ministry. Two verses especially teach this. In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” In John 6:27, He declares, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” These references to meat fit perfectly with the meaning of the meat offering.
Yet, this wonderful connection in scripture is destroyed in the modern versions of the Bible. And it is not simply a matter of them choosing another word. None that I have examined use the same word—any word—in all three passages
This lesson will deal with the different elements of the meat offering. It will then show how these characteristics apply to the life of Christ and the life of the believer.
Both the sin of Saul in sacrificing and the absence of smiths (blacksmiths) in Israel point to the danger of fighting God’s battles according to the ways of man and the world
