God’s Impending Judgment

“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people: ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it seem to you like nothing by comparison? Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel—this is the Lord’s declaration. Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land—this is the Lord’s declaration. Work! For I am with you—the declaration of the Lord of Armies. This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit is present among you; don’t be afraid.’”

For the Lord of Armies says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of Armies. “The silver and gold belong to me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. “The final glory of this house will be greater than the first,” says the Lord of Armies. “I will provide peace in this place”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

The Lord’s word is crystal clear in Haggai 2. He is verbally ensuring the restoration of his temple. The Lord affirms that he owns all things and that his Spirit is in the midst of the people. He will do what is necessary to restore the temple to its former glory. He also claims that he will shake both the heavens and the earth and all nations, which means that he will judge the world.

The expression yet once more serves as a reminder that God’s shaking has happened before and will happen again. God’s judgment is looming. He shook the earth once at Sinai, and he will shake it again in such a way that encompasses all creation. Thus, the author picks up the words of Haggai in order to continue emphasizing the certainty of God’s coming wrath and judgment of the world.

In verse 27 the writer seeks to explain his usage of the expression yet once more. The phrase signals the removal of the present world and pictures all its idols crushed, broken, and cast down. God will destroy all that man has made. All that remains will be that which belongs to the Lord. We should not put our hope in this present world, for nothing in it will continue. As the author of Hebrews will tell us in the next verse, let us indeed be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Hebrews 12:28-29

The kingdom that remains is the kingdom of God’s purchased people, who by virtue of their union in Christ will not be shaken. All other kingdoms, however, will ultimately face God’s coming judgment. They will crumble and fall. For this, God’s people should respond with reverent gratitude and worship.

What brings us together and causes us to worship every Lord’s Day? Gratitude to God for giving us the gospel and a kingdom that cannot be shaken. While everything around us may look permanent now, it will pass away in an instant. Yet God’s people will remain. Nothing can stop God’s kingdom from triumphing over the kingdoms and rulers of this world. His kingdom and its citizens will prevail. It cannot be shaken. This is why the author exhorts his people to be grateful to God.

Additionally, he exhorts them to offer acceptable service to God. The idea behind acceptable service is the same one we find behind Romans 12:1, where Paul states we are to submit ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. All of life is worship and is to be a response to the One who redeemed us by the blood of the Lamb. When we present our whole selves to God in this kind of worship, it pleases the Lord. Acceptable service is about being a living sacrifice.

“Reverence and awe” must characterize true Christian worship. We should not flippantly and haphazardly approach the One who will shake the heavens and the earth. We worship him with reverence and awe. This simply means that we worship him with humility and holy fear, not with arrogance and carelessness. We worship him as those who know we do not deserve his mercy and grace. We worship with awe that we are citizens of his unshakable kingdom.

We live our entire lives with God’s impending judgment in the future. Those who reject his Word will not escape this consuming fire. Only those in Christ will remain unshaken. This is the reason we worship with reverence and awe. Describing God as a consuming fire draws on the language Moses uses to describe God on Sinai (Exod 24:17; Deut 4:24). The gospel isn’t merely fire insurance. The gospel is Christ’s abundant mercy saving us from the holy wrath we rightfully deserve. Remembering that God is a consuming fire stokes our reverence and awe of him and reminds us of the severe and eternal consequences of failing to turn to him in faith and repentance. We must not fail as the Israelites did. We must persevere until the end.