Lesson 9: The Contemporary Horizon
Studying Haggai
For this last horizon, let’s go back to the beginning of Haggai, and look at 1:1–11. You already arced or phrased Haggai 1:1–6 in Lesson 2, and you studied the Contextual Horizon in Lessons 3–4 (highlighting historical details and contextual issues in Lesson 3, and answering the microscope and telescope questions in Lesson 4). Your previous work will be a sturdy foundation for the Contemporary Horizon here. But I thought we should add verses 7–11, since it completes the Lord’s message that began in verse 4, and includes a command from God that naturally demands application.
After we look at my arc and phrase of the passage, we’re going to make an application bridge. Then we’ll drive across it in both directions, in the Relevance Lane and the Question Lane.
So first, please spend just a couple of minutes looking at the structure, logic, and grammar of this passage, and then answer the question underneath the following images.
Based on the arc/bracket or phrase, what is the main point of the passage?
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Now let’s build a bridge!
Building a Bridge
Remember, practical theology applies the exegesis of Scripture, as shaped by biblical, systematic, and historical theology, to the life of the church. So before focusing on the Contemporary Horizon, we need to focus on the Contextual, Covenantal, Canonical, and Confessional Horizons to construct a bridge from the original context to our personal contexts.
Contextual Horizon
After doing the first step of Bible study, I’d summarize the main point of this passage like this: “Because it is not a time for the Lord's house to lie in ruins, God's people need to consider their current state of suffering because of their selfishness, and rebuild the temple for God's pleasure and glory.”
You’ve already discovered the setting in the second assignment of Lesson 3.
Summarize your findings from the assignment in Lesson 3, altered if necessary based on your coach’s feedback.
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You’ve also already asked the microscope and telescope questions in Assignment 4.
Summarize your answers to the microscope and telescope questions from Assignment 4, altered if necessary based on your coach’s feedback.
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I don’t want to spend too long on the remaining horizons for time’s sake, so I’ll just summarize my findings briefly.
Covenantal Horizon
Here, I aimed at answering the thematic question (“What theme in my passage should I trace through the plotline of redemptive history?”) in relation to the temple, since it is central to our passage.
T.D. Alexander traces that theme from the Garden of Eden through the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple, to Jesus Christ, the church, and the New Jerusalem. He points out that when God’s people rebuilt the temple, as Haggai exhorted them to do, “the outcome falls short of all that the prophets anticipated.”¹ Jesus Christ became the temple of God, and through him “the church becomes the new temple of God,” replacing “[t]he Jerusalem temple … by a very different kind of divine sanctuary made of living stones,” which is “both in use and under construction,” according to Ephesians 2:21 and 1 Peter 2:4–5.² And one day God will create a “new Jerusalem,” which “brings to fulfillment what began in Eden,” but including no temple, since “the whole city is a Most Holy Place”—the whole world, in fact!³
So we can build an application from this passage by viewing ourselves along this storyline in our place as part of God’s growing new temple.
Canonical Horizon
Out of the ten doctrines of systematic theology, I chose to focus on ecclesiology, even though the church is not mentioned in this text. That’s because according to the Covenantal Horizon, the church is the new temple in Jesus Christ. Remember, the import question asks, “How does my passage fit within the contributions of the ten doctrines of systematic theology?” And the export question asks, “What does my passage contribute to the ten doctrines of systematic theology?”
Wayne Grudem defines the church as “the community of all true believers for all time,” and he includes “both Old Testament … and New Testament believers” in this group.⁴ Thus Haggai was written to the “church” of his day, we could say, and we can carefully apply it to the church in our day by swinging back to the Covenantal Horizon. After all, in 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, “Paul implies that the Corinthian congregation [and by extension, each modern gospel-preaching church] is the NT antitype to Solomon’s magnificent temple.” Of course, that would make churches an antitype to the rebuilt temple as well.⁵
To the doctrine of ecclesiology, our passage contributes the truth that the temple should be built—that is, we ought to strengthen the church through service and discipleship. But since our text doesn’t mention the church explicitly, we need to look for clear commands in the New Testament to make sure our application is valid. And we do find commands to build up the church in verses like Rom 14:19; 1 Cor 14:12; Eph 4:12, 16.
The word “glory” is important as well (Hag 1:8). When we build up the church, we must aim at God’s glory: see 1 Cor 10:31; Eph 1:5, 11–14; 1 Pet 4:11.
So our application of this passage should include viewing ourselves as building God’s temple, the church, for his glory.
Confessional Horizon
The mentors that I asked were the great creeds and confessions. I looked there for the word “church,” to fill out my findings in the Covenantal and Canonical Horizons.
The Apostles’ Creed doesn’t go into any detail on the church, simply saying, “I believe in … the holy catholic church” (that is, the worldwide church of all time).⁶ The Nicene Creed adds that the church is also “one,” “holy,” and “apostolic.”⁷ The Second London Baptist Confession adds helpful insights on the nature of the church that will guide our application:
- Jesus “commands [believers] to walk together in particular societies, or churches, for their mutual edification, and the due performance of that public worship, which he requires of them in the world.”⁸
- “[A]ll believers are bound to join themselves to particular churches, when and where they have opportunity so to do.”⁹
- Local churches “ought to hold communion among themselves, for their peace, increase of love, and mutual edification.”¹⁰
So when we apply the Bible’s teaching about building up “the church,” we should do so specifically in relation to a local church, not merely the universal church.
Summary
Here’s how we should apply Haggai 1:1-11, based on my study above: God commands his people to put building his temple for his glory ahead of their individual wants and needs.
To the original audience, the phrases “his people” and “building up his temple” meant “Israel” and “rebuilding the destroyed Solomonic temple.” But what do they mean to God’s people under the New Covenant in Jesus Christ? We need to cross the bridge together to answer that question.
Crossing the Bridge in the Relevance Lane
Crossing the Bridge in the Question Lane
Here are a few resources to help you explore the necessity of the local church, and how you can glorify Jesus in it.
