WHOLEHEARTEDNESS
The Message of Haggai for Today
By Jonathan Griffiths
DayOne Publications. 93 pages. £6.00
ISBN 978 1 846 254 345
Jonathan Griffiths presents a clear, concise, and content-rich overview of the oft-overlooked post-exile prophecy of Haggai.
In a time of uncertainty, discouragement, and disobedience among Israel’s remnant from the Babylonian exile, Haggai ‘calls God’s people from self-centred half-hearted-ness to God-centred wholeheartedness’. Griffiths focuses on this central message throughout this short but helpful guide. The reader should leave this volume drawn to desire an even deeper study of Haggai, and Griffiths closes each of his five main chapters with an excellent feature of practical questions for today, making this book something that may even be useful for church small groups.
Lack of trust
In assessing Haggai 1, Griffiths sees the primary sin of the people as a lack of trust in God and in his power to provide for his people; this results in the people’s preoccupation with their own home developments while neglecting the temple.
Applying Haggai to the modern day, Griffiths calls us to prioritise gospel work in structuring daily activities and finances, but also emphasises the equal importance of prayer with obedience. In this, just as in Haggai’s time, we may experience discouragement and even descend into thinking little of the Lord’s work. Yet Griffiths points us to see that God’s promises were not only fulfilled in Haggai’s hearers building the temple, but are being fulfilled as God completes his spiritual house, the church. In accomplishing this, God blesses his people not according to merit, but on the basis of his mercy. While Griffiths grapples well with the main issues in Haggai, the final two chapters may prove difficult or controversial for some, as Griffiths comments on continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New Covenants, particularly in assessing how to read Old Covenant blessings and curses today.
Helpful supplement
As with any commentary, Griffiths’s comments on Haggai are not without flaw, but this volume does act as a helpful supplement to understanding Haggai and hopefully will stimulate the reader to deeper study of this important prophecy and the issues contained within, as it has done me.
