Under Construction: Lessons From the Book of HaggaiSample

Word and Spirit

After reminding the people of the covenant promises that had been communicated to them by their forefathers, the Lord also promises that His Spirit will remain in their midst. The people need both the well-known promises of God and the presence of His Spirit.

This basic truth has not changed since Haggai’s days. We need God’s Word, since it reveals who God is and how He wants to have a personal relationship with us. But we also need His Spirit to really understand it and to let it bear fruit in our lives. The Spirit makes God’s Word, that has been spoken thousands of years before, living and active and relevant for us today. He opens our eyes to the truths we may have known for years, but never applied to ourselves.

Coming to faith, being transformed by God’s Word, answering His calling for our lives, all this is not our own achievement. As Haggai’s colleague Zechariah, who was also prophesying in the same period, writes: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)

By giving us His Word and His Spirit, God has given us everything we need.