The Lord's Signet Ring

Haggai 2:20-23

They say that timing is everything, but I have to admit that in my scripture reading, I often read right over time and place names, but God inspired the authors to include those names on purpose, and by reading over them, that purpose is thwarted. In today’s scripture, we find the last word of the Lord that came to Haggai. There is a specific date included, and it’s the same date that the last word came, which is also the same day that construction started on the temple. This is significant, because the word that God now delivers is in direct response to Zerubbabel’s actions.

I believe that God spoke again in direct response to the people. There are people who believe that God set things into action and then stepped back, but this belief simply does not follow from a biblical understanding of God. In this prophecy, we see God responding to the action of his people!

Remember that last week in God’s previous word: God promised to shake away all created things to point His people to Himself. He also spoke of clean/unclean and gave the clear warning that the reason He was disciplining His people was because they had sinned, and had thus defiled themselves, and therefore everything they did was under a curse. Yet we ended up that prophecy with hope:“From this day on, I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19b)

So now God speaks again, and this time, He specifically speaks to an individual, Zerubbabel. If you remember, Zerubbabel is the governor of Judah, the leader of the God’s people. Zerubbabel is mentioned twice in the New Testament: can anyone tell me where? These passing references are important, because they are in the genealogies of Jesus. Zerubbabel was chosen to be in the list of Jesus’ ancestors. Zerubbabel was the leader of the people who took God’s Word to heart and began work on God’s Temple. This word, therefore, was given to Haggai specifically for Zerubbabel.

Remember again that this is during a time of political turmoil and economic hardship and disappointment. Judah is a conquered nation, ruled by their enemies. Yet at this time, God promised to shake the heavens and the earth. Remember what I said last week about this type of shaking? God shakes, and everything that can be shaken is shaken, and all that is left is God Himself, and God is enough for our every need.

So now God’s promise is that he will overturn the thrones of kingdoms, that he will shatter the power of foreign kingdoms, that he will overthrow horses and chariots and throw them into confusion and civil war. A couple of comments about this: First of all, remember that this action is from God. God is the only one who has the qualifications to do this. This is a key to spiritual warfare –we have spiritual victory only in the name of Jesus, never on our own. Secondly, notice that God’s aim here is to destroy the might of nations.

This should stand as a warning to us in our context; our country is becoming increasingly secular and though other parts of the world identify Hollywood and Christianity and America synonymously, it is clear that America is not God’s chosen people. I don’t mean to say that I don’t love our country. Quite the contrary, I love this country and that’s why I want to see our country turn to the Lord. Not just to return to the Lord, but no matter where we’ve been, to turn to him. But the warning is clear: as Americans, if we can stand solely behind our national identity, putting our trust in the USA, we have misplaced our trust. Our salvation is never in a country. God will destroy the might of nations.

We can only trust in God for salvation.

As we get to verse 23, God makes a declaration.

 “‘On that day,’ Now I want to stop there for a moment. Whenever the Bible uses this kind of terminology, understand that we are talking about end times. Just as an aside, if you would like a seminary word for end times study, it’s eschatology. When God says “on that day,” know that this phrase has an eschatological context.

We have to look at this entire phrase through the lens of end-times. So God’s word extends to judgment day. So if this word extends to judgment day, it can’t be for Zerubbabel alone. God tells Zerubbabel “I will take you,” electing him as a special representative among God’s people.

Indeed, Zerubbabel is given the title that God reserved for King David, “my servant”. “My servant” does not refer just to just any servant; when God calls Zerubbabel “my servant” he is echoing a reference that He made to King David as well. Without explicitly mentioning David, God is clearly implying that Zerubbabel is David’s rightful heir. This ancestry extends directly to Jesus through the New Testament genealogy I mentioned earlier. And Jesus entrusted the Church with being His hands and feet on this earth, so not only is this word for Zerubbabel, it is a word for the Church.

Let me go back to the concept of being God’s called-out servant, as God calls Zerubbabel. This servant would not be just one of the servants; it would be the king’s favorite confidant, one who remains near the king no matter what, one who knows the mind and wishes of the king, and one who executes the confidential assignments of the king. This is no ordinary servant.

But here is the deal – when Jesus died on the cross, the God tore the curtain in the Temple from top to bottom, opening up the Holy of Holies, taking away the separation between God and humanity. Then, on Pentecost, God gave every Christian His Holy Spirit, putting us in the same treasured position as Zerubbabel stands in. We have the option to remain near the King, no matter what. We have the opportunity to know the mind and wishes of our King. And the King has given us the confidential assignment of carrying out His will on earth as He does in heaven.

So it is clear that God’s word to Zerubbabel is appropriate for us as well.

The final thought in this passage is the signet ring. A signet ring was the symbol of a king’s authority. The king would always keep it with him, usually on a chain around his neck or on his right hand. When the king signed an edict, he would put a drop of wax on it and push his signet ring into it, leaving the seal of his authority. The seal of the state is the closest approximation we have to a king’s seal.

God is saying that Zerubbabel is his signet ring. This means we are the seal of God’s approval. When Peter made the Great Confession, when he said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus affirmed that God had divinely revealed this to him. Then he said, And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19.

This is the same idea as Haggai’s word to Zerubbabel, this time extended to the Church. We have the power of God, alive in us, and we are responsible to use that power. This is the one thing I want to get across to this church; it feels like some of you are constricted because you are waiting for a pastor to do this or that, but God doesn’t leave that power in the hands of pastors. God’s plan was to make His Church into that signet ring.

This is why in John, Jesus prayed that his followers would have unity. Because the Church speaks with God’s authority, and when we bicker and fight about peripheral issues, like “I don’t like technology in church” (which is really an idiotic thing to fight about), what we’re really doing is demonstrating to the world that God’s authority is at best arbitrary and irrelevant and at worst, divisive and hurtful.  

But God’s mandate is clear – the Church is God’s signet ring. The Church has been given the authority to speak on God’s behalf. The Church has been given the authority to carry out God’s wishes. The church is not a decorative ring on God’s finger, pretty, nice, but without any power or authority. The Church is God’s signet ring – with God’s authority.

Very quickly, I want to remind you of this: as God’s signet ring, God holds you close to his heart. God’s heart is for the local church, because the local church is where lives are transformed.