God's Signet Ring
Haggai 2:20-23
2nd October 2020
Haggai's sixth and last prophecy came on the same day as his fifth. It was addressed to just one man, Zerubbabel the Governor of Judea:
Haggai 2v20-23
The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day
of the month:
"Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens
and the earth.
I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign
kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders
will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
On that day," declares the Lord Almighty, "I will take you, my servant
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel," declares the Lord, "and I will make you like my
signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord Almighty."
First, a little history:
King Jehoiachin of Judah was the grandson of the great reforming King Josiah, and the son of the evil King Jehoiakim. During his father's reign, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judea and took Jehoiakim away in chains. Jehoiachin succeeded to the throne in 597 BC but reigned for only three months, but that was time enough for him to greatly displease the Lord. 2 Kings 14v9 tells us, "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done." God instructed Jeremiah to prophesy against him with these words:
Jeremiah 22v24-27
"As surely as I live," declares the Lord, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of
Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still
pull you off.
I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you
fear – Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.
I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country,
where neither of you was born, and there you both will die.
You will never come back to the land you long to return to."
God's word came true very soon after:
2 Kings 14v-15-16
Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from
Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother, his wives, his officials and the
prominent people of the land.
The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven
thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled
workers and artisans.
The people of Judah were taken into captivity in Babylon, and were held there until Babylon fell to the Medo-Persian empire, which allowed them to return to Judea in 539 BC.
All but one member of the Judean royal family perished at this time. The only survivor was Zerubbabel, Jehoiachin's grandson, and appointed by the Persians as governor of Judea.
Now, in 520 BC, 83 years after the reign of Jehoiachin, God spoke to Zerubbabel through the prophet Haggai, telling him, " I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother." The Jews had experienced many decades of turmoil and loss. They'd seen war, famine, invasion, destruction, slaughter and captivity. Now God tells their leader to expect more political turmoil in the future. As any historian will affirm, there's always turmoil. Somewhere in the world, there's always a government being overthrown, a kingdom losing its power, soldiers dying.
God's people were home, they were rebuilding their cites, and they'd laid the foundation of the new temple. But that didn't mean they were going to live in peace.
God them told Zerubbabel, "On that day," declares the Lord Almighty, "I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel," declares the Lord, "and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,” declares the Lord Almighty.'
God had told his evil grandfather that "even if you... were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off." Now God puts the signet ring back on His finger. He re-establishes the royal line of Judah. He accepts Zerubbabel in the place his grandfather should have enjoyed.
Repentance works. God sees.
A signet ring used to be used as proof of a person's identity. A letter or other important document was sealed with wax and, while the wax was still soft, the ring would be pressed into it to make a unique mark, to show who the writer was. God tells Zerubbabel that he is now God's signet ring, he is the one to authenticate God's messages and God's rule. That is, he is the head of the royal family of Judah. The Medo-Persian empire never called him a king, but God called him the King of the Jews. The royal line of Judah was restored in Zerubbabel, with God's authority.
How other people think of you doesn't matter. What God thinks of you is what matters.
The reference to "that day" in this prophecy is probably about the coming of Jesus Christ, making the glory of the new temple greater than the glory of Solomon's temple (Haggai 2v9). Zerubbabel was Jesus's ancestor, both through Mary's line (Luke 3v27) and through Joseph's line (Matthew 1v13). What glory, indeed! What an honour!