HE WHO PUTS GOD FIRST
IS PRECIOUS
IN GOD'S SIGHT

20 And again the word of the LORD came to Haggai in the twenty-
fourth day of the month, saying,
21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
23 In that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the LORD, and will make you as a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the LORD of hosts.

After the somewhat severe warning in his preceding message through Haggai, God turns again to an encouraging note. He is gracious in doing so. Giving God the first place is merely to give Him His due. When we have done so, we are "unprofitable servants," having simply "done what it was our duty to do" (Luke 17: 10). Yet God has an encouraging word for those who do this duty.
While Haggai's other three messages are addressed to the whole nation of Israel, this one is addressed to one individual-- Zerubbabel, the secular governor of the nation. He had led the people who were stirred up by Haggai's exhortations, and led them in their obedience in building the temple. Now he receives promises to show him the value God had placed on his obedience.
God shows those who put Him first that they are precious in His sight, by DEFENDING THEM (verse 21b, 22). He delivered this message the same day as he has delivered the preceding one, which reminded those who had not been putting Him first of the chastisements they had suffered. Now, he was assuring those who did put Him first, that they had nothing to worry about, as He would provide for them them even in the midst of chastisements. Also, He announced that apocalyptic cataclysms would come in the future, as he had already announced in verses 6 and 7. These would be worse than anything the people had seen before. It reminds us of His words to Jeremiah, If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, how then can you compete with the horses? (Jeremiah 12:5). Yet in the midst of all the troubles to come, the faithful can count on Christ's promise: In the world, you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
Before the exile in Babylon, Ezekiel had prophesied of a massive destruction and slaughter to come on Jerusalem (Ezekiel chapter 9). Yet this judgment was not to begin until those who grieved over the unfaithfulness of the city had been marked with God's seal (verse 4). A similar judgment in the future, with a similar protection of the faithful, is announced in Revelation 7:3. This assures the faithful that God notices them and makes a difference for them.
When the seven seals in Revelation are opened, releasing the judgments of the Great Tribulation, we find the souls of martyrs under the altar of burnt offering (having fallen through the grate when consumed as a sacrifice), crying out for the completion of the judgment on their persecutors. Since the dispensation of grace will then be completed, we find God taking their part. And this prophecy assures those in all dispensations that God takes their part against their enemies. His defense is stronger than that of the armies of earth, since He says He will overthrow the chariots, horses, and riders. The occasion directly referred to is the Battle of Armageddon.
When all the glory of this present world, produced by men, will be destroyed by future judgments to show its worthlessness in God's sight, God will still show His own that they are His glory, precious to Him.
God also shows those who put Him first that they are precious to Him, by USING THEM (verse 23a). He does so in a way that gives places a great value on them. The immediate reference here is to Christ's millennial reign; yet it show us the unchanging character of God in all periods of history. It is a mystery of God's sovereign work that He voluntarily limits Himself in a way that makes our participation necessary. Yet that is why prayer makes a difference; and it is also what gives value to our service. Here, He tells Zerubbabel that, in the day of future judgments, He will make him as a "signet ring." That was a very important possession to kings in antiquity. Each king's signet ring had its particular design on it, and he used it to stamp important documents, serving as his signature. Without it, the document would not be authorized, and its content of no use. A signet is therefore a symbol of authority.
One way in which God would do this for Zerubbabel, has already been fulfilled. Zerubbabel was a direct ancestor of Christ (Matthew 1:12, 13; Luke 3:27). Through him and his genealogy, God gave the Messiah, the Saviour, to the world. Any authority we will have in Christ's future Kingdom, is due to His having saved us, and living in us. Yet, what a marvel that Christ, when entered into His reign and having all His enemies put under His feet, would want to have us in an authoritative position together with Him!
Being Christ's signet ring also speaks of nearness to Christ. A king and his signet ring were inseparable; he kept it on his finger all the time, lest it get stolen. If removed from his finger, it would be very tempting to anyone else because of its significance. In fact, that's what happened to my marriage ring. I had one when we were first married; but I soon found that if I kept it on all the time, I developed skin irritations under it because of my sensitive skin. So after that I only wore it when I dressed up, and left it off the rest of the time. Then one evening when we were out, and I wasn't wearing my ring, a thief broke into our home and stole it; and I haven't had a ring since.
That was just what ancient kings feared, if their signet rings ever got separated from them. Only, the result would be worse than not having a symbol to show they were married. Anyone who found a king's signet ring could stamp any document he wanted with it, and it would have the king's endorsement. No king would dare run that risk!
Thus being called Christ's "signet ring" would tell a faithful one that he was inseparable from Christ, and would always be kept near Him, in His immediate presence. God takes pleasure in our presence because of what His grace has accomplished in us. And what we can offer Him, which is of value in His sight, is hearts that seek to glorify Him; for this is what He has always desired from the human race.
God furthermore shows those who put Him first that they are precious to Him, by HAVING ELECTED THEM (verse 23b). He told Zerubbabel that He had chosen him. It is only by grace that God has chosen any of us.
God chooses His own in spite of their origin. Zerubbabel's name means "scattered in Babylon." It must have been an allusion to Israel's being exiled in Babylon, and scattered among the Babylonians, therefore conscious of not being together with their own people as a nation. Probably he was born in Babylon, and his parents must therefore have been pessimistic about his future. What could be more discouraging to anyone, especially when he's young and setting out to make his way in life? If his parents think he has no future, who would think he has one? Yet there is one bright thought about this name: it meant that his parents, and evidently he also, were longing to see their people restored to their own land where God had chosen to set His Name. Zerubbabel would therefore not be one of those Jews who got so comfortable in Babylon, or in Jewish settlements in other countries, that they lost interest in God's plan for the Promised Land.
If we take the meaning of Zerubbabel's name a little further, we find it to mean "scattered among confusion"-- for "Babel" means "confusion," as we learn from the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:9). Being scattered among confusion, is a picture of life in this world, without God. That is everybody's origin. God, in His grace, has chosen us out of a world that has no sense to it.
God also chooses His own in spite of past failures on their part. Zerubbabel had temporarily given in to the attitude Israel showed in chapter 1, verse 2-- that the time hadn't come for building the Lord's house. He was among those who needed to be exhorted and stirred up (1:14). Instead of exercising his authority as governor of the land, and insisting that the people build the temple, he had let them get away with concentrating instead of the "home improvements" they had wanted. This reminds us that God has chosen us without there being any merit in us. As Robert Murray McCheyne's hymn says,

Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee;
Hidden in the Saviour's side;
By the Spirit sanctified:
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.

Yet, while God's choosing of us isn't due to any good He had found in us, it is because of what He can make of us. He elects according to His foreknowledge. God can do anything with anyone who yields to Him; but He only does it with those who do yield. His choice is therefore based on His foreknowledge of who would yield to what He wanted to make of them. God knew that Zerubbabel would be willing to put Him first, when he got the necessary exhortation and encouragement.
This message is addressed to Zerubbabel in particular. Even Joshua, the religious leader of the nation, is not mentioned this time. Perhaps this was intended to assure him that those with secular vocations have just as much opportunity to glorify God and be rewarded for it as those in full-time religious vocations, if they put God first in their lives. ALL can obtain the blessing of the Lord on that condition.
As believers, we have received "exceeding great and precious promises" from God (II Peter 1:4). He wants to care for us, and do great things with us. But the condition is that we give Him the first place in our lives. He is worthy of it, and it is our simple duty to give it to Him. To the Jews in Haggai's day, putting God first meant building His temple before putting all the fine finishing touches on their own houses. What does it mean for you and me? May God's Spirit search our hearts as to where we are putting our priorities, and show us how we need to respond in giving God the first place in our lives.

Give of your best to the Master;
Give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service,
Consecrate every part.