In the summer of 1834, a Mr. Nimrod Murphree posted this advertisement in a Nashville, Tennessee, newspaper: “To all Nations, Languages and People, Greeting—Know ye, that I, Nimrod Murphree, of the City of Nashville, and the State of Tennessee, have discovered perpetual motion.” In a subsequent issue, another paid for an ad in reply to Mr. Murphree, quipping, “Probably Mr. Murphree has succeeded in handing himself over the Cumberland River, or a barn yard fence, by the straps of his boots.” Almost 200 years later, we still have not achieved perpetual motion, and I suspect Mr. Murphree did not manage to hoist himself over the fence.
While the phrase “pull himself up by his bootstraps” is often used to communicate a need to “figure it out” and “do something unassisted,” we know that the phrase describes a physical act which is literally impossible. No amount of pulling on our shoes will do the trick! The post-exilic Jews found themselves in a somewhat similar situation during the time of Zerubbabel. By God’s grace, they had been allowed to return to the land and had begun the work of rebuilding the temple. But by the time of Haggai, that work had stopped and the people said, “the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord” (Hag. 1:2). God sent the message to the people via Haggai that their lack of diligence and respect for the temple of the Lord was something worthy of repentance and gave them clear direction, saying, “Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified” (Hag. 1:7-8). Just a few verses later, we are told with beautiful simplicity that, all together, the leaders and people “obeyed the voice of the Lord their God” (Hag. 1:12). However, what at first might sound like a nice “comeback” story wherein the Jews just needed to “put in a little elbow grease” and “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” takes a turn in Haggai chapter two.
In chapter two, God called upon the Jews who had seen Solomon’s temple before it was destroyed, prompting them to compare the two. “Is it not as nothing in your eyes?” asked God. The people’s work, though admirable and obedient, could not bring back the glory of Solomon’s temple. God pointed this out to help them understand a very important truth: the true glory of the temple was the presence of God. “Be strong,” He told the people, “Work, for I am with you… My Spirit remains in your midst” (Hag. 2:4-5). With this He promised that this temple would indeed be filled with His glory, to the extent that “the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former” (Hag. 2:9). The Jews could take heart in the work they were doing, not because they did such phenomenal work, but because God would bless their work and fill the temple with His glory.
In the following section of chapter two, God commanded Haggai to inquire of the priests regarding laws of cleanliness and defilement. Haggai was to ask the priests whether holy meat could, by physical contact, make other food holy. The priests answered that it could not. Haggai’s second question asked whether a person who was unclean could, by physical contact, make food unclean. This time the priests answered it would, indeed, make the food unclean. The point God was making through Haggai was “So it is with this people… and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean” (Hag. 2:14). The Jews were defiled, so their offering—and even their work on the temple—was defiled. Yet, just as God’s glorious presence could fill even an unimpressive temple, so, too, could He offer blessing to a defiled people. In Haggai 2:15-19, God observed that these defiled people had been without His blessing for some time. Yet, in response to the people’s obedience, God said, “From this day on I will bless you” (Hag. 2:19).
The Jews were a defiled people building a defiled temple in a defiled land. In such a situation, there is no “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps,” there is only defilement and despair. The only remedy to their situation was God’s presence and blessing. In the time of Haggai, God offered His presence to the Jews when they obeyed Him in reverence (Hag. 1:12-14). Under the new covenant, we experience the fulfillment of this! Through Jesus, we—who were defiled—are now blessed. We are temples of His Spirit, purposed for His glory! Did we accomplish this? Did we grab our bootstraps? Thank God the answer is “NO!” Along with the Jews and their temple, our lives are privileged to be a testament to the glory of God who blesses penitent and obedient hearts.