Prayer Forums

Haggai 2:11-14

11 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Now, ask the priests concerning the law, saying,

12 "If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?
Then the priests answered and said, "No."

13 And Haggai said, "If one who is unclean because a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?"
So the priests answered and said, "It shall be unclean."

14 Then Haggai answered and said, "So is this people, and so is this nation before Me," says the LORD,
"and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

What can we learn from this ? What does it imply ? . Certainly we don't walk around with meat in our garments.

Uncleanness, or the defilement of this world, can be transferred from one person to another, but holiness cannot.

Likewise, righteousness, character, and preparedness for God's Kingdom can Not be transferred from person to person
because they are internal qualities, matters of the heart.

Virtue of character and righteousness are personal matters, intangibles that accrue from spending long periods of time learning, applying, and honing spiritual skills in the daily experiences of life. It is too late when one needs a skill immediately, and it is not there.

The same is true of character: It cannot be borrowed. To quote "Our character is but the stamp on our souls
of the free choices of good and evil we have made through life. More importantly, Haggai is expressing we cannot borrow a relationship with God .

While on the other hand we can become spiritually unclean, defiled by the sins of this world.

This is something that hit home a few years ago for me from the Eastern branch of Christianity. While I cannot abide by a lot of Catholic doctrine, one thing I think they and the Orthodox (or at least portions of both branches) understand is that faith is a lot like skills we learn in our life. If you "practice" doing things, then when the time comes to put that practice into play (to borrow the sports analogy), you are already "programmed" or trained with what to do. It's not all about works by any means, but it does help us to be influenced by good and proper things from God over immersing ourselves in the world and somehow expecting to remain spotless. Just as you pointed out, though, that holiness comes from God and God alone.

I see it here in these verses where if you are careful with what touches, then uncleanliness is not a problem.

With regards to the verses, I would quibble just one small bit. While righteousness cannot be transferred from any human (universal term), I do believe that taking this with too harsh of an edge can be done. For God clearly ordained that some are teachers and so on. But that righteousness flows from God, not from authority of man. Christ is always and forever our source of righteousness.

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 CSB
But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.