Are We Tight-Fisted Toward God? (Haggai 1:1-14) Series

Today, we start a new three week series on the book of Haggai.

I should really start, by explaining something about the background of Haggai. Give you something to set it in the context of Israel's history. But I just don't want to. I'll just say this: Haggai prophesied to God's people, after they had returned from exile, and before the temple was rebuilt.

Verses 1-6:

(1) In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zurubbavel son of Shaltiel, governor of Judah, and to Yehoshua son of Yehotsadak the high priest, saying,

(2) "Thus said Yahweh of Armies, saying,

"This people has said,

'The time has not yet come-- the time for the house of Yahweh to be built,"

(3) and the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying,

(4) "The time is it for you, yourselves, to dwell in your paneled houses,

while this house is in ruins?"

(5) And so then, Thus Yahweh of Armies has said,

"Set your heart/mind on your roads/ways:

(6) You have sown much,

and you have brought in little.

Eating,

and there is no abundance/satisfaction.

Drinking,

and there is no merriment/drunkenness.

Wearing clothes,

and there isn't warmth for him,

and the one earning wages, earns wages to a bag with holes."

Imagine yourself as part of a group of God's people, returning to the land of Israel after having been exiled by the Babylonians. You return to a land shattered by war-- ruined. The first time God gave Israel the promised land, he promised them houses that they hadn't built, vineyards that they hadn't planted. He promised them a land of milk and honey.

This time, God's people came to land where everything had to be rebuilt. What do you need to survive-- to thrive?

You need food. Clothing. Shelter.

The Israelites had been working hard on this. But nothing was going like it should. They knew life would be hard-- but it didn't need to be this hard, right? When I eat, I want to eat until I'm full. I want to stop eating because I've had enough-- not because the table is empty. If I drank, I'd want to stop drinking after a beer or two-- when I'm happy from the alcohol. I've had enough. Not because there isn't another beer in the fridge. When I dress, and have to work outside, I want to have enough layers that I can stay warm. Or reasonably so. Because being cold is miserable. And when I work like a dog for my money, I want to be able to look at my bank account, and see that it was for something. I'm better off financially for having worked.

Am I asking for very much in all of this? We are talking about the very basics of human existence. We are talking about the things that my Father in heaven knows I need. And the Judeans Haggai is speaking to, don't have enough of any of these things. It's just constant shortages-- like you're looking at your bank account every week, and thinking, "There's still 3 more days until payday."

So that's the situation. Those are the objective facts. Now, the question is, why does life look like this for God's people? What's the solution? The people look at this, and they say, "Now is not the time to rebuild Yahweh's house-- his temple. We need to simply focus on trying to survive. When things get better-- when life is not such a struggle-- we can work on Yahweh's house."

Haggai, as Yahweh's prophet, draws their attention to this same set of facts, and comes to a completely different conclusion. You are sowing much, and harvesting little, why? Because Yahweh isn't blessing you. Yahweh is making life hard for you. He refuses to bless you materially, when all you are doing is focusing on yourself.

Let's reread verse 4:

(4) "The time is it for you, yourselves, to dwell in your paneled houses,

while this house is in ruins?"

Yahweh is not being difficult here. His expectation wasn't that they would build His house first, and then work on their own houses. But they weren't content with modest houses-- with having something to give them shelter from the elements. They wanted nice houses-- paneled in wood so they wouldn't have to look at the mud and the plaster. And even that wouldn't be a problem, except that they were doing this at a time when they'd done nothing to rebuild Yahweh's house. And now they've settled down in life. They think they are done. They think there's nothing left to do.

So Haggai opens here by telling them to consider their ways. Look at your lives, and think about how difficult life has been for you. You can hardly survive. No sooner do you save a little money, than you lose it to this or that. If Haggai was prophesying today, he'd say, "Look at your houses falling apart. Your car repair bills. Your health bills. Look at the maxed out credit cards, and the constant anxiety about where the next meal is coming from. The worry when an unknown number calls you-- hoping it's not a creditor. Why is all this happening? It's because you're focused on yourself, while God's house is in ruins. This is God's judgment on you. This is God trying to get your attention.