Consider Your Ways Series

CONSIDER YOUR WAYS

Haggai 1:1-10

(Antioch Baptist church: Sunday, August 10th, 2025)

Have you ever been called out for doing the wrong thing? Perhaps someone has confronted you for doing the right thing the wrong way. In either instance it is never an enjoyable position to be in.

I remember one occasion when I was still involved in secular work where a supervisor confronted me about my attitude and job performance. In the moment I was offended and angry. However, after some time of contemplation I realized that I could not argue against what had been revealed to me. I made the proper adjustments and went on to have a relatively successful career with that company. It was a hard lesson to learn but before I could move forward I had to pause and “consider my ways”.

In our spiritual lives there are times when we are confronted with some hard truths and the proper response is to consider our ways and then be willing to change our ways. Our selected text is a great illustration of this truth. Twice in this passage the Lord calls on His people to consider their ways. I am confident that He would have us to do the same today. I would like for to walk through these verses and consider the Biblical exhortation to “Consider Your Ways”.

To fully understand the context of this passage we must look to Israel’s past. The Kingdom of Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians in multiple stages, over several years. In 586 BC Jerusalem was plundered and burned, and the Temple was destroyed.

In 539 Cyrus the Great captured Babylon, a year later after receiving a command from God, he issued an edict allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and begin the work of reconstructing the Temple. Ezra 1:2-3 says, “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.”

The foundation of the Second Temple was laid in the second year after the return from exile (Ezra 3:8-10), however, the work was interrupted for about 16 years. Ezra 4:4-5 says, “the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

There is no question that the people faced much opposition and discouragement, but they also suffered from misplaced priorities. God had made it clear that the Temple was to be rebuilt and He had set all things in order for this task to be completed; unfortunately, the people had other plans. Rather than working on the Temple, their own desires took precedence over the things of God. As a result, God called on His people to “consider their ways”.

The Book of Haggai shows us that when God’s people respond properly to His rebukes and instructions, when they repent and obey, great blessings will follow. This process begins with a message from the Lord Himself. Let’s look to the text and examine:

A SOVEREIGN MESSAGE

“the word of the Lord” (v1)

“Thus says the Lord of Hosts” (v2)

“Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet” (v3)

In just the first three verses of this Book we have abundant evidence that the message delivered to the people was the message of the Lord. There are many other verses throughout Haggai that reference the “word of the Lord”. In verse two He is called “the Lord of hosts”; this is a term that is used fourteen times in the thirty-eight verses of this Book.

As we consider this sovereign message of the Lord we see that it was sent at a specific time. Verse one says, “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month”. This message was delivered to the people of God precisely on August 29, 520 BC.

A logical question is why the Lord allowed His people to continue in their rebellion as long as He did. I cannot answer that question but I can’t help but notice the reality that we serve a merciful and patient God. Many of God’s children today live in a way that is similar to God’s people who were confronted in this passage and we should be exceedingly grateful for the longsuffering of our Heavenly Father.