Have we ever promised something to the Lord and then we failed to follow through on our commitment? We promised to give a certain amount to the mission pledge card last year but reneged on that pledge? At that time, our business was doing well. Then, the oil crisis came. The peso-dollar exchange went crazy. Our business suffered. We are thinking of letting go of our employees. We even entertained the thought of closing down. Then, we saw the pledge card in our Bibles. We look at it and sigh, “Maybe the Lord would understand…”
Or, we prayed and prayed for a job. We promised to give our tithes. We finally landed into a good position. We started to give. Though the tithe was already big, we were glad to give. Then, we got promoted. We got a bigger salary. Then, another promotion came. So, we started computing again. Our tithe is now equivalent to our salary when we started. Bigger button, bigger button hole. Our expenses also went up with our salary. Bills are piling up. Now, we stare at the tithe envelope and think, “I could use the extra amount to pay off some debts.”
Or, we started a business. We committed to run the business according to God’s Word. We resolved to pay the right taxes and give the right salary. We declare that God is the real owner, we are just managers of His resources. Then, the extended value added tax came. Add to that the economic woes I just mentioned. We look at our competitors. It was such a cutthroat competition. They brought their prices down, even lower than our prices. We know why. They cheated the government by not paying the right taxes. We cannot afford to match their price. We look at our rising overhead expenses. We look at the taxes we are forking out. We now try to convince ourselves, “I need to tweak with my books to keep my business afloat.”
Or, maybe our business is doing really well despite of the economic crisis. We are getting busier and busier. Our schedule is packed with back-to-back meetings. Every morning we wake up tired. We leave for office while it is still early and we leave the office already late. Now, our clients wanted to meet with us for a power breakfast or a round of golf. Then, we realize that it is Sunday morning. We convince ourselves and say, “Just this once… I cannot afford to miss this meeting… Next Sunday, I will attend.” But, Sunday after Sunday, we find it harder and harder to say no to our clients.
If we are honest to ourselves, we know God is no longer first in our lives. We have misplaced priorities in life. According to the dictionary,[1] the word “first” has two meanings. One meaning says, “coming before all others in time or order, earliest” as in “first time” or “first come, first served.” Another meaning says, “foremost in position, rank or importance” like when we say “first things first.” So, when we say, “Today God Is First” we are talking about the second meaning. When we say God is first, we are not talking about a list where we think there is a number two or a number three. What we are saying is that He is foremost in position, rank or importance. Our lives revolve around Him. The question now is, “Is God really first in our lives?”
This morning we will look into the challenge God sent forth through the prophet Haggai to a group of people who started well but almost did not finish well because they failed to put God first.
Allow me to set the stage before we dive into the book. God exiled His people to Babylon due to disobedience. But He promised, “This is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
God fulfilled His promise. Exactly on the 70th anniversary of their captivity, King Cyrus of Persia issued a decree. Let us read Ezra 1 starting with verse 1. “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm… Anyone of his people among you—may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.’” Almost 50,000 Jews went back to Jerusalem.
Two years later they started work on the temple. “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: ‘He is good; his love to Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.”[2]
But persecution forced them to stop the work. “Then the neighboring people began to do everything possible to frighten the Jews and to make them stop building. …they kept bribing government officials to slow down the work.”[3] Their enemies even got a restraining order. They wrote the king at that time, Artaxerxes, accusing the Jews that the rebuilding of the temple was an act of rebellion. So, the king issued a cease and desist order. So, “they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop. Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill”.[4] For about 16 years the temple remained unfinished. So, God sent the prophet Haggai to call the people to finish the work. The book of Haggai is composed of his four sermons. We can divide the book into two. In the first part, 1:1 to 2:9, we find God’s command for them to resume the work on His temple. The second part, 2:10-2:23, we see the consequence of their obedience to God’s command, that He promised them that they will receive His blessings. Let’s look at the first part. God is telling the people, “RESUME work on My temple.”
The problem was the people had misplaced priorities. Let us read Haggai 1:2. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.’” Why? They claim, “The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.” Probably, their enemies who actively opposed the work on the temple were still there. They’re just waiting for the situation to settle down. Maybe they gave this excuse, “Look at the economy. The stock market is not just bearish. It’s hibernating. Remember the temple of Solomon before it was destroyed almost 90 years ago? That was grandiose. We want to build something like that. The Lord deserves the best, of course. But we can’t afford it at this time.”
Yes, the economy was down at that time. Look at how Haggai described the situation: “You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. … When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.”[5]
But, the Lord pointed out in Haggai 1:4, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Note the words “paneled houses”. It “apparently describes quite luxurious homes… Wooden paneling or plaster that covered the walls and possibly the ceilings seems to be in view.”[6] There is even the possibility that the materials used for those houses were actually meant for the house of God! “Many Christians are like those ancient Hebrews, somehow convincing themselves that economy in constructing church buildings [or financing God’s work] is all-important while at the same time sparing no expense in acquiring their personal luxuries.”[7] When we think more of our convenience, when we put more emphasis on our comfort, rather than our commitment to the Lord, that shows He is not really first in our lives, that shows He is not really our priority. “An affluent generation of Christians that is wasting God’s generous gifts on trivia and toys will have much to answer for when the Lord returns.”[8]
We may have committed to serve and obey God. But, now we give all sorts of excuses just to avoid that commitment. We say, “I’m still young. Let me enjoy life first before I serve.” As if serving the Lord is not enjoyable, that it is a burden and not a blessing. We give the alibi, “I am not ready to serve” or “I don’t know how.” But, equipping is actually available. The problem is really lack of eagerness to serve God. Some of us take the spiritual excuse. “Let me pray first.” Now, that’s commendable. But, do we really spend time praying for it? Do we really seek His will? If not, then we just made prayer as an excuse. Or, we refuse to give what is right to His work and instead toss our token offering, telling ourselves, “When I earn more than what I am earning right now, then I will give my tithes.” But, as someone wrote, “Those who plan to give to God ‘once they have enough for themselves’ will never have enough for themselves!”
Because of their misplaced priorities, they reaped God’s punishment. Look at Haggai 1:9-11. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.” Their negligence brought about their economic woes.
So, what did God prescribe to remedy their situation? Haggai 1:7-8 declares, “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,’ says the LORD.” Put God first. That’s what He wanted. Putting God first REQUIRES RESETTING our priorities. Three times in the book of Haggai, the Lord commanded them, “Give careful thought to your ways.”[9] Literally it goes like this: “‘Set your heart upon your ways,’ an injunction calling for the utmost degree of reflection and attention.”[10] We reevaluate our lives by taking a hard look at our priorities. Our priorities show what we value. Dr. Ramesh Richard said, “People do not what they say they believe. They do what they value.” How do we know what we value? Let us ask ourselves, “Where do I spend my time, talents and treasures?” Someone said, “If I say I have no time, I am actually saying that it is not my priority.” Let us look at our planner. Where do we mostly spend your time? Let us check our checkbook or credit card bills. Where do we mostly spend our money? Does it reflect our values? Does it show what matters most to us? What does it say about our relationship with God and others?
After reevaluation, either we repent or rejoice. Repent if we realize that we have misplaced priorities, that we have not put God first. Rejoice if we see that we are on track. Then, let us respond accordingly, just like the people in Haggai’s time: “…the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD. … They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God”.[11] What is it that the Lord is telling us to do? Is He asking us to renew our commitment to Him? Is He commanding us to do something for Him? Like start or continue giving? Serve again in a ministry here in the church? Stand for your conviction?
And when do so, we will RECEIVE God’s blessings. Putting God first RESULTS in REAPING His blessings. In the words of our Lord Jesus, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”[12] We will discuss that second point next week.
Brothers and sisters, “Today God is First.” I say today, not yesterday. We cannot change the past. It is a good thing if yesterday God was first. But, if it is not so today, then we have a problem. Yet, even if He was not first yesterday, He can be today.
“Today God Is First.” I say today, not tomorrow. It is a good thing if we commit to make Him first the rest of our lives. But, tomorrow may never come. Making a commitment for tomorrow may just be an excuse like when we promise, “Yes, I will start losing weight… tomorrow.” Yet, what we do today determines our tomorrow. I think that’s one of the reasons why God said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”.[13] Would you make Him first in your life today?
Let us pray…
[1]New Oxford American Dictionary (Apple MacBook)
[2]Ezra 3:11-13.
[3]Ezra 4:4-5, Contemporary English Version.
[4]Ezra 4:23-24.
[5]Haggai 1:6, 2:16
[6]Thomas Constable, Notes on Haggai 2007 Edition, page 8. Available from the Internet at http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/haggai.pdf.
[7]Robert L. Alden. “Haggai.” In Daniel-Minor Prophets. Vol. 7 of The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary.
[8]Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe, “Haggai.” In The Bible Exposition Commentary/Prophets.
[9]Haggai 1:5, 7; 2:15.
[10]Eugene Merrill, “An Exegetical Commentary Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.”
[11]Haggai 1:12, 14.
[12]Matthew 6:33.
[13]Hebrews 3:7-8. All Bible verses are from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
