HAGGAI 1: 1-14
RENEWING PRIORITIES
[Ezra 9-10]
Following the revival under Josiah, God’s people fell back into the degradation and sin surrounding the 55 year reign of his grandson Manasseh. Thus since the people would not learn by responding to the Word of God they had to learn through harsh experience. Judah therefore spent 70 years in Babylonian captivity. Mercifully God would once again intervene by putting into the heart of the pagan king Cyrus to release His people as foretold by Isaiah nearly 200 years before it occurred (44:28).
Less than 50,000 Jews, which some estimate was one out of every six living in Babylon, returned. Even more discouraging was that this small group returned with little evidence of spirituality. They made some initial attempts at reestablishing worship but the demands, pressures, and expectations of life began to take all their time and energy and pushed out the work of God. Sixteen years went by with no visible productivity in the work of the Lord. Two God sent prophets suddenly burst on the scene. Haggai and Zechariah came to challenge God’s people to restore God’s priorities in their hearts (CIT). The first message of Haggai emphasized four ways to renew their priorities and restore God’s blessings on their lives.
I. STOP BLAMING GOD FOR YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, 1-2.
II. SET PRIORITIES FOR THE WORK OF GOD, 3-6.
III. STEP UP TO THE WORK OF GOD, 7-12.
IV. SEIZE GOD’S ENABLEMENT TO DO HIS WORK, 13-15.
The prophet Habakkuk once prayed, “Revive O Lord Your work in the midst of the years ”(Hab. 3:2). The Lord was about to use two messengers to bring about the revival of God’s people. Haggai begins by challenging God’s people to face up to the weakness of their excuses.
On August 29, 520 BC, the Lord sent His word to Haggai to challenge the people of God. His is the first prophetic voice heard since returning from exile. The prophecy is dated as occurring in the second year of king Darius. No longer is a Jewish king used to establish dating. The time of the gentiles had arrived. [Walter Kaiser, Jr. Revives Us Again. Broadman & Holman Publ. Nashville, TN. 1999. pp. 147-150.]
The message beginning in verse two is simple and direct. “Thus says the LORD of Hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the LORD to be rebuilt.”’”
The distance that had come to exist between God and His people is suggested by one of the rare uses in the Old Testament of the expression “this people” to describe them. Surely it was a mark of the divine displeasure. Previously, even under the most difficult of circumstances, the Lord had referred to Judah and Israel as “My people,” yet these people had excessively strained their relationship with Him. The demonstrative pronoun indicated that there was a gap of major proportions existing between God and “this” people as a result of their sin that most certainly involved the lack of commitment to and participation in covenant worship.
The people’s excuse was that “the time had not yet come” to begin rebuilding the temple. Now the people had found time and resources to rebuild their own homes and businesses. But still after 16 years they delayed working on “the House of the Lord.” What the people were really saying is that if God wanted them to rebuild the temple He would have seen to it that they were better off than they presently were and had more time and energy than they presently did. These were the “reasons” they gave for being delinquent were more a pretext or justification for their selfish investment of time and energies and laziness toward God . Yes, some day they would get around to rebuilding the temple but not now. Other things needed to happen first. Relations with the Persians needed improvement. They had not yet made things as good as the Babylonians had them. They probably reasoned that they were in a period of economic recession or inflation, and finally that these things just took time.
Yet to the one who wants to do what is right the time, resources, and energies become available. But for those who are ingenious at inventing excuses or hiding behind excuses for failure to respond to God’s Word, the right time to obey God never seems to come. It is bad enough to neglect duty but to blame it on God not doing His part is worse. Yet, the time was more than ripe for doing the work of God, even as it is right now for us as well. We too must stop making excuses and begin to do what we know God would have us do. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else.”
Once we stop making excuses, and understand that the time is right for serving the Lord, there is a second way we can revitalize the work of God in our times and prepare the way for revival. We must...
II. SET PRIORITIES FOR THE WORK OF GOD, 3-6.
God addresses His people’s false reasoning in verse 3. “Then the Word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?”
The point was not about owning nice homes but about priorities. Since expensive timber had to be imported to panel their houses, and extensive labor dedicated to prepare the wood, paneled houses were a luxury available only for those with time and money. They were more concerned about creature comforts and the look of their homes than the work of the Lord. The thought here is that we must put God’s work ahead of our luxuries and indulgences.
In this case the choice and call for evidencing one’s priorities had to do with building the temple. The religious condition of the people’s hearts could be seen by their attitude toward the place or worship. Though it should be noted that wrong priorities may be seen in any task for the Savior that goes lacking. The need of a temple was only the most pressing demand of the moment. The flagrant and clear evidence that serving Yahweh was not their priority was the dilapidated state of the temple, which remained as it had for the past sixteen years and additionally for the seventy years of their captivity. It was a disgrace and an object of scorn for all who passed by its burned-out ruins. The pagans mocked and hissed with glee over the remains of the place formerly inhabited by the so called Lord of the Universe
To neglect God’s house was tantamount to treason against Him, for no matter what the verbal level of affirmation of trust in God, the plain fact was that no one truly cared for what He said if would inconvenienced them. This attitude eventually would cause God to remove His hand of blessing from all their labors.
If times were hard, and there was no denying that they were, why had Judah not cried out to God for help to do this work of building? And furthermore, if they were really so poor, how had they been able to spend so much time and effort on themselves? That was the real point in bringing up their luxuriously paneled homes.
Meanwhile, as verse four states the fact that the temple still remained a ruin. This subject deserved earnest reflection. Verse five declares, “Consider you ways!” It was time for God’s people to evaluate where their reversal of priorities had taken them. People put massive energies into beautifying their own homes. However, the harder the people worked for themselves, the less they had because they ignored their spiritual lives. The same happens to us. If we put God first, He will provide for our deepest needs. If we put Him in any other place, our efforts become un-fulfilling. Caring only for your physical needs while ignoring your relationship with God eventually lead to ruin.
So the prophet asked them in verse 6 to look at their lives. [Read]
Were they sowing more and harvesting less? Were they eating more and enjoying it less? Were they drinking more and enjoying it less? Were they earning more and accumulating less? The answer was yes to all four of these questions. But why? Because the people had not given God first place in their lives, their work was not fruitful or productive, and their material possessions did not satisfy. While they concentrated on building and beautifying their own lives, God’s blessing was withheld because they no longer put Him in first place. [In the Hebrew text, the string of verbs in verse six is in what is called the infinitive absolute construction. This construction adds force to the timeless aspects of the principle involved: it is universal for all times, seasons, and countries.] Simply put, the principle is that no one cheats God without cheating himself at the same time. But the reverse truth is just as clear, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Mt. 6:33, NKJV).
There is a definite connection between the moral and spiritual condition of a people and their material and economic condition. [This connection is not only found here in verse 3-6 but throughout the Old Testament.] Many regard only secondary explanations for natural and economic events. But there is also a moral cause for drought and for bounty. This connect is seen from the fall of man that resulted in the curse of the ground at Eden. It is seen in the flood during Noah’s day and the drought during Elijah’s because of the wickedness of the people. The earth continues to groan and travail waiting for redemption at Christ’s return, (Rom 8:19-22). It was time for God’s people to revitalize their work for God and for a reordering of their priorities under God if revival was to come. The same is true today. [Kaiser, pp 152-153.]
III. STEP UP TO THE WORK OF GOD, 7-12.
Verse seven again stresses the importance of people reconsidering their priorities. Thus says the LORD of Host, “Consider your Ways!”
The purpose of obedience in rebuilding the temple is stated in verse eight. “So that I might take pleasure in it.” It is not that God is impressed with buildings but it gives Him pleasure that a place is erected to worship Him. The temple was the place where the people gathered to sacrifice and give praise and glory to His name. This is the true motivation for any act of service to the Lord of Hosts, that praise and glory be given to Him.
In addition to the purpose of our obedience which is to please and glorify the Lord, this section also deals with the costs of our disobedience. When God’s work had to go begging for lack of interest, punishment fell which affected the very ground itself.
Here once again in verse nine and ten, Scripture emphasizes the close connection between man’s service to God and man’s productivity. “You look for much, but behold, it come to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” Declares the LORD of Hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. “Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld it produce.”
The costs of disobedience were dramatic. There were shortages in materials, goods, food and shortages in wages. To leave no doubt verse eleven states that it was God who called for this drought on the land. If we mistake this connection between the productivity of man and the service to God we also miss the way to resolve our problems to any significant degree. Grain, grapes, and olives were Israel’s major crops. The people depended on these for security while neglecting the worship of God. As a result, God sent a drought to destroy their livelihood and call them back to Himself.
Verse twelve is one of those rare verses in the Bible that indicates that the preaching of God’s Word had an immediate and wonderful effect. It celebrated the beauty of obedience, because all the people along with the leadership obeyed the voice of the Lord. “Then Zerubbabel the son of She/al/tiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the LORD.”
The fear or reverence of the Lord mentioned here is nothing less than an attitude of trust and submission to the Living Lord. It means turning from evil (“To fear the Lord is to hate evil,” Prov. 8:13; Prov. 9:10) and obeying the Lord in faith (Ps. 2:11). Only by meeting these conditions can the work of God break out in our own hearts and in a needy world.
The people believed because “God had sent” His “prophet.” May we never forget that the Word of God, joined by the convincing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit, is the dynamite of God (1 Thess. 1:5).
IV. SEIZE GOD’S ENABLEMENT TO DO HIS WORK, 13-15.
Many will complain in exasperation, “But I am so weary and so unable to do anything more than I am presently doing. How can I receive this challenge to renew the work of God? Already I believe much better than I practice. How will taking up one more challenge help me? Is there no word of comfort in the gospel, other than this repeated emphasis on the need to come clean in confession to God and to have His work renewed in my heart?”
The good news from this O.T. text is that the enabling power of the Lord was immediately made available to those who responded to the call. The most comforting word for these hurting sinners was “I am with you,’ declares the Lord; (v.13). God’s received presence will download massive hope and encouragement into the hearts. Let us thank God and receive all the hope and encouragement offered in the promise that “I am with you.” “ I’m with you” in our day has become water down to mean I agree with what one is doing, or I’m behind you in a general way. But when the Lord uses the promise, He means that He is personally, dramatically, and powerfully standing alongside us, no matter what the assignment. There is the real difference. Thus we will never be left to do a solo performance, for there will be two present (e.g., there will be two who teach the class, not just one; there will be two who play the piano or organ, not just one; there will be two who witness, not just one). That is what the Lord means when He says, “I am with you,” that is enough to revolutionize how most of us think of Christian service or the prospect of success in any Bible study, youth group, evangelistic mission, or overseas task that confronts the toughest opposition imaginable. [Kaiser, pp 156]
More than this, the Lord also promised to “stir up the spirit” of the leadership and “the spirit of all the” people so that they together would have a mind and energies to work. And so it was on September 21, 520 B.C. just 23 days after Haggai’s sermon– the people came together to get on with a job that had been sinfully neglected since 536 B.C. Now beautiful is the work of God in our hearts when it is received with the kind of joy manifested here!
CONCLUSION
Israel’s problem was confused priorities. Like Israel our priorities involve occupation, family and leisure. This passage makes it abundantly clear that we must stop giving God the scraps of our time and energy. It will do no good to pretend that the life which God has given us has dealt us a raw deal and an unfair turn of events and therefore we can not do different than we are doing now. We need to stop making excuses. We have made other priorities more important than doing God’s work.
What is most important to you? Where is God on your priority list? Set your heart on what is right and do it. Get your priorities straight.
For those who will respond, the stirring that God wants to effect will lead to a whole new work of grace of God in their lives. Then God will bless not only the productivity of the land, but the work of your hands.
