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.
God had delivered His people from their adversaries. He rescued them from their captivity, secured their freedom, blessed them mightily, and commanded them to accomplish a specific task. After all they had been delivered from, instead of honoring God the people decided that their own comforts, conveniences, and desires were more important. Instead of building the Temple, they abandoned it.
Similarly, God has delivered us from our great adversary, rescued us from the bondage of sin, provided us with freedom, blessed us mightily, and commanded us to accomplish certain tasks for His glory. Tragically, many Christians have ignored God’s commands, forsaken their duty, and are currently living for themselves instead of the Lord. God’s message for His people back them was to “Consider your ways"; I believe He is calling on us to do the same today.
Our Father is sovereign and all knowing; He knew exactly who would be gathered here today and we can be confident that the message that He has sent us is one that is sent at the exact right time.
God’s message was sent at a specific time, furthermore, it was sent in a specific way. Verse one goes on to say, "the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet”. This message was not something concocted by Haggai, he was merely a willing vessel who delivered “the Word of the Lord”.
This is similar to how God confronts His people today. When a man of God stand in a pulpit and rightly divides the scriptures, he is not preaching his own message, he is declaring the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. When one receives that message, he/she is receiving the Word of the Lord; when one rejects that message, they are not rejecting the preacher, they are rejecting the Lord.
God’s message was sent at a specific time, it was sent in a specific way and it was sent to a specific people. The Lord was not confronting pagans; He was confronting His chosen people. Moreover, it is important to note that this message was first sent to the civic and religious leaders who were then expected to share it with everyone else.
This message was addressed “to Zerubbabel …and to Joshua”. “Zerubbabel” was the Persian appointed “governor of Judah.” It is quite possible that Zerubbabel was the legitimate heir to the Davidic throne. His grandfather was Jehoiachin who was the king of Judah at the time of the Babylonian exile. “Joshua” was “the son of Jehozadak” who was “the high priest” at the time of the exile. In the postexilic community Joshua now filled this role.
God sent a message through His prophet, to the leaders, who were expected to relay that message to the people. This is not a method that the Lord employed only in the Old Testament. While it is true that God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures, He has also given us leaders who are called and equipped to reach His people with His Word. Paul said in Ephesians 4:11-12 that Jesus “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”.
This method of communicating with the Church is seen in the New Testament, throughout Church history, and it continues today. In His letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, Jesus sent rebukes, warnings, instructions, and words of edification to the people through the “Angels” or “messengers” of those churches. It is widely believed that this is a reference to the bishops, elders, or pastors of those specific assemblies.
There may be times when you do not like what the preacher has to say, you may not agree with it, and you may not receive it, but if the message is an accurate exposition of the scriptures then it is a sovereign message.
- The message that Haggai delivered was a sovereign message and it was also:
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A SAD MESSAGE
The first few verses of the book of Haggai are extremely sad. It is obvious that God the Father was exceedingly grieved by the actions of His people. He had been so gracious and merciful to His children and they had ignored Him, abandoned His work, and focused on their own personal desires. As a result, The Lord confronted the indifference of His people. He said to Haggai, “These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”
Solomon’s Temple was a sight to behold; it was a beautiful, special place that had been very important to the people of God. It was built with great care and skill over a period of seven years. The materials used were the best of the best. (It was built primarily of stone and cedar and much of the inside was covered with gold.)
That once glorious Temple had been plundered, destroyed, and left in ruin by Nebuchadnezzar’s army. Then after years of bondage the people returned to their homeland and saw this heartbreaking sight. Early on the foundation was laid but eventually the work stalled. You would think that the highest priority of God’s people would have been to rebuild what had been destroyed but that is not what happened.
The Temple was the place where God dwelt with His people. It was also the place where sacrifices were offered to Him for the removal of the guilt of sin.For period of almost seventy years the people had no access to a Temple. Instead of focusing on a place that would have promoted worship, sacrifice, service, and communion with the Lord, the people said, “the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” There is no way to articulate how much the indifference of His chosen people must have grieved the Lord.
It is important for us to understand that our Heavenly Father is equally grieved by our own indifference. Even the most recent convert knows that the Lord desires and even demands certain things of His people. However, our priorities are often misplaced and rather than being focused on worshiping, sacrificing, serving, and communing with the Lord, we are focused on things that will not matter in eternity. For this reason, God would have us to consider our ways!
The people were not only indifferent, they were selfish! The Lord confronted them about this as well. Notice verses 3-5, “Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.”
Though the people were of the opinion that “the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord”, they found the time, money, desire, and energy to build luxurious homes for themselves. God confronted their selfish acts of focusing on themselves instead of Him. He demands that they “consider their ways”.
It is imperative that each of us do the same! I encourage you to take a moment and assess your life, examine your priorities, and “consider your ways”. Are you focused on yourself or the Lord? Are you spending your life investing in the eternal or the temporal?
If you would be honest enough to admit that somewhere along the way you have strayed from the things of God, then you must pay close attention to the message that is revealed in this passage. The actions and attitudes of God’s people in Haggai’s day show us how we too may be living in a way that grieves our Heavenly Father.
- The message that God sent through Haggai was a Sovereign Message, it was a Sad Message, and it was:
A SOBERING MESSAGE
In verse 6 the Lord describes the current conditions of the Israelites. He says, “You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.”
Though the people had focused all of their attention on personal success and prosperity, they received the opposite of what they sought. They had “sown much” seed but only reaped a meager harvest. They ate their food but they were never satisfied, they drank, but their thirst was never quenched, they put on clothes but could not get warm, they earned income but it was if they were putting their wages into a bag filled with holes. It was no secret to the people that even though they sought abundance they experienced scarcity. Again the Lord brings this to their attention and calls on them to “consider their ways” (v7).
God goes beyond describing the current calamity of His people, He takes credit for it! This was not just the normal struggles of life, they were experiencing divine judgment! He says, “You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away” (v9a). He went on to say in verses 10-11, “Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
The reason that the people could not find sufficient food or drink and the reason that their wages never seemed to be enough was because God had “called for a drought” that affected the land, the harvest, the wine, oil, livestock, and men and “all their labors”.
Yahweh not only explains that He caused their calamity, He explains why He did so. God brought judgment upon His people because they had become disobedient and self-serving. Notice verse 9b, “Why (has all this happened)? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.
There is an interesting wordplay in Hebrew between the words for “ruins” in verse 9 (khareb) and “drought” in verse 11 (khoreb); because they left his house in ruins, the Lord ruined their crops. They had neglected God’s house because each person was (lit.) “rushing to his own house,” i.e., seeking his own interests. Because of this, the Lord brought scarcity upon them. (Source: ESV Expository Commentary)
It should be very sobering when we realize that after all that God has done for us we have turned and begun to live for ourselves. Just as God confronted and chastised His people in Haggai’s day, He will confront and chastise us today! Hebrews 12:6 says, “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Though chastisement is never enjoyable, it is encouraging because being disciplined by God is proof of His love for us and evidence of our relationship with Him. Hebrews 12:8 makes it clear that those who do not receive God’s discipline are not legitimate children.(“If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”)
God’s discipline can come in many forms including: guilty feelings, unpleasant circumstances, loss of peace, fractured relationships, and many other negative consequences for choosing sin. There are even examples in the Bible where the chastening of the Lord resulted in physical illness and even death. (Examples include the swift and deadly punishment of Annanias and Sapphira, and Paul’s warning against observing the Lord’s supper in an improper manner. He said, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Corinthians 11:29-30).
If you are living for yourself instead of living for the Lord, you know it. This is because every genuine Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. The Spirit reveals areas in our lives that are not in line with God's will and He prompts us to alter our course and align our actions with the Word of God. It may be that the Holy Spirit has prompted you to “consider your ways”. Perhaps you have come to the realization that many of the hardships that you are currently enduring are a direct result of your rebellion. Like the Israelites you have reached a place in your life where you are focused on yourself and the things of this world instead of the things of God. As a result you are currently enduring conviction and chastisement.
If so, it should be heartbreaking for you to realize that God has forgiven you of your sins, adopted you into His family, and provided you with salvation & innumerable eternal blessings, all at the expense of His dear Son, yet somewhere along the way you became indifferent and selfish! It is high time for you to “consider your ways”!
When God gave the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai, He said “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2-3). Those in Haggai’s day had put an idol before God; rather than worshipping God they were worshipping themselves!
Far too many professing Christians today have done the same. The condition of the modern-day Church is clear evidence that many of God’s people are focused on themselves instead of the Lord. Many people are so consumed with the things of this world that they are not faithful to gather for worship. Many of those who do assemble are not willing to serve. Others who agree to serve often fail to fulfill their responsibilities.
Tragically, many who are faithful in their church attendance and willing to perform certain tasks in the church are still consumed with their own self interests. They do all the right things but they do them for all of the wrong reasons.
It would be beneficial for us to examine every aspect of our church and “consider our ways”! Why do we do what we do? Is our worship intended to honor the Lord, or make us feel good? Is our budget focused on advancing the Kingdom or pleasing our congregants? Are all of the various programs that we offer designed to promote spiritual growth or are they nothing more than social clubs? Are our missions projects about reaching souls or having a fully funded vacation to a foreign country? Do we simply call programs “ministries” or are we actually ministering? Why are you involved in children’s ministry, youth ministry, music ministry, men or women’s ministry; why do you teach that class? Why do you serve as a deacon, trustee, or in any other position within this church? Are our evangelistic efforts about spreading the good news of Jesus Christ or is it about being able to brag about how much bigger we are than the church down the street? Preachers, are our sermons aimed at exalting Christ or displaying our exegetical and speaking abilities?
Individually we should all ask ourselves “why do I do what I do?” Collectively we should all ask, “why do we do what we do?” Are our efforts intended for self-gratification or God’s glory? We must all “consider our ways”!
The Lord’s purpose in calling His people to “consider their ways” was for them to see their error and to respond by changing their ways. That is His purpose for confronting us today. The Lord has confronted us with a sovereign message, a sad message, a sobering message, and:
A STIMULATING MESSAGE
To “stimulate” means to encourage interest or provoke activity. The people were inactive concerning the things of God and it was past time for them to turn their attention aways from themselves and rebuild the Temple of the Lord. Therefore, God said, “Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord” (v8).
Instead of gathering wood to panel their own houses, the people should gather wood for the construction of the Lord’s house. The instructions were clear: God told them where to go (“up to the hills”). He told them what to do (“bring wood and build the house”), and He told them why to do it (“that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified”).
It is important to note that the people’s motivation to change their ways was not to avoid further judgment. Their obedience was not prompted by a desire to once again experience the blessings of God. The reason for them to change their ways and build the house was to that Yahweh would “take pleasure in it and be glorified”.
The people’s neglect of the temple over the past two decades demonstrated their indifference to the Lord’s dwelling among them and to the issue of whether or not their sin offerings were acceptable. Now they could move forward and their relationship to with the Lord could be restored.
If you belong to the Lord but have turned away and become selfish and indifferent, you are probably already enduring the consequences of your rebellion. As we have seen, if you are a child of God your Heavenly Father will discipline you when you sin against Him. However, He loves you enough to confront your disobedience and He is patient and merciful enough to give you the opportunity to repent and to be restored. This is His desire, so much so that He has sent you a sobering, sad, sobering, and stimulating message. That message is simple, “consider your ways” and then respond by changing your ways!
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