Take Your Own Inventory Series

Haggai 1: 1 – 15

Take your own inventory

“1In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.”’”3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! 6 “ You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD. 9 “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.” 12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, 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 feared the presence of the LORD. 13 Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the LORD.” 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.”

How did we get here?

Mostly everyone has heard about king David. Under his reign our Precious Lord had done great things. David conquered much of the land that the Holy Yahweh had promised to the seed of Abraham, the Israelites. In fact, a blessing that David had never expected was Graciously given to him by Almighty God. He promised David that his seed would always be the lawful kings. Then things began to go south starting with David’s first heir, Solomon. The Mighty Holy One had visited Solomon and communed with him personally on two occasions. The Ever Living God had asked him to name a wish and beyond our imaginations would grant him. His wish was for ‘wisdom’. God told him that it was a great answer. And because he did not ask for extreme wealth, long life, or vengeance over his enemies, our Holy Father told him that He would give him all of that plus as a bonus make him the smartest and richest king that ever lived. But there was a condition. Solomon was told that he could not amass riches, wives, or horses. If our Lord offered you this same blessing would you agree to His conditions? Well, Solomon broke all the Lord’s conditions.

As a result of this violation the Gracious Ruler informed Solomon that the United Kingdom would be divided. The kingdom consisted of 12 tribes. Solomon’s son would be given two tribes because of the Lord’s unbroken promise to David that a king of his lineage would sit upon the throne. This kingdom would be referred as the Southern Kingdom. Adoni Yahweh then gave 10 of the tribes to a man named Jeroboam. This division was referred to as the Northern Kingdom.

Every king of the Northern Kingdom was evil. For their sinfulness the Lord allowed them to be conquered by the Assyrians. Then for hundreds of years our Holy Lord protected the tiny little nation of Judah previously known as the Southern Kingdom. Ultimately, the kings of Judah also turned to the same wickedness that their former relatives of the North committed. The Babylonians conquered them, which was the third world power. The first two were Egypt then Assyria. Ultimately, in time, the Medes and Persians overthrew this empire as the dominant power.