The Call To Rebuild

Someone once said, “Build. Destroy. Rebuild. I’ve mastered the art of bouncing back. Now, to master the art of not having to” (Dau Voire). This is probably how a lot of us feel. We’re tired of striving and struggling, and we’re tired of having to rebuild. But rebuilding is necessary in order to move ahead with life. The other option is to give up, which leads to an early grave. It’s been said, “Never be afraid to start over. It’s a chance to rebuild things right!” As a church, rebuilding is an opportunity to do things right according to God’s design, rather than our own.

Allow me to share another quote: “When we rebuild a house, we are rebuilding a home. When we recover from disaster, we are rebuilding lives and livelihoods” (Sri Mulyani Indrawati). Right now, the church is positioned to do more than just build the comforts of home. We have an opportunity to really change lives and impact people with the gospel, as they find themselves searching for answers in these difficult times. Through the power of Christ our church can help rebuild lives and livelihoods.

God is calling the church at large to rebuild; and He wants our church to rebuild as well. But amidst the challenges, it takes uncommon trust and surrender to tackle what God is asking. This morning, we’re going to look at how God called Israel to rebuild and see some of the challenges that His people had to overcome back then. So, let’s begin by reading from Haggai 1:1-8:

The Command to Rebuild (Haggai 1:1-8)

1 In 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.

This passage was written to the people who had returned from the Babylonian Exile to Jerusalem. Much of the nation’s infrastructure lay in ruins and they were in the process of trying to “build back better.” Commentator John Tullock says, “Haggai challenged the people to get on with the job of rebuilding the temple. If you expect the Lord’s blessings, then do the Lord’s will. In reaction to the people’s excuse that the time had not ‘yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house’ (1:2), Haggai reminded them that they had not let anything stop them from building their own homes. Yet, despite all efforts to meet their own needs, they still were not prosperous. Their efforts in agriculture had brought in little produce, and they never seem to have enough to eat and drink. Inflation also had taken its toll. Haggai’s picturesque way of saying it was ‘you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes’ (1:6). They needed to rebuild the temple if they expected the Lord to bless them. Otherwise, drought would continue to devastate their crops.”(1)

The people had faced some challenges which led to a time of great difficulty. For the exiled Israelites, this time of difficulty was that they were deported from their beloved homeland of Judah and Jerusalem to dwell in a strange and ungodly place. Granted, their problems were much different than ours; however, like us, their problems resulted in a fallen glory in their community of faith and a rift in their relationship with the Lord. Our trials have included being shut down for months, losing touch with those in our fellowship, and seeing some develop apathy toward coming to church once we reopened. We have also seen people leave our fellowship. Some of us are still feeling the effects of these trials, and we’re having a hard time seeing past them. We feel hurt and helpless, and are not sure if we can push past those trials to regain our former glory. We are probably feeling somewhat like the exiles when they returned from Babylon and saw their beloved city of Jerusalem lying in ruins.