Your First And Best Is Good Enough (Haggai 2:1-9) Series

Last week, we worked through Haggai 1. In that chapter, Yahweh challenges his people to stop, and think, about their struggle to prosper. All of you have had times in your life, probably, where you've worked like a dog, and had nothing to show for it. And there's few things more frustrating, than when that happens. If you work hard, you should reap the fruit of that hard work, right?

And then, Yahweh went on in Haggai 1 to talk about why life was hard for them. "You are struggling because you are neglecting my house. All you are thinking about is yourself."

Let's reread 1:1-11:

(1) In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zurubbavel son of Shaltiel, governor of Judah, and to Yehoshua son of Yehotsadak the high priest, saying,

(2) "Thus said Yahweh of Armies, saying,

"This people has said,

'The time has not yet come-- the time for the house of Yahweh to be built,"

(3) and the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying,

(4) "The time is it for you, yourselves, to rest in your paneled houses,

while this house is in ruins?"

(5) And so then, Thus Yahweh of Armies has said,

"Consider in your hearts concerning your roads/ways:

(6) You have sown much,

and you have brought in little.

Eating,

and there is no abundance/satisfaction.

Drinking,

and there is no merriment/drunkenness.

Wearing clothes,

and there isn't warmth for him,

and the one earning wages, earns wages to a bag with holes."

(7) Thus Yahweh of Armies has said,

"Consider in your hearts concerning your roads/ways."

(8) Go up to the mountain to gather wood,

and build the house,

and I shall be pleased with it,

and I shall be glorified," Yahweh said.

(9) Expecting much,

and LOOK! A little,

and when you gathered to the house,

I blew on it, because of what? --utterance of Yahweh.

Because of my house, that it is in ruins,

while you are rushing/running, each man to his house.

(10) Because of these things, over/concerning you the heavens have withheld dew,

while the earth has withheld its crops,

(11) and I have called for ruins/drought on the land and on the mountains and on the garden and on the new wine and on the olive oil and on all that the earth brings forth and on the human and on the cattle and on all the toil of the hands,

Then, in verses 12-15, we read about the response of the leaders, and the people, to Haggai's words. Will they heed Haggai's words? Will they do what Israelites seldom did, and obey one of God's prophets?:

(12) And Zerubbavel son of Shaltiel obeyed, with Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, the voice of Yahweh their God/Elohim and the words of Haggai the prophet,

just as Yahweh their God/Elohim had sent him,

and the people feared before the face/presence of Yahweh,

(13) and Haggai the messenger of Yahweh spoke with the message of Yahweh to the people, saying,

"I am with you." --utterance of Yahweh,

(14) and Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbavel son of Shaltiel governor of Judah, and the spirit of Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people,

and they came/gathered,

and they did work on the house of Yahweh of Armies their Elohim/God (15) on the 24th day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

So that's chapter 1. We read chapter 1, and we are pleased. What we are seeing here is a picture of how life was supposed to look in the OT. When you stumble, and sin, God sends a prophet to challenge you, and to let you know what He thinks of you. And hopefully, you, as God's people, respond by returning to God.

Our passage for this week, Haggai 2, is addressed to the people about a month later than chapter 1-- after a month of working on God's house.

Before we start reading chapter 2, try to picture this month. Picture the leaders and the people working together to rebuild God's house. How far do you think you could get, with a few hundred people (or more) helping? What do you suppose it looked like?

By the time you work on any house project, however big, for a month, you're going to have a pretty good idea of what the final product will look like.

My father-in-law is handy. He can look at something that's broken, and understand how it's been designed, and know how to fix it. He has the right tools to fix it, and he actually knows how to use those tools.