Building Your Own House (Haggai 1:1-11)
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
(This is the start of a series on Haggai - be blessed!)
(Hag 1:1-11 NKJV) 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. {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."
God has ways and means of getting us to do His will - and when we
ignore His word we get His judgement on our prosperity. The obvious
thing forIsrael to do on return from exile was to rebuild the Temple.
But they got slack - they built panelled houses for themselves and
gave God scant attention. God's will was always "tomorrow" and they
said to themselves "its not time yet.." which was a thinly disguised
way of saying "we don't feel like it yet, in fact we couldn't be
bothered". But obedience isn't a matter for tomorrow or when we feel
like it. Obedience is for "Today". (Heb 3:7-9 NKJV) Therefore, as
the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, {8} Do not
harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the
wilderness, {9} Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My
works forty years."
The prophet Haggai speaks to the national leadership and through
them the people with the simple message "Consider your ways.." They
were in the midst of a severe economic recession. They expected a lot
and ended up with little, again and again their hopes were dashed.
Their prosperity vanished like money put into a bag with holes in it
(Haggai 1:6), there was drought and blight and mildew and the stored
up wealth "just vanished". (Hag 1:6-9 NKJV) "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." This is
described further in the next chapter of Haggai: (Hag 2:16-17 NKJV)
'since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there
were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths
from the press, there were but twenty. {17} 'I struck you with blight
and mildew and hail in all the labours of your hands; yet you did not
turn to Me,' says the LORD.
God's message to us is clear - He will not let us build our own house
until we build His. We are doomed to frustration in all we do, in
"all the works of our hands" unless we "seek first the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness" if we do this, then and only then "all this
things will be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33).
Is there something that God has clearly called you to? Then do it
now! Get on with the work of God. Your life purpose is not your own
comfort or material prosperity though these may indeed come. God has
made you a new creation and given you a new life purpose which
consists of good deeds that He has planned for you to do. "(Eph 2:10
NKJV) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
Don't be like the Jews God rebuked. Don't say "Tomorrow" say "Today"
and get on with the work of God.
Prayer:
Lord there are times when You seem to fill our lives with struggle
and lack of prosperity. Help us to discern if You are saying
something to us, moving us on somewhere, calling us to concentrate on
Your Kingdom and moving us out of seeking our own interests. Lord
help us to see what You are saying. If there is something we should
be doing, some obvious area of obedience that we are lacking in -
then show us now please Lord that we may fully obey You and be
blessed. Amen.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
Editor - Eternity Online Magazine http://www.eternity-magazine.org/
Cults, exegesis, bible teaching, Christian life and leadership.
For the thinking Christian!