Neglect of God’s Temple
The people of God dwelling in Babylon did not wish to rebuild the temple yet. They liked it in Babylon. Then God told them to consider their ways. He asked them if it was time for them to stay in their lavish houses while His house was in ruins.
Haggai 1:2-4,“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.’ Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?”
This was the first exodus returning to Jerusalem lead by Zerubbabel who would be the governor of Jerusalem and Joshua who would be the high priest. The people were comfortable in their exile. The paneled houses meant that the ceilings were paneled in wood; a luxury save for kings and nobility.
Meanwhile God’s Holy Temple, His house, is lying in ruins; a desolate wasteland
Consider Your Ways
Haggai 1:5-6, “Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways! 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.”
God, through the prophet, tells the people to consider their ways. That’s something we don’t even do today. We are more impulsive and singularly focused on the goals we have for ourselves than we are on the will and purposes of God. He goes on to tell them that they are so focused on what they want that they are not even noticing the unstable nature of their lives. They work long hours and make so little, their thirst for things is never quenched, the make wages only to have them disappear into a bag full of holes. Where does it go? Sound familiar?
Nothing has changed in 2,500 years. It’s still the same today as it was then. God is rarely our priority, unless it’s convenient to us. God becomes a priority when things go wrong and darkness rests upon us. When we are in the dark night of the soul and God seems as far away as the furthest edge of the galaxy, then he becomes a priority. These are the times we dig into Him, that we seek Him and desire His presence and His life.
When things are good, it’s a different story. When all is well we seek less, we desire less of Him. Things and careers and entertainment fill the holes in our heart that He is to fill. But they never do a good job of filling. We thirst, but are not quenched.
Build My House
Haggai 1:7-8, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 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.
Again, the Lord admonishes His people to ‘Consider your ways!’ The people were commanded by God and neglected Him for their own comfort and desires. It’s the same with His temple today – His Church. We take pleasure in our own desires, our own will, and our own way. We neglect His temple spiritually and physically.
There is a call going out to His people today to forsake our own ways and desires, and to tend to His temple and His purposes. A call to Return to God:
Hosea 6:1, “Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.”
Verse eight commands us to go up to the mountain and gather wood and build the house of God. Then He will take pleasure in it and will be glorified. The trip is not an easy one. It’s a climb and there is much work but in the end God will take pleasure and will be glorified; and that is the reason we are here.
Answer the Call
Haggai 1:9-11, “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 was the one who caused the lack in their lives. He dried up the provision, he closed the heavens and dried up the dew, he caused lack to the labor of their hands. Why? Because His temple was in ruins and laid waste. The people lived decent lives but He had no way to dwell among them. He was no longer their priority.
Hosea 6:1 tells us as well that God is the one who has torn and stricken us, but He promises that if we return to Him and make Him our number one priority, then He will heal and bind us up. He will take pleasure in us and be glorified in us. We are His temple!
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