Weekly Sermon
This sermon is a companion to a previous sermon: Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5
Haggai 1:1-8 reads, “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”
In the time of Haggai the prophet the Lord’s people were neglecting the Lord’s work. The specific work to which they had been called was to rebuild the Lord’s house, the physical temple in Jerusalem. Yet they were allowing the Lord’s house, the Lord’s temple, to lie waste. They had a problem in their priorities. They had set their priorities upon their own interests rather than upon the Lord’s work. In the use of their time, they claimed to have no time for the Lord’s work. Yet the Lord indicated that they seemed to have plenty of time for their own interests. In Haggai 1:2-4 the Lord confronted them, saying, “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?” Also in the work of their effort, they completely disregarded the Lord’s work while they ran with all effort after their own interests. In Haggai 1:9 the Lord confronted them, saying, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”
Because of their wrong priorities, the Lord brought His hand of chastening against them. In Haggai 1:6 He declared, “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.” Again in Haggai 1:9-11 He declared, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it [to blow it away]. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.”
Yes, the Lord confronted them for their wrong priorities, chastened them for those wrong priorities, and challenge them to consider the sinfulness of their wrong priorities. Haggai 1:5 proclaims, “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Again Haggai 1:7 proclaims, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Yet then the Lord counseled them on how they might correct their wrong priorities. In Haggai 1:8 He declared, “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.” First, they were to consider their priorities. Then they were to consider the Lord’s pleasure. The Lord’s hand of chastening was against them because of their wrong priorities. Yet the Lord was willing to place His hand of pleasure upon them if they would correct their wrong priorities. So then, brethren, what about us today? Do we at all desire that the Lord our God should take pleasure in our lives? Do we at all desire that the Lord our God should take pleasure in our work and service for Him? Would we rather have our Lord’s hand of chastening against us or His hand of pleasure upon us?
This sermon is a companion to a previous sermon: Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5
Haggai 1:1-8 reads, “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”
In the time of Haggai the prophet the Lord’s people were neglecting the Lord’s work. The specific work to which they had been called was to rebuild the Lord’s house, the physical temple in Jerusalem. Yet they were allowing the Lord’s house, the Lord’s temple, to lie waste. They had a problem in their priorities. They had set their priorities upon their own interests rather than upon the Lord’s work. In the use of their time, they claimed to have no time for the Lord’s work. Yet the Lord indicated that they seemed to have plenty of time for their own interests. In Haggai 1:2-4 the Lord confronted them, saying, “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?” Also in the work of their effort, they completely disregarded the Lord’s work while they ran with all effort after their own interests. In Haggai 1:9 the Lord confronted them, saying, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”
Because of their wrong priorities, the Lord brought His hand of chastening against them. In Haggai 1:6 He declared, “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.” Again in Haggai 1:9-11 He declared, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it [to blow it away]. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.”
Yes, the Lord confronted them for their wrong priorities, chastened them for those wrong priorities, and challenge them to consider the sinfulness of their wrong priorities. Haggai 1:5 proclaims, “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Again Haggai 1:7 proclaims, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Yet then the Lord counseled them on how they might correct their wrong priorities. In Haggai 1:8 He declared, “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.” First, they were to consider their priorities. Then they were to consider the Lord’s pleasure. The Lord’s hand of chastening was against them because of their wrong priorities. Yet the Lord was willing to place His hand of pleasure upon them if they would correct their wrong priorities. So then, brethren, what about us today? Do we at all desire that the Lord our God should take pleasure in our lives? Do we at all desire that the Lord our God should take pleasure in our work and service for Him? Would we rather have our Lord’s hand of chastening against us or His hand of pleasure upon us?
The Steps to Return unto the Way of Our Lord’s Pleasure upon Us.
If our priorities and our ways have not been right in the sight of our Lord, then His pleasure has been removed from us. He has not been pleased with us. Rather, He has been angered by our sinfulness; and the chastening of His wrath has been against us. Yet in the abundance of His grace, He has made a way in which we might return to the way of His pleasure. This way of return involves three steps.
First, we must accept the righteous rebuke of the Lord our God. In the opening portion of Haggai 1:12 we find the first response of God’s people to the message of the prophet Haggai – “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, 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.” Now, in Haggai 1:1-11 the voice and word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet had primarily been a message of rebuke against their wrong priorities. In this context, for them to obey the voice and word of the Lord was for them actually to consider their ways before the Lord. It was for them actually to consider that their priorities were indeed wrong in the sight of the Lord. The Lord had challenged them to consider their ways, to consider their wrong priorities; and they had obeyed His voice. They had accepted His rebuke. They had come to recognize that the Lord’s rebuke was right and that their priorities and ways were wrong. In like manner, in order to return unto the way of our Lord’s pleasure upon us, we ourselves must first acknowledge that our present ways are sin in the sight of the Lord our God. We must hear His rebuke against our sinful ways, and we must accept that His rebuke is right and that our ways are indeed unrighteous.
Second, we must repent of our sinful ways before the Lord our God. As Haggai 1:12 continues, we find the second response of God’s people to the message of the prophet Haggai – “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, 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 did fear before the LORD.” Now, Biblically “the fear of the Lord” might be defined as a complete, reverential submission unto our Lord’s supreme lordship. In its fullness this Bible doctrine includes many different aspects of our relationship with the Lord our God. So then, in this context what was the specific aspect in which these people of God needed to “fear before the Lord”? Specifically, they needed to “fear before the Lord” by repenting of their sinful ways. The Lord had just rebuked them of their wrong priorities and ways. In response they needed to fear before Him at His rebuke. Yea, in response they needed to fear before Him with repentance. In like manner, in order to return unto the way of our Lord’s pleasure upon us, we ourselves must also “fear before the Lord” at His Word of rebuke and at His hand of chastening. We must also “fear before the Lord” with repentance of our sinful ways. First, we must accept our Lord’s rebuke and must acknowledge that our ways are indeed sinful. Then second, we must “fear before the Lord” and must express unto Him our repentance of those sinful ways.
Third and finally, we must be obedient to the will of our Lord. In Haggai 1:14-15 we find the third response of God’s people to the message of the prophet Haggai – “And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, in the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.” The will of the Lord for them in that time was to do the work of rebuilding the house of the Lord, the physical temple in Jerusalem. Because of their wrong priorities, they had neglected that work. Thus the Lord’s anger was kindled against them. Thus the Lord chastened them, and thus the Lord rebuked them. Yet now they had accepted the righteous rebuke of the Lord, and now they had repented of their sinful ways before the Lord. Having done so, now they actually moved to obey the will of the Lord and to do the work of the Lord. In like manner, in order to return unto the way of our Lord’s pleasure upon us, we ourselves must not only accept the rebuke of the Lord and repent of our sin before the Lord, but must also be obedient to the will of our Lord. Yea, we must get up, go forth, and do the work of the Lord. Then, as Haggai 1:8 reveals, our Lord will take pleasure in our lives and in our work and service for Him. Then we will walk in the way of His pleasure upon us.
The Rewards of Walking in the Way of Our Lord’s Pleasure upon Us.
In Haggai 1 we find three of these rewards.
First, we shall find the reward of our Lord’s fellowship, as well as all of the blessings that are included in that fellowship. In Haggai 1:12-13 God’s Word declares, “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, 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 did fear before the LORD. Then spake Haggai the LORD’S messenger in the LORD’S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.” Do we want the Lord our God to be with us? Do we want to walk in fellowship with the Lord our God? Do we want to experience and enjoy all of the blessings of our Lord’s fellowship? This will be our daily, spiritual reward if we will walk in the way of our Lord’s pleasure.
Second, we shall find the reward of our Lord’s enabling, specifically through the spiritual empowerment of the indwelling Holy Spirit. In Haggai 1:14 God’s Word declares, “And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God.” Do we want the enabling grace of our Lord? Do we want “to be strengthened with might by [our Lord’s] Spirit in the inner man” in order that we might do our Lord’s will? This will be our daily, spiritual reward if we will walk in the way of our Lord’s pleasure.
Third, we shall find the reward of our Lord’s glory, in which He Himself shall be publicly glorified in our lives and service for Him. In Haggai 1:8 God’s Word declares, “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.” That our Lord should be glorified in all things ought to be the driving motivation of our hearts, and this will be true when we walk in the way of our Lord’s pleasure.
Posted in Weekly Sermon, Haggai, Repentance of Sin, Obedience to the Lord, Fellowship with the Lord,
Spiritual Enablement, Glory of the Lord
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