Weekly Sermon
Haggai 1:1-11 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. 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. 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.”
In both verse 5 & verse 7 the Lord our God delivered this challenge to His people in that time – “Consider your ways.” The context of this challenge from the Lord concerned a contrast in values. It concerned a contrast between what the people valued and thus chose to do and what the Lord our God valued and thus desired for them to do. Yea, in its context the challenge to consider their ways was specifically a challenge for them to consider their priorities in relation to the work of the Lord. Even so, the challenge from our Lord for us today is just this – Consider your priorities.
Haggai 1:1-11 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. 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. 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.”
In both verse 5 & verse 7 the Lord our God delivered this challenge to His people in that time – “Consider your ways.” The context of this challenge from the Lord concerned a contrast in values. It concerned a contrast between what the people valued and thus chose to do and what the Lord our God valued and thus desired for them to do. Yea, in its context the challenge to consider their ways was specifically a challenge for them to consider their priorities in relation to the work of the Lord. Even so, the challenge from our Lord for us today is just this – Consider your priorities.
Many years prior to Haggai’s time the Lord had brought down His heavy hand of chastening upon His people Israel. He had empowered the military power of Babylon to overcome the Israelites, to destroy the city of Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem, and to scatter His people among the nations. Yet in the abundance of His mercy and grace, the Lord had given promise through His prophet Jeremiah that after seventy years of chastening and bondage, He would restore His people to the land and would empower them to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem. Even so, in the Old Testament book of Ezra we learn that the Lord moved on the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to send a remnant of Israelites back to the city in order to rebuild the temple. This remnant was led by Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest.
At first this rebuilding project proceeded well, and the foundation for the temple was laid in good time. Yet the adversaries of the Lord and of His people took notice and moved to hinder the work of the Lord. Yea, these adversaries were so successful in their work of hindrance that they were able to cause the work to cease completely for a significant period of time. However, the Lord sent two prophets, the prophet Haggai and the prophet Zechariah, to motivate and encourage His people to return back unto His work. The prophet Zechariah’s message was one of great encouragement, founded upon the great promise of the Lord that He would empower His people for His work through the power of His own Holy Spirit.
Yet the Lord actually sent the prophet Haggai to His people two months before He sent the prophet Zechariah. Whereas the primary focus of Zechariah’s message from the Lord was one of great encouragement, the primary focus of Haggai’s message from the Lord was one of direct challenge. Apparently this remnant of Israelites began with a great enthusiasm for and a great commitment to the work of the Lord. Yet then the adversaries moved to hinder them, and the fight to continue the Lord’s work intensified. Yea, that fight intensified until the work was caused to cease and until discouragement arose concerning the work. Finally, over time this discouragement over the work grew into a complete disregard for the Lord’s work. This was the place where the Lord’s people were when He sent His prophet Haggai to challenge them. Their high regard for the work of the Lord had changed over time into a disregard for the work of the Lord. In like manner, we ourselves must face the challenge of our regard for the Lord’s work today.
The Confrontation of Our Priorities in Relation to the Lord’s Work.
In Haggai 1:2-4 this confrontation of the Lord was delivered, “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.” Again in Haggai 1:9 this confrontation of the Lord was delivered, “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.” Through these verses a contrast in priorities is revealed. The Lord’s people in that time had made themselves and their own interests the priority in their life, rather than the Lord and the Lord’s work. They were indicating that it was not yet time to rebuild the Lord’s house, that is – the temple of the Lord. Instead, they were spending a great amount of time fixing up and furnishing their own houses. They were allowing the Lord’s house, the Lord’s temple, to lie waste. Instead, they were running unto their own houses and running after their own interests.
They had a problem in the area of their priorities. Their own interests were held with high regard; the Lord’s work was held with no regard. This was demonstrated through their use of time and through their work of effort. In Haggai 1:2 they said that the time had not yet come to do the Lord’s work. In this they were indicating that they did not have the time to do the Lord’s work. Yet in Haggai 1:3 the Lord reported that they seemed to have plenty of time for their own interests. Then in Haggai 1:9 the Lord reported that His house, His temple, was waste because they were putting forth no effort to rebuild it. Yet He also reported that they were putting forth enough effort to run unto their own interests. Thus the Lord our God confronted them, saying – “Consider your ways.” Consider that your priorities are not right.
In like manner, we are confronted by our Lord to consider our ways and our priorities. In that time they were responsible to rebuild the physical temple for the Lord. In our time we are responsible to build up the church ministry for the Lord. In their time they were neglecting the work of the Lord and were giving their time and effort to their own interests. What are we doing in our time? Are we now like they were then? Do we have plenty of time for our own interests, while we claim to have no time for the Lord’s work? Are we running with all effort after our own interests, while we neglect the Lord’s work? We must hear the confrontation of our Lord – Consider your ways. Consider your priorities.
The Chastening of Our Priorities in Relation to the Lord’s Work.
Now, because their priorities were not right before the Lord, the Lord our God brought down His heavy hand of chastening upon them. In Haggai 1:5-7 this chastening of the Lord was revealed, “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.” Again in Haggai 1:9-11 this chastening of the Lord was revealed, “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. 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.”
Because they set their priorities on their own interests rather than upon the Lord’s work, the Lord caused their interests and their efforts to dry up. Because they left the Lord’s work to lie waste, the Lord caused their interests and their efforts to be wasted. They would put forth great effort in sowing, but the Lord would cause them to reap little. They would give themselves to eating and drinking, but the Lord would cause their food to be unsatisfying. They would clothe themselves with nice clothing, but the Lord would not allow them to find any warmth and comfort therein. They would labor to earn much money, but the Lord would cause their money to slip away as quickly as they earned it. They would follow hard after their self-interests, expecting much return for their efforts. Yet the Lord would blow it away and would cause it to come to little. Because they pursued the priority of their own interests rather than the priority of the Lord’s work, their lives would be full of labor, work, and effort for what they wanted; but their results would only be emptiness, failure, and wasted effort in return. Does this describe our lives today? Are we giving a great deal of time and effort to the pursuits of self-interest at the expense of the Lord’s work, and are we finding that our time and effort in these pursuits of self-interest are resulting only in emptiness? Are we experiencing the heavy hand of our Lord’s chastening upon us because we have set our priorities upon our own interests rather than upon His work? If we are in this place of chastening because of wrong priorities, what shall we do about it?
The Correction of Our Priorities in Relation to the Lord’s Work.
In Haggai 1:8 the instruction of the Lord was given, “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.” Essentially, the Lord was instructing them to change their priorities and to concentrate themselves on the work of rebuilding His temple for Him. They were to change their priorities from their own interests to the Lord’s work. His work (for them, the work of rebuilding His temple) must come first in the use of their time and in the work of their effort. Their own interests must be placed in submission to His work. Yea, they had to prove their change in priority by actually giving themselves to the Lord’s work. Then He would take pleasure in their efforts and would be glorified in His work. Even so, we ourselves must correct our priorities in relation to the Lord’s work. We must repent over the sin of setting our priority upon our interests, and we must commit ourselves to set our priority upon our Lord’s work. Yea, we must prove this change in our priorities by actually giving our time and effort for the Lord’s work, by always abounding in the work of the Lord.
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