Prior to Haggai’s prophetic words, the Babylonians had come and carried off the southern kingdom, Judah, into captivity. That was 587 BC. It happened just as God had told His people it would. To transform them, to recapture their hearts, God actually had to dislocate them from their homeland and to allow them to be captured by the Babylonians. God took them from where they were physically so that He could take them where He desired for them to be spiritually. Don’t discount what God might be up to in your life just because you are going through a hard time, friend.
The book of Haggai is about the remnant, the group whose hearts have been reconditioned and transformed to belong to God. They returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple that the Babylonians had destroyed. The Temple was the gathering place, the central place where the Jews worshipped, and it pointed to their identity as God’s people. The year was 520 BC.
The Persians had conquered the Babylonians, and King Cyrus of Persia was sympathetic to the Jews and the fact that they had been displaced from their homeland for 70 years. He allowed them to return to Jerusalem. The High Priest, whose name was Joshua, not the Joshua that led the Jews into the Promised Land, but a later Joshua, he and a leader named Zerubbabel, the Governor of Jerusalem, led the charge.
As chapter one opened, God used Haggai to call people out for their misplaced priorities.
They had gone back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, but they hadn’t been very busy rebuilding the Temple. Oh, it had gotten gloriously started. The foundation had been laid. There was a big groundbreaking ceremony. They sent out their social media posts to invite everyone. The band had their music ready. The priests wore their Sunday best. The people sang their hearts out. They were on point and were dedicated to the work, but after two years, they just stopped working.
The people had shifted their priorities from the building of the temple, from the official return to the worship of God, to other things. Let’s face it. Rebuilding the Temple was hard. Starting over was difficult. Verse 6 indicates they didn’t have a lot of money or manpower. They were dealing with the personal challenges of crop failures and drought (1:9-11). The book of Ezra tells us there were enemies who created problems for them. Then they started reflecting on easier times in Babylon. Easier times in Babylon? Weren’t they living as a captured people?
What they were dealing with was basically the stuff of life. Anyone in here have more money and manpower than you know what do to with? Anyone here who is firing on all cylinders without any personal challenges or opposition from other people? Anyone looking to the past and pining for what you perceive to be easier, happier times?
In chapter 1:2 the people claimed it simply wasn’t time to rebuild. They decided the timing wasn’t right. They couldn’t speak against the idea of building the temple. They knew it was the right thing to do, but they rationalized that since there were so many obstacles, it must not be the right time. If it was so hard, they concluded it must not be something to pursue immediately.
Look at the language of 1:2: This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”
“These people?” That had to be hard for them to hear. To hear God refer to them as “these people” instead of “My people” had to be jarring. He was trying to jolt them, trying to wake them up. He saw their excuses. He knew what their priorities were. They weren’t living as His people, and He called them out on it.
These weren’t even “bad” people. They weren’t pursuing wicked, evil, pagan worship. These were the remnant. These were the people who had been preserved during the Babylonian exile. Hundreds of thousands had been captured and taken to Babylon. Only about 50,000 returned. They were the ones who were most committed to the Lord and to the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple.
The people had decided what time it wasn’t. They decided it wasn’t time to rebuild the temple, but they decided it was time to build something else. Verses 3-4:
3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
The focus had shifted away from the priority of the worship of God to themselves. They couldn’t build the Temple for all of the challenges they faced, but they could build their own homes and neglect the Temple which meant neglecting the worship of God. The problem wasn’t that the people needed homes to live in. They most surely did. But the issue stemmed from a complete shift away from the work of God to the pursuit of self. They pursued personal prosperity. They made something secondary their primary focus. They made something second, first. They pushed through their personal challenges to make sure they were comfortable while the work of God went undone. And chapter 1:4 indicates they were sparing no expense on the building of their personal homes.
It’s easy to see how the shift could have happened. The work was first stopped because it was difficult, and some obstacles made it even harder. “We can’t get much done at the Temple, and I’m tired of living in a wreck, so let’s just start our home remodel.” Once the homes got started perhaps the mindset became, “I would fund more of the construction at the Temple, but now all my money is tied up with my home renovation.” From there it’s easy to go down the slippery slope of comparison. “I’m not living as extravagantly as my neighbors! Look at the new chariot in their driveway!” Perhaps there was even criticism that the Temple work had come to a halt and people started asserting that “Someone should get to work on the Temple. I can’t help, but SOMEONE should take care of it.”
Eventually people begin to just accept conditions as they were. “The Temple hasn’t been open for more than 50 years, so a little while longer won’t matter.” “The altar is there, so we can at least sacrifice to the LORD. Spiritually, we’re getting by.”
God saw through every excuse. He sees through our excuses today, doesn’t He? He isn’t hoping that His people can spiritually just get by! He longs for us to give Him the priority in our lives. He says as we seek Him first, things will be rightly ordered in our lives. We’ll have what we need. If we take care of the first things, He’ll take care of the rest, but like the people of Haggai’s day, it’s easy to make excuses about why we can’t do whatever God is calling us to do.
What are some of the common excuses believers might make today? No-one in this room, of course, but believers in general.
What excuses might people make for not witnessing? “I am afraid of rejection.” “I don’t want anyone to be offended.” “I’m not sure how to bring Jesus up.” “It’s not my job. That’s what we pay the preacher for.”
What about excuses for not making church attendance a priority? “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.” “We need family time, and we’re all so busy during the week that Sunday is the only day we can spend together.” “I can worship God anywhere. I don’t have to be in Church to worship.”
And then there are excuses people make when they sin. “It’s just who I am.” “It’s not really that big of a deal compared to things other people are doing.” “Forgiveness is easy enough to get. God knows I am weak.” “I’ll quit tomorrow.”
People make all kinds of excuses about why they can’t stop sinning, why they can’t forgive someone, why they can’t give of the finances or their time, why they can’t move away from addiction, why they can’t read their Bible, why we won’t give our heart to the Lord…The list could go on and on. But our excuses aren’t any better than the excuses the people made during Haggai’s day.
Haggai asked them in 1:5-6 to consider their ways, to consider their approach to life, to consider the direction in which they were headed. People don’t always think of what happens down the road when they begin on a certain road. They like how the road seems wide or how the scenery is beautiful or how the curves in the road smell of adventure, but they don’t consider what’s at the end of the road they are on.
Through the Prophet Haggai, God as urging this remnant of people to think about the long-term consequences of their choices. The reason they were experiencing the trouble and setbacks they were suffering was because they were living life on their terms. When we live life on our own terms, we forfeit the blessing of God. Favor flows from doing things God’s way.
They were actually working hard, but they weren’t getting ahead. Look at verses 5-6:
5 “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
That sounds like the definition of insanity to me. Planting much and harvesting little. That’s not why you plant, right? Never being satisfied with food and drink. Here is a picture of unfulfillment. That’s not why we work, right? We want to live fulfilled and satisfied lives. Wearing clothes, but not being able to get warm. You earn money, but you put the money in a purse with holes in it so that you can’t even utilize your own resources.
What was happening to them was actually the fulfillment of promises God had made hundreds of years earlier. God had told His people during the time of Moses that they needed to follow Him wholeheartedly or He would judge them by causing draught that would keep them from enjoying their harvest. Sometimes God uses economic hardships to get our attention. I can almost guarantee when your priorities are out of whack, when God isn’t first, you will feel it in your wallet. I’m not saying that every financial challenge means you are being judged by God or that He is trying to get your attention, I’m just saying it’s a major way He dealt with His people then and now.
When our priorities are amiss, we will drink but not be filled, meaning, we won’t be satisfied. We’ll put on our clothes but not be able to get warm, meaning, we won’t be able to take care of ourselves, to make ourselves comfortable, to make ourselves secure. We’ll work to make money, but the money won’t meet our needs. We’ll wonder where it went as there will be more month than there will be money to meet the needs of the month.
Nothing will fill the God-shaped void in our lives when Jesus isn’t first. No person. No pursuit. No purse. No position. No passion.
Haggai had the remedy for their situation. He told them to get to work on the Temple and that God would take pleasure in it and be honored by them.
Verse 9: 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
Because their priorities weren’t right, God called for the drought that started a domino, downward spiral. Listen, when God wasn’t first, nothing worked right.
When they stopped rebuilding the Temple, they put themselves first. They began taking pleasure in their nice houses and their prosperous lives. They were taking pleasure in bringing glory to themselves. Haggai prophesied that it was time to return to a preoccupation with God’s glory. I’m telling you, if you will get radically focused on God’s glory, He will be radically focused on your good. It is a covenant-relationship. God takes care of His people.
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.
13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.
Don’t ever underestimate the power of these four words, “I am with you!” They are repeated in Scripture because they are powerful. They are the springboard for turnaround. They are the impetus for a new direction. They are the platform from which transformation begins. Judah wasn’t just being judged; they were being wooed and drawn back into the best kind of relationship with God. They were moving from a “these-people” status to a “My-people” status. Oh, how I want to be a “My-people” person! How about you?
14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God.
The Lord stirred them up! Once they feared the Lord (verse 12) which means once they honored Him, once they acknowledged Him as first, He stirred them up! He gave them passion! It started with the leaders. Zerubbabel, the Governor, got stirred. Joshua, the Priest, got stirred. Then the whole remnant got stirred! They passionately pursued the plan of God together! They were joyful! They were excited! They were thrilled to get back to the priority of the Lord’s work. It wasn’t just a Sunday-morning stirring, but it was a stirring that produced results beyond the moment!
Let me quickly say something about chapter 2. The second Temple didn’t hold a candle when compared to the beauty and splendor and opulence of the previous Temple, the one Solomon built. He had spared no expense. This second Temple couldn’t match the majesty of the first by earthly standards. It discouraged many people and brought them to tears, but because God was with them, He stood with them in that emotional space and urged them to continue to work. He reminded them He was with them.
Listen, the place God calls you to labor may not look like much now. It may not look like much when compared to what has been accomplished by people in your family before you, but if you are working where God has called you to labor, you must not stop. What is, isn’t what will be. God is calling us to be builders with Him, cultural shapers with Him, people of influence and impact. He is calling us to have dominion and to exercise authority. We can’t shrink back. We can’t stop. We need to let Him stir us up, and we need to fan the flames in our hearts, and we need to stay at the wall and keep doing the work. What seems small and insignificant in our eyes becomes mighty in the hand of the Lord.
Through Haggai, God gave this mighty prophecy in 2:6-9. 6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
Bigger things than ever were on the way as a result of their obedience! The glory of the second Temple WOULD be greater than the glory of the first. They didn’t need to worry about the resources for the building of the Temple. God had the silver and gold needed. They just needed to continue to allow Him to be first in their lives.
Let me just mention that this second Temple was remodeled by Herod into something greater than Solomon’s Temple. Second, the very LORD OF GLORY, Jesus, Himself, personally visited that Temple and worshiped there! Look at the last part of the passage: And in this place, I will grant peace. Wow. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, ushered in the peace of God and peace with God. It all happened as was prophesied.
Oh, Church, can we be stirred up? Can we put God in His rightful place in our lives? Can we stay faithful to do His work and trust Him to provide? Can we be generous? Diligent? God-honoring? Can we prioritize our worship of Him? What is the result of all of that? We talked about it last week! The result is GREATER THINGS! Who wants to experience the greater things God has for us? And who wants the peace that is planted in the lives of those who prioritize God first?
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