First Things First

And it’s important to do this in order… or, you know, you die. If you followed those steps, and you started under water, you’re dead now. Breathing is important.

This is why, if you’re going to survive, you have to do first things first.

So, forget surviving in the jungle. how do you survive as a refugee. Now a returning refugee, returning to your “ancestral” home to find a city in ruins, livable buildings taken over by other foreign refugees as conquering armies resettled everybody everywhere.

What do you do first?

Breathe? Clean water? Food? Shelter? These are important things.

We are picking up the book of Haggai, another of the “minor” prophets, and here is the 2nd shortest book in the Old Testament. Just behind our friend Obadiah.

Haggai writes after the first return to Jerusalem. Recall from Daniel, the writing was on the wall, and then Cyrus, named in prophecy 150 years earlier, Cyrus becomes King, the Persian/Media empire overthrows Babylon, and Cyrus decrees that Jews can return and he is actually going pay for most of the rebuild and sends the treasures of the temple back. Amazing.

Here comes the procession.

Haggai 1:1 ESV

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:

Zerubabbel (that’s fun to say). Descendant of David, now governor of Judah.

Yeshua, the high priest. How awesome is that? A little heavy on the foreshadowing… but well done God. That will definitely play in later.

And in the second year of Darius. This is the king that threw Daniel in the Lion’s den, not the first king, this is 14 years after the first return. The people have been back for awhile now.

Let’s check in and see how the returning refugees are doing? Have they followed the appropriate steps for survival?

They obviously have oxygen, water and food. They must have shelter by now, though Israel has pretty mild water. What’s missing?

Haggai 1:2 ESV

2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”

Some GREAT excuses here. (See story in Ezra).

There are letters to kings involved, Samaritans drama.

We Really Tried

They did, actually. They started all full of fire and they laid out the foundation. You can read the beginning of the story in Ezra. They start building the foundation and gathering free will offerings for the temple… but the Samaritans are there in the land. And they actually ask to help.

But the returning Jews say “no” because of God’s command to Joshua and the Israelites not to mix with the “people of the land” and Samaritans are descendants of Israelites intermarried with other peoples.

I… feel weird about them saying “no”… but that’s what they did. History, not necessarily “command of God.” And so the Samaritans were ticked, and they write to one of the kings (they call Artaxerxes) and say Jerusalem has a history of rebellion so you shouldn’t let them build anything and the king writes back and says “yup, put a stop to it!”

So… king says “no” now, or at least some functionary or governor writing in the name of the king says “no.” So they stop.

They really tried. Oh well.

No big deal

Besides, the new temple isn’t really going to be that great.

It’s going to be WAY smaller

Ezra 3:12 ESV

12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy,

The old men weep because they remember the old temple. And it was 10 times the size.

“Oh, it’s going to be so small.” What’s the point?

Hard to get up enthusiasm for a project that is uninspiring and unimpressive. Little baby temple. Sad.

So… it’s hard. The king said no, the Samaritans are blocking us. And it’s a little baby lame temple.

Let’s just do something else. For 14 years.

Let’s see how the God who has miraculously returned a remnant of His people to the land of their inheritance in fulfillment of 100s of years of prophecies… let’s see how He thinks about this:

No Excuses

Haggai 1:3–4 ESV

3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?

“Paneled houses.”???

“Wainscoted and roofed with costly woods” This is the same word used in 1 Kings when describing the beautiful paneling in the temple, cedar panels, maybe even the same wood King Cyrus sent along for the rebuilding of the temple in Ezra.

It isn’t just that they have shelter, they have beautiful polished, perfected houses. They are meticulously laying a new deck off the backyard… and there is the temple still lying in ruins, a rough foundation barely laid out.

So he says this, I love it:

Haggai 1:5 ESV

5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.

Just… think about that for a second. Consider it. Ponder it carefully. Do you know what you’ve done???

I imagine the near disbelief of someone searching in their pack for beef jerky… while trapped under the ice. Dude, you have WAY misjudged the priorities here!!!

They done messed up. And, really by the grace of God, he is going to show them just how unfulfilling this is.

Haggai 1:6–7 ESV

6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.

Again. Think, think, think about it!

Instead, it’s time now to fix this.

Haggai 1:8–12 ESV

8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” 12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, 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 feared the Lord.

They better.

They start building. In Ezra it continues the story. They write the King, which apparently they hadn’t tried before, and appeal the “block” to temple building, citing Cyrus’ previous command. Someone looks it up, sure enough they already have permission, and go continue building.

That excuse was just that.

A month later God speaks to one of their excuses.

Haggai 2:1–3 ESV

1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

Right, exactly. Small potatoes.

Haggai 2:4–9 ESV

4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’ ”

That comes a “little bit” true as Herod “the Great” makes the temple mount and builds the temple up into one of the wonders of the Ancient World. Bigger than Solomon’s temple ever was. Big enough that the temple mount stands tall and proud and strong now, 2000 years later.

But it is in Jerusalem that God himself tears down the temple and rebuilds it in three days. On a small hill in sight of the temple, that’s where He delivers true and forever Shalom.

Peace forever.

So what for there excuses. As Mark Twain said “I never met a man who was good at making excuses who was any good at anything else.”

First Things First

The Jews have returned from exile in fulfillment of God’s promise, but they decorate their houses instead of building the temple. This will never bring fulfillment. Their excuses don’t matter. The “smallness” of their offering doesn’t matter, though those who remember weep to see the new temple. What matters is giving God our first and best.

We have our rule of 3.

3 minutes without oxygen.

3 hours without shelter.

3 days without water.

3 weeks without food.

How long can you live without God giving you life?

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there’s your rule of 3.

Not 3 nanoseconds.

What is the priority for the retuning refugees? God first, always. First and foremost.

First and best.

This is about their treasure, yes. Giving the best of everything they have for the glory and worship of God. That is their first priority. Before shelter, even, certainly before they are putting the extra finishing touches on their houses. ESPECIALLY if they are “robbing” what was already given and intended for the temple.

This is about their time. Where is their labor going? Where is their attention going? Not to God. Not to worship. They have all their excuses lined up. Does God remove their excuses before they obey?

Nope. Obey first, then he answers their excuses. And that’s only a gift of grace. Ultimately the excuses are irrelevant.

This is about their talent. The carpenters, the masons, the businessmen, the priests, when it comes time to build they call on everyone, each according to their talents, each as God has called and blessed them. It takes everyone, that’s why God brought them back and prepared them.

This is about your treasure. Things get sticky when we talk about money. It’s not my business… it is God’s business. Not because we need more money as a church. That’s not how this works.

Let me put your mind at rest, just in case, I don’t get paid more if you give more. I have nothing to gain here, personally. And every quarter, and more often if you want it, you can see where every penny is and where it goes. We believe the Holy Spirit can speak through God’s people to direct what we do together with God’s money… to worship and glorify Him, to demonstrate His glory and His love to the world. Across the Street and Around the World. In a small village in India we support, on a campus mission field in Boulder, across the street in the park, and yes, worshipping here together and studying His Word.

It certainly isn’t “riches” or “wealth” or “panels on your houses” that is a problem here. It is your heart before God. Is He first. Are you putting Him first, giving Him first and best. First and best in token of ALL that you are and have, because it is all His.

This is about your time. I get it, you’re busy, so am I. Frequently I have to reorient my life. If I’m too busy to do what God is calling me to do… I am wrong. I have said “yes” to wrong things, even if they are good things. If you are busy, your life is full, because you’re already doing exactly what God is calling you to do… praise God and hallelujah!!! It isn’t “busyness” that’s a problem.

This is about your talent. Just like all those carpenters and masons and workmen and businessmen… it took all of them. I believe you’re here because God has called you here, and prepared you, gifted you especially to serve Him, to glorify Him here and now, whether for a season or a lifetime.

Are you serving Him? First and foremost? Best and first!

Our excuses can look a whole lot like the Israelites. “Oh, but what I have to offer is so small. So much smaller than what they have, or what the temple was before… so why bother?”

Why did the old widow bother to put her two small copper coins in the offering? but Jesus said “she gave more than everyone else.”

Because it was her first and best. Because it is an offering of the heart.

God isn’t fooled by our excuses. He knows our hearts. He knows our checkbooks. He knows our calendar.

Consider your ways.

Not that we should go away feeling guilty… but because every other pursuit is empty and hollow. May God reveal it to us as such.

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