Haggai 1:1-11 - Stop...And Consider Your Ways
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Stop… And Consider Your Ways…
We live in an extremely busy and frankly a self-absorbed culture. Between work schedules, vacation schedules, travel and local sports, entertainment, recreation, smart phones, social media, and countless other activities - people spend very little time considering their ways. They spend very little time thinking about their goals, callings, and responsibilities. They spend very little time considering their relationship with the Lord, the things of the Lord, and their spiritual health.
The old adage that if the devil can’t make you bad he will make you busy has probably never been more true than in the 21st century.
He is continuing to gain more and more success in this area. Christians are neglecting their own spiritual lives as well as the body of Christ - namely the church. And much of this comes from being busy in their own earthly affairs and not busy considering their ways and the ways of God.
A study from Lifeway from 2019 showed that only 32% of protestant churchgoers read their Bible daily. This study was looking at whom we would consider the cream of the crop in Christianity - regular churchgoing protestant Christians. Frankly, it is referring to people just like you all who are here in the flesh! And we see that almost 70% of people resembling those present here don’t read the Bible daily. In fact, this same study states that 28% of this same group don’t even pick up their Bibles once per week (1)! This is a serious issue. The Word is our daily bread, and we have a large majority of our churchgoers literally starving from a lack of food from the Word of God.
And today people are also neglecting attending the house of the Lord. In 2002, ABC News did a poll that showed that 38% of Americans attended church weekly (2). At an average population at that time of 287 million people in the US - that meant we had 114.8 million people attending church weekly. This was considered a poor study outcome by evangelicals at the time because of the drop that had occured over the past decades, but today’s numbers are much dismal. Multiple studies according to Churchleaders.com’s research, show recent estimates of less than 20% of Americans regularly attend church - likely around 17.2% (3). So with the US population today at 334 million we now have 56.8 million people attending church weekly. Our nation’s population went up 15% from 2002 to 2023, but the number of people attending church went down by almost 50%!
My friends. It is time for Christians’s in America to stop and consider their ways. It is time for us to stop and consider our ways.
Join me in prayer as we start diving into the convicting and life-changing book of Haggai.
Prayer
Before we dive into the message today, we need to understand a little background of Israel at the time of Haggai. I have included a helpful timeline for you follow as well.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been conquered in 722 BC by Assyria, but the Southern Kingdom held on for quite some time after that. It wasn’t until 586 BC that Babylon, under the direction of King Nebuchadnezzar II, conquered Judah and destroyed Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The people were then carried into exile to Babylon.
However in 539 BC, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonian Empire. And a short year later, in 538 BC, he issued an edict permitting the Jews who wished to do so to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed decades earlier.
This was amazing favor shown to Israel. And the people started building the foundation and started offering sacrifices to the Lord. But as we will see in a moment, they stopped short of actually rebuilding the temple. Only the foundation was laid. Eventually King Darius became King of Persia in 522 BC. And it is during the second year of his reign - 520 BC - some 18 years after being allowed to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, that Haggai steps out on the scene as a prophet of the Lord to rebuke and challenge his people.
In light of our account today, we are given two major overarching challenges. The first is…
I. We Need to Stop and Hear the Word of the Lord (1-2)
I. We Need to Stop and Hear the Word of the Lord (1-2)
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:
We have already mentioned King Darius who took over for Cyrus the Great as king of Persia. But who are Haggai, Zerubbabel, and Joshua?
We don’t know much about Haggai other than this prophesy from him. He is mentioned in Ezra 5:1-2 and Ezra 6:14 where he is called a prophet and mentioned alongside the prophet Zechariah. Actually, the only thing we know about him for sure is that he was definitely a prophet as the word prophet is used alongside his name in 7 out of the 11 mentions of his name in the Bible. All of his messages in this book take place in a 15 week period during the year 520 BC. We know this because he is extremely detailed with dates! He actually records the highest amount of dates in his book than any prophetic book other than Jeremiah! He records 6 distinct dates including day, month and year. And his book is only 2 chapters!
Then we come to Zerubbabel. We really do not know much specifically about this man either. We are told that he is a governor and is the son of Shealtiel. A genealogical study, however gives us some further insight. He comes from the line of David and his grandfather was King Jehoiachin. If we look at Matthew 1:12-13, we see that he is actually in the line of the Messiah, Jesus Christ!
Finally we come to Joshua the son of Jehozadak who is called high priest. Looking at 1 Chronicles 6:14-15, we see that he is a true Levite of the line of Aaron. He played the role of high priest for this post-exilic group in Jerusalem.
So putting these three leaders together - we are given the following theocracy formation:
Prophet - Haggai
Priest - Joshua
King/Ruler - Zerubbabel (Governor actually)
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:
Before moving to verse two we are told that the word of the Lord came to Haggai and we are told when it comes. It comes on the first day of the sixth month. This day would have been a festival occasion as it would be a day with a “new moon” (Numbers 10:10). The new moon provided a day of rest and celebration before the Lord. There is likely a crowd gathered for sacrifices when the word of the Lord comes. And what is this word that comes?
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”
First off this message comes from the Lord of hosts. That is a tough name. It is a military name. This name is used some 14 times in this book. And it refers to the God of armies - likely the God of angel armies.
Why does God choose to reveal Himself with this name?
We are told that these people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Note that God does not call them My people. He calls them “these people.” That gives us a clue at where the relationship is currently. He calls them these people because they are not obeying Him as His people. They are not completing the building of the temple of God.
We see in the book of Ezra that there is some opposition after the foundation was laid. And they just start performing sacrifices all the while halting the building of the temple.
This is a huge deal though. Because God had said that He would dwell in the temple. So in essence, not completing the rebuilding of the temple was like telling God that they didn’t really want to be around Him anyway. This was a blatant disregard for the Lord and showed that their hearts were not for Him - hence Him calling them these people instead of my people.
But it is at this point that the Word of the Lord comes. And He calls them out regarding their heart of disobedience. They have now heard the Word of the Lord for the first time since the time of the Exile in Babylon. But will they just hear it?
Just like them, we need not only to hear the Word… But..
Scripture References: Ezra 5:1-2, Ezra 6:14, Matthew 1:12-13, 1 Chronicles 6:14-15, Numbers 10:10
II. We Need to Stop and Heed the Word of the Lord (3-11)
II. We Need to Stop and Heed the Word of the Lord (3-11)
A) … As God Calls Us to Repent (3-7)
A) … As God Calls Us to Repent (3-7)
Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
The Lord first addressed the problem. As we saw in verse 2 we see that the people are not building the house of the Lord. But in verses 3-4, the Lord expounds upon this problem.
He reminds them that they dwell in paneled houses while the temple lies in ruins.
The term paneled houses lets us know that they had houses that were complete. They had walls and roofs. And it likely refers to homes that are well-built and decorated. We will see in verses 6-7 that the people were not abundantly blessed so these houses were likely not incredibly lavish. But they had prioritized themselves and their own lives before the work of the Lord. And not just their necessities - they had even decorated and beautified their own houses before getting to the Lord’s house.
This brings up an applicable point that can be true in our own lives as well.
Are we more zealous in advancing our own agenda and plans than God’s?
Can we relate to Israel here? God’s Word is transcendent and applicable to all of us. I think we all need to examine our lives in light of Israel’s sin here.
Do we think more about our own lives than we think about the Lord and what He wants us to do? Our culture is not about the Lord. It takes effort to do what Paul challenged us to do in Colossians 3:2:
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
It also takes effort to not be selfish:
For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
It is hard to avoid seeking our own interests when almost everyone around us doing that. It takes diligence and faith in God as our Provider to prioritize giving to the work of the Lord and serving Him.
And I can promise you one thing - there will always be opposition to the Lord’s work. Satan will let you work on your own work and your own will all day. But he will oppose the work of God in your life. And you must be willing to persevere to do the work of the Lord.
Moving back to our account… God reminds Israel that their short-sighted efforts are not without consequence:
Haggai 1:5–7 (ESV)
Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 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. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.
God reminds them that they are not satisfied with their lives currently.
God says that they:
Sow but harvest little.
Eat but never have enough.
Drink but never have their fill.
Are clothed but never warm.
Earn wages that fall through the holes in their bag.
Their plan of putting themselves first has consequences. Their lives continue to remain unfulfilled and they are not blessed.
Obviously, we today do not have the same promise of covenantal prosperity that Israel did. They were told that if they were obedient they would rewarded with prosperity and blessing. We are not promised financial prosperity of blessing although it does come to some.
But under the New Covenant, we are promised fulfillment, joy, and peace in Christ.
When you make your life all about you, you are guaranteed you one thing - it will not go well with you. If you are a believer, you have made the decision that sin will not continue being enjoyable. Yes, you may enjoy if for a time. But we are told in Hebrews 12:6 that God disciplines those He loves, and He will not allow you to be joyous in your sinful ways. You will eventually be miserable in your sin if you are a true believer.
God calls you to consider your ways.
Haggai 1:5–7 (ESV)
Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 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. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.
He actually bookends verses 5-7 with this same statement. Consider your ways. Today’s message title comes right from this repeated statement.
I pray that today, you stop and consider your ways.
Ask yourself how you are spending your money, your time, your resources.
Take a moment and reflect on how you manage all of this. Is the Lord and His work your number one priority? Or is it something else?
Our God is a jealous God. He is jealous for your affections. He is not jealous like we are on earth. He is jealous because He is the greatest good for you. He doesn’t want you to worship the things of this world. They are nothing compared to Him.
He doesn’t want to see you worship rubbish when you can worship the Redeemer.
He is so much better.
He calls you to repent of any area of your life where He is not number one. I pray that you do that today brothers and sisters.
Next… We should heed the Word of the Lord…
B) … As God Calls Us to Respond (8)
B) … As God Calls Us to Respond (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.
After calling Israel to repent, He calls them to respond. Don’t just feel bad about not doing the work of the Lord - do the work of the Lord! He tells them to go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house. I love the practicality of this Word of the Lord.
Kevin DeYoung in his book Just Do Something, encourages believers to be doers of the Word. He warns strongly against the paralyzing nature of anxiety - which we know has caused the building of the temple to be stopped by Israel. They were anxious about what persecution might happen if they continued building. In fact, he states:
“Anxiety is simply living out the future before it gets here.”
Kevin DeYoung (From his book, Just Do Something)
This goes right along with Israel’s sin.
They had plenty of excuses they could make for not finishing the work of the Lord.
Some of these excuses include:
They had persecution around them.
Their money and finances were tight.
They had other things to do (like build their own house).
They may have theologically explained it away with a misplaced and misinterpreted Messianic argument. God will rebuild it, Himself.
They will get to it when it is more convenient.
Note that Israel didn’t say they weren’t going to rebuild the temple. Remember the Word of the Lord in verse 2:
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”
They just said the time had not yet come to rebuild it.
Aren’t we also really good at rationalizing my friends? There are so many things that we put off for later that are actually what we need to be doing today. We tend to gravitate toward things that are easy and things that we really want to do.
Church, what are your priorities in your life right now? What do you hold as most valuable?
In order to determine this you can look at two places in your life. These are objectively measured as well. You can look at how you spend your money and how you spend your time.
What is your first priority with how you spend your money? Is it for the Lord first? Or is it for your own pleasure?
What is your first priority with how you spend your time? Is it making sure you make Bible reading a priority, prayer a priority, church attendance a priority? Or is it for your own pleasure?
When I was in medical school and newly married, I was blowing it as a husband. I appeared to have married medical school instead of my wife. And it wasn’t until my pastor hit me with the Word of God that I repented and responded to it. He reminded me that I needed to prioritize the Lord first and foremost, then my wife, then my work, and finally myself. He reminded me that when I looked at my calendar, I needed to understand that the first thing I put down after the required things showed what truly was my first priority. And that priority needed to be the Lord first and foremost. After that I needed to make sure I was spending time with my wife.
And you know what, our message today was exactly the response I was getting from God during that first year of marriage and medical school. I did excel pretty well in school. But like Israel, it was never satisfying. I seemed to struggle with remembering things and had to work harder and harder to keep up. It was like putting things in my mind that fell through holes in my brain just like Haggai mentioned with the money bag above.
But once my relationship was right with Lord and with my wife, my grades did even better even though I was spending less time studying and working! God abundantly blessed me with an even better memory and ability.
Friends, He rewards obedience. Take that first step of obedience. Reorganize your priorities Biblically. Repent and Respond.
And finally… We need to heed the Word of God…
C) … As God Calls Us to Recognize His Sovereignty (9-11)
C) … As God Calls Us to Recognize His Sovereignty (9-11)
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. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 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.”
Brothers and sisters, this is a tough Word. People give all kinds of excuses for why things happen. Obviously we know that many things happen to us as a result of the sin of this world. We have mentioned that before. But we also must realize that our God is sovereign. And we see that played out here. He had already mentioned Israel’s struggle for harvest, and food, and finances earlier. And here He lets them know that their struggles are a result of judgment from Him because of their disobedience.
In light of His sovereignty and judgment, He again calls them to repent and respond and recognize that He is God above all.
He holds everything in His hands my friends. He can bless you, and He can remove and withhold blessings. He can give success and He can bring ruin.
Do we respect God as sovereign over all? Do we recognize, Church, that God is omnipotent - meaning He is all powerful. That He is omniscient - meaning He is all-knowing. That He is omnipresent - meaning that He is everywhere and every time all at once?
Only when we truly recognize His power and glory can we trust in Him in complete faith.
Until we see how great and powerful God is - we will never trust him like one trusts a parachute jumping out of a plane. Skydivers put their full trust in that parachute to protect them and save their lives.
Until you see God as more reliable than the most reliable parachute, you will not make the hard decisions necessary for obedience to Him.
I was only able to re-prioritize my life and decrease my amount of studying in medical school only because I had faith that God was big enough to sovereignly bless my shift in priority change.
Only because my view of God was Biblical, was I able to take that step of faith.
And friends, my grades did even much better after that shift. Why? Because God is sovereign and He blessed my obedience. Yes, medical school and residency were still extremely difficult! There were times where I didn’t ‘feel’ blessed. But as I look back, I can see Him blessing my obedience each step of the way.
Our God is good and gracious. He loves us too much to let us worship the rubbish of this world over the Redeemer of our souls.
Recognize His sovereignty. Repent and respond.
Scripture References: Colossians 3:2, Philippians:2:21, Hebrews 12:6, Philippians 1:6
Conclusion:
If you have never repented and responded to Gospel, I pray that you do that today. We mentioned Zerubabbel in today’s message being a part of the line of Jesus Christ. This line of David continuing through Zerubabbel continued to the Savior of the World - namely Jesus Christ. Jesus is fully God and came to earth in the form of man some 2,000 years ago. As truly man and truly God, He lived a sinless life and died on the cross for the sins of the world - specifically those who would believe in Him. If you repent of your sins and respond in faith - you can be saved my friend! You can have eternal life and be born again!
For us who are already believers, we still need to continually hear God’s Word and Heed God’s Word as we repent, respond, and recognize God’s sovereignty.
I pray that today’s message has challenged you to evaluate your life and see how you can more fully obey the Lord.
Whatever step or steps that God has revealed to you today in your life that you need to take in faith - whatever He has placed on your heart - I pray that you boldly move forward in obedience to Him.
The Lord promises to continue working in those who are His. See Paul assert this fact in Philippians 1:6:
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Our God finishes what He starts. And as He continues His work in us, may we stop and consider our ways by recognizing His sovereignty and by repenting and responding to His Word.
Prayer