This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! (Haggai 1:5, 7 NLT)
It is one thing to live in the time before the exile. It’s another thing to live in the time after the exile. Haggai gives us a glimpse of what God’s people are like after the exile and it’s not a good picture.
Well, it’s not a good picture in some ways. The people resettling in God’s city are able to crack on with their housing development policy with some success. Their houses are rebuilt and they are also taking steps to get the economy back up and running with planting in order to harvest.
It’s not a good picture, however, because when they check the state of their economy the people notice they are not getting as much as they hoped for and they are not retaining as much as they need. It’s not a good picture at all. That is taking place while they are also neglecting something that God’s city should have as its physical focus – the temple.
The people have prioritised their own welfare before the state of the dwelling place they set for the God who not only delivered the, but also restored them. In essence, God had to take a back seat while they sorted their business. It wasn’t time to look our for their Deliverer and Provider.
For some reason the people had not made that connection of their rough economic state and their dilapidated religious state. God had to speak into the situation and get the people to realise their priorities. It’s not the last time that God would speak into a situation about priorities.
In this situation, when the people heard from God they were responsive. There was no sense of saying one thing and doing the opposite. There was no resistance to the call to repentance. From the political head all the way throughout the community, there was a desire to respond in order with God’s call. For things to go right in life, God’s business must take priority.
That message has not changed in the centuries that have followed. In as much as not every setback or adverse situation may be directly due to our actions, it’s still worth paying attention to God and to see what’s going on. See if His Building Project really is our priority.
Haggai, however, doesn’t just stop at the call to prioritise God’s temple, the book has something else amazing to share …
(Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 