HAGGAI 1:1-11 – 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: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 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? 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. 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. 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.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LIVING BY MISPLACED PRIORITIES. Today’s scripture is sad in multiple directions. It is sad toward the tendency in God’s people to drift from Him and live with misplaced priorities. It’s also sad for it reveals the heart of a jealous and neglected God whose people choose to put Him “on the back burner of their lives.” Let’s look at each sad occurrence . . .
First, observe the sad backslidden hearts of God’s people. God brings indictment after indictment to them for they have lived for themselves, sought their own comfort, and invested time, energy and resources to fulfill their desires and wills at the neglect of the Lord’s will and desires – 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? 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. Friends, we are not our own. Not our time, money, talents, gifts, investments, or anything else. We are bought by Christ, for Christ, and that for and in all of life (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Try to have both our wills and God’s will accomplished in life and the result will be discipline of the Lord producing joyless, stressed, and restless lives. He won’t share wills.
Next, we see the sad but inevitable intervention our jealous God will do if we are living with misplaced priorities. What does God do? He brings futility into our lives – 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. Try to be happy, satisfied, fulfilled, contented and live life with lasting purpose without the Lord being our chief priority, and none of these heart conditions will come. Futility, vanity, emptiness, discontent, and complaining will settle into a heart living by misplaced priorities. Yet, God is a God of restoration. If we are like God’s people in today’s scripture, stop, confess, repent and recover the joy of living life with the right priority!
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me for the times my life reflects me as its highest priority, not You, Your Son, Your Gospel.”
QUOTE: “A Christian living with misplaced priorities is in spiritual danger because we are not ignorant. We know better.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim