Haggai 1:1-7: 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.
Haggai 1:13-14: 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. Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
Haggai 2:6-9: 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. 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. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 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.
As we open the book of Haggai this morning, the purpose hangs on the doorpost, and the word of the Lord resounds through the prophet’s voice:
“Consider Your Ways”
Haggai lays before us the reason for God’s judgment, the complaint against Judah – selfishness. Their priorities are messed up. More concerned with their stuff than with God’s stuff. The rebuke is clear: prioritizing personal comfort over the house of the Lord. The people are saying “It’s not time” and God is saying “it is time. We are so prone to procrastinate. “I’ll do it later.” But now is the appointed time, today is the day of salvation. While we delay the work of God people die without Him as saviour. We have to stop making excuses and get about the Father’s business. Whether He comes or we go, time is running out. The call echoes through time – consider your ways, repent, for the Lord will no longer tolerate misplaced priorities.
Priorities and Prosperity (Haggai 1:6-7)
Haggai reveals a truth – priorities directly affect prosperity. Without keeping the Lord and His things as the number one priority, nothing in life prospers. We can gain the whole world and lose our souls. We cannot serve God and stuff. We will hate the one and cling to the other. God will not share His glory. The gain we should desire is godliness with contentment, echoing Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:6-7.
Godliness with Contentment
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6)
Godliness is our goal. Our number one priority. That’s the gain we desire. “I want to build your kingdom, Lord. Your house is my number one priority.” Seek you first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be added unto you.
Stirring the Spirit
“Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, ‘I am with you, declares the Lord.’ And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” (Haggai 1:13-14, ESV)
Contained in these verses is the preacher’s great desire – that the Lord’s messenger speak only the Lord’s message. Haggai condemns their selfishness, commands obedience to rebuild the house of the Lord, and the Lord stirs the spirits of leaders and people to work. This is the essence of revival – repentance, obedience, and rebuilding. Oh, how we need our spirits stirred deeply and often. We get distracted by the world and our stuff. We get off-track and our priorities shift. Lord help us to repent, obey, and experience a stirring of your Spirit deep in our hearts.
It All Belongs to God
“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Haggai 2:8)
Just in case we wonder, it all belongs to God! He declares that He will shake the nations till treasures come into His house, filling it with glory and peace. In the end, we will leave our earthly possessions behind.
Luke 12:16-21 (ESV): And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
“The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)
He owns it all! We must never forget that without Him we can do nothing.
Apart from Him, We Can Do Nothing
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Without Him, I can do nothing. Lord, please forgive us for our lack of trust. Our self-sufficiency. We acknowledge you this morning. We want your Spirit to remain in our midst and fear not. It is so human to trust in our efforts, which results in ruin. To be bear much fruit we must abide in the Lord. He is the root from which all Godly fruit comes.
Complete Peace in Trusting the LORD
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:7) Lord, we trust you and we have complete peace. Bless our lives as we serve you. Help us to put off worldly pleasures and put on the garments of holiness and praise.
Isaiah 26:3 (ESV) “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Holiness in Every Aspect
“Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.” (Haggai 2:14)
Haggai proclaims a principle – holiness in one part of life doesn’t sanctify all. The plea echoes in Matthew 5:23-24 and Matthew 6:22-23. We won’t be accepted by God in willful sin. Cleanliness of heart is required for God to hear us
“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23)
If we have unconfessed sin and unrepentant hearts God will not hear us. The heavens become silent and the darkness sets in. Jesus says “How great is that darkness.”
Clean Heart and Renewed Spirit
“For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:3-4, 10)
Father, we pray with David. My sin is ever before me. O Lord create in me a clean heart. A heart of truth. A heart of purity. My nature hates you, God. It hates authority and must die. It must be offered a living sacrifice. It must be crucified! Rom 12:1-2
“1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Rom 12:1-2 ESV
Crucified with Christ
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Praise God! We are dying to live today!