Haggai 1:1-15 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today we begin the book of Haggai. Despite being the second shortest book in the Old Testament, the book of Haggai is packed with powerful lessons.
Here is some historical background that will help you understand what’s going on in the book of Haggai:
– In approximately 612 B.C. Babylon became the pre-eminent power in the world after defeating Assyria and later Egypt in 605 B.C. Babylon would invade Judah 3 times over the next 20 years and each time they would take Jewish captives with them back to Babylon.
– In approximately 586 B.C. the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem where the Jews worshiped and took back with them to Babylon most of the Jews living in Jerusalem. For the next several decades, the Jews would live as exiles in Babylon.
– In approximately 539 B.C. the Persians defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews living in Babylon to return to Judah under the leadership of Zerubabbel as governor and Joshua as high priest. The Persians gave the Jews permission to re-build the temple that the Babylonians destroyed. However, after 6 years of trying to rebuild the temple (from 536 BC to 530 BC), the Jews gave up working on it and apathy set in.
– Over a decade later, in the second year that Darius was king of Persia (approximately 520 BC), God raised up prophets like Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the Jews to resume the work of building the temple. It was during this time that God gave Haggai the revelations which are now recorded in the book of Haggai.
– Not much is known about the prophet Haggai. Though he is traditionally considered a “minor prophet”, God used Haggai significantly. Through Haggai’s courageous preaching, the Jews finished rebuilding the temple in approximately 515 B.C.
Now that you’ve got some historical background on this book, let’s get into what the Spirit of God would have us learn from it.
Today’s passage is Haggai 1:1-15. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself and see what you can glean from it with the help of the Holy Spirit. Then read this GAME sharing below.
Haggai 1:1-11 (NIV)
1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.'”
3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD.
9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.
10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.
11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.”
On verses 1-11: Haggai’s message to the people was powerful and convicting: when you don’t put God’s kingdom first in your life, when you neglect the house of God, you’ll experience lack in the other areas of your life.
Another way to put it: when you don’t put God’s kingdom first in your life, you’ll experience what the Jews experienced in verse 6: planting much, but harvesting little; eating and drinking, but still not being satisfied; having material possessions, but feeling like you have nothing; earning money, only to watch it run away again. When we neglect God’s house and God’s kingdom, it will feel like there’s a drought in our lives (v11). But when you seek God’s kingdom first, God gives you everything you need (Matthew 6:33).
These verses reminds me of a testimony a friend of mine shared recently. Last year he did not tithe (give 10% of his income to the church). During that year of not tithing, he always felt like he never had enough to live on no matter how hard he worked. This year he decided to put God first both in his time and in his finances. He started tithing and having a regular GAME time with God. Since that time, my friend has received a promotion at work, a raise and other opportunities to grow his business. Even more importantly, my friend’s relationship with God is much stronger than it was a year ago and God is using him to bless others in new ways. It goes to show that when you seek God’s kingdom first, He truly does add everything you need.
You are called to far more than a life of building your own house. You are called to help build the house of God. Ironically, when you focus only on building your own house, what you experience is lack and emptiness. But when you truly seek God’s kingdom first, you experience fullness in your personal life too.
As Haggai says, give careful thought to your ways. In your normal day to day, what are you seeking first — the building of your own home, or the building of God’s home?
Haggai 1:12 (NIV)
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.
On verse 12: No matter how powerful a message a preacher preaches, it’s the condition of the listeners’ hearts that matters most. When Zerubabbel, Joshua the high priest, and the people heard the message God had given the prophet Haggai, their spirits were “stirred” (v14) and they began to work on the house of the Lord. Because in that moment Zerubabbel, Joshua and the people had soft hearts toward God, they responded by humbling themselves and obeying the Word from God that they heard.
How about you? What is the condition of your heart when you listen to the Word of God? Jesus Himself could be preaching directly to you, but if your heart is cold and prideful, shallow and superficial, or distracted and worried, then that powerful message will be wasted on you. It will fall on deaf ears. But if your heart is soft, like Zerubbabel and Joshua, your spirit will be stirred and you will respond with faith.
So when you’re about to listen to a sermon, or have your GAME time, or go to church, check your heart. Humble yourself before God, remove every distraction and focus your heart on Him. Be ready not just to hear but also to obey.
Haggai 1:13-15 (NIV)
13 Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD.
14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,
15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.
On verses 13-15: From these verses we learn that God’s presence brings two things we need from time to time: comfort and encouragement.
God’s presence brings comfort. Despite all the ways that the Jews had been distracted and busy building their own homes while neglecting God’s house, when the people turned back to God, God’s message to them was still, “I am with you” (v13). I’m so glad and thankful that even when I am at my worst, God is still with me, calling me to Himself. The same goes for you. God promises never to leave you or forsake you. He is patient with you. While our faithfulness can go up and down, God’s faithful presence is the constant. And His presence brings comfort.
God’s presence brings courage. When governor Zerubbabel, Joshua the high priest, and the people heard Haggai’s message that God is with them, something in their spirit was stirred (v14) and they started to work on the house of the Lord. What happened? God’s Word and the promise of God’s presence made them courageous.
Are you facing a scary situation today? Does that challenge in front of you seem more than you can handle?
Because God promises never to leave you or forsake you, you don’t need to live in fear. As Pastor Rick Warren says, “You lose your fear when God is near.”
Father, thank You for using Haggai — both the man and the book — to encourage Your people both in ancient times and today. May our first priority not be our own house, but Your house. May my heart always be soft toward Your Word. Thank You that in Your presence I find comfort and courage to pursue Your calling and purposes for my life. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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