The Old Testament book of Haggai, nestled between Zephaniah and Zechariah, is only a two-chapter book. Small compared to other prophetic books, Haggai still contains the powerful words of God.            The prophet Haggai delivered a message to those Jews who had been given the command to rebuild the temple after they had been delivered from Babylonian exile. Their liberation from exile had taken place 18 years earlier. Two years after their return to Jerusalem, they had completed the foundation for the temple. They did this work of the Lord with much fanfare and joy even in the midst of hardship. Shortly after this momentous event, something happened and the zeal they previously had for the Lord’s work was gone and was replaced with a passion for what they wanted to do.

What happened?

When the exiles returned they faced local resistance to their mandate to rebuild the temple. This resistance was from the local residents as well as a political effort to stop the rebuilding of the temple. The zeal that they began with was also squashed by their own people, the ones that had returned from Babylon with them. Because the new temple would not be like Solomon’s, like it used to be, some of the people cried and bemoaned the effort.

 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.  (Ezra 3:12-13)

            God’s stinging indictment against them was because they had considered God’s work to be just too costly and that “their” time and talents were best suited for “their” glory and pleasure, not God’s.

“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.” (Haggai, 1:2–6)

            God was challenging the people to thoughtfully consider and intently look at their lives. These people of God had determined in their hearts that this was a “time for themselves.” They had abandoned, yes in the face of adversity, God’s directives. The things they were desiring to have were temporal. All the time and energy they put toward chasing after those things never did, and never would, provide what they really needed; a life blessed by God, through obedience to His Word.

            Shall we not also consider our ways? What are we seeking after in this life that keeps us from being obedient to God’s Word?

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)