The date is August 29, 520 B.C. Haggai speaks to Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the High Priest. Zerubbabel was in the line of David, but not king, because they are in the time of the Gentiles.
We are immediately introduced to the theme of this book which is the rebuilding of the temple. The people were saying that it is not time to rebuild the temple and they have delayed the building process 14 years.
He addresses the people in verse 4. They are living in paneled houses. Paneling had to be imported from Lebanon because there are no trees around Jerusalem
The answer is misplaced priorities. That was their problem. They were not putting God first because they were only concerned with their own comforts.
(1) The first result of misplaced priorities was Dissatisfaction-Verse 6 “You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
They were experiencing very unsatisfying lives.
-You eat but are not satisfied and you drink but don't become drunk. This really refers to people who try to deal with life's problems by eating and drinking too much. It doesn't work. All you do is gain too much weight and /or get a hangover. I think this is an illustration of seeking life and happiness through pleasure.
-You put on clothing, but no one is warm enough - Perhaps we could change this for our culture to say, “You buy new clothes, but the styles change.” Perhaps this is indicative of seeking life through praise.
-You earn money and put it in a purse with holes - I think most of us can identify with this. Do you run out of money before you run out of month? To compensate for this do you work so much that you don't have time for God or family? That’s why so many falter in their spiritual and personal relationships because they are seeking life through possessions and material gain.
We all know the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-30 who could not give up his wealth and politely refused eternal life.
We shake our heads in disbelief, but know this about American culture today:
-Most Americans move 14 times in their lives as promotions lead them from one place to another.
-Consequently, children grow up learning that more money is more important than developing long term relationships.
-Later on, when discussions turn to college, the dialogue focuses on which professions pay the most rather than what would suit the young person's motivated abilities.
-The message we instill in them is that more money will make up for lack of job fulfillment. Money itself will fulfill us. But it doesn't and we now have a society full of dissatisfied people.
Haggai condemned them for living in their paneled houses. We can see that they had become consumed with earthly things. The question we need to ask ourselves where my priorities lay. Are my priorities in the right place as they should be?
Even though this book was written 2500 years ago, it is very applicable for today. Haggai says, “Consider your ways.”
We need to consider our ways. We need to evaluate our lives and see if we are guilty of these things. It is amazing how much effort we put into areas that we think will satisfy us, but they never do.
Isaiah 55:2 NIV “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”
Ezekiel 7:18-20 NIV “They will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror. Their faces will be covered with shame and their heads will be shaved. They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the LORD's wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin. They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their detestable idols and vile images. Therefore I will turn these into an unclean thing for them.”(2) Getting the house in order!
Before he moves on Haggai gives them a reminder to resume the construction of the temple. Haggai tells them to consider their ways and to get to work and he gives them the motivation.
There are two reasons:
-To please the Lord with praise and to glorify Him in your temple!
Psalm 69:30-32 “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves. The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live.”
Psalm 34:3 NIV “Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.”
Psalm 86:12 NIV “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.”
God uses temple imagery in the Bible that I think we need to be aware of to truly understand resetting our priorities:
-In the OT the purpose of the tabernacle and the temple was so God could dwell among the people and they could see His glory.
Ezekiel 37:26-28 “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify -When you come to the NT you see that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory.
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
-God’s Holy Temple
Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
(3) Remembering our primary priority!
The Believer's body is the temple of God
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
-Every time there is a reference to the temple there is glory
1 Peter 2:4, 5 “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Verses 11, 12 “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
What is the point?
You and I are now the physical and visible representation of the character and person of God on earth. We need to glorify God. That is why they needed to rebuild the temple so God could dwell among them. That is why we need to do so today. We need to let the world see that God can and does dwell among us. However, we can only do that if we get our house in order.
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