Imagine yourself a Mom or Dad, struggling to make ends meet. You work extra hours, earn extra money, but then the car breaks down and you have to spend more than you earned. And next month it happens again. And again. Just when you think you are getting caught up, another appliance breaks, or a storm rolls in and damages your roof—or your crops. Problems like these happen to everyone. Most of the time, it is just the difficult challenges of living in a fallen world. Sometimes it is the result of your own laziness. And on rare occasions, God may be trying to tell you something—as He was trying to communicate with His people in the book of Haggai. When they failed to respond to hardships, He spoke through the prophet:
“Think carefully about your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages into a bag filled with holes. Think carefully about your ways” Haggai 1:5-7.
(Are you thinking about your ways? What is God trying to say?)
“Is it a time for you to live in paneled houses while My house lives in ruins?” Haggai 1:4. “Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build My house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified” Haggai 1:8.
So this is about the temple. The Jews had gotten distracted with building their own houses and neglected God’s house.
“You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it. Why? … Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house” Haggai 1:9.
We do not have temples today. How does this passage apply to us?
We have church buildings. People need a place to worship. Pastors need to be paid. Missionaries need support. God blesses His people with resources, but He expects us to give some of those resources to the work of His kingdom.
Are you giving to the local church?
Are you tithing?
Do you ever give sacrificially?
Have you become a consistent giver?
“Think carefully about your ways” Haggai 1:7.
If this scene strikes you as harsh, there is a silver lining. These farmers who struggled to make ends meet, finally decided to put their own houses on hold and got to work on God’s house. A few weeks later, God encouraged them:
“Work! For I am with you … From this day on, I will bless you” Haggai 2:4 and 19.
Begin giving regularly to God’s work and He will bless you. If you already give well, consider reading this passage as a comment on priorities: are you working harder to build God’s Kingdom, or to build your own kingdom?
ΑΩ
*Picture of a shipment of lumber, reminiscent of Haggai !:8.
Household Words: 