Have the honest words of a friend ever provoked you into action? The prophet Haggai’s words stung the Israelites with truth, you appropriated the wood that was collected to build God's temple and used it instead to build houses for yourself, and you wonder why things aren’t going well for you! (Haggai 1: 3-11). These words cajoled the Jewish remnant of returnees into recommitting to prioritize God’s work. Their obedience, even though it was delayed, brought blessing from God who reminded his chosen people, “I am with you” (v 13). Obedience brings God’s Spirit and power!
Like the Jews of Haggai’s day, the same command applies today. Don’t get side-tracked living for yourselves! Focus! Get on with the work for which we are called. Build God’s kingdom of love and justice; preach the Gospel in season and out of season. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “Keep your head in all situations, endure hardships, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).
Haggai and History
Let’s backup for a moment. Haggai’s name means “festal,” which may mean that the prophet was born on one of the three major feasts of the Lord (see Deuteronomy 16:16). Think about that, Haggai was born during a time of celebrating God’s presence. He was sent by God (520B.C.) to call the Jews, who were returning from Babylon, to focus on the purpose of rebuilding God’s temple in Jerusalem. For us this could be equivalent to prioritizing our lives around God’s gracious presence instead of our self-interested activities and lifestyles.
The Bible also tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar had sacked Jerusalem, carried out Jews in three deportations to Babylon, and finally, (586 B.C.) burned down the temple which had been built under King Solomon. Jeremiah had prophesied that the exile would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11). At the end of 70 years, Cyrus King of Persia issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. (see Ezra 1:2-4; 6:3-5). About 50,000 of them did.
The returnees began to lay the foundations of God’s temple with great rejoicing (Ezra 3: 8-10). Unfortunately the project stalled for years when vigorous opposition arose from Samaritans and other neighbors. Then in 522 B.C. another king arose in the east, Darius the Great. Two years later, God raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to preach to the people. What was their message? Get back to the work you were sent home to do—build the temple!
A Reminder to Keep Working on God's Kingdom!
King Cyrus sent the Jews home, and made every provision for them to rebuild the temple. In the same way, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our Heavenly King made every provision to bring us out of the exile of our sin and darkness and rebuild his presence among us. Just as the returnees lost focus and built their houses and grew comfortable, we run the risk of being distracted by careers, and activities, and vacations and retirement. Just as the returnees faced opposition and found it easier to abandon God’s calling, we can lose our focus because of the public opposition to our values.
I leave you with this challenging question, have we squandered on ourselves the gifts God has given us to build his Kingdom? May Haggai’s prophetic call provoke you into action in the same way Jesus used it to provoke his people, stay focused and build God’s kingdom first, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).
Tags: sin, gospel, rebuild, temple, haggai
