When God Builds: Priorities (HAggai 1)

Introduction
In the years 600 to 589 BC the Babylonians began a campaign of deporting Jews from Judah, namely Jerusalem.  It was in these early campaigns that the prophets Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezra, and many others were exiled to the ancient city of Babylon.  In 587/6 under the leadership of King Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonians attacked and sieged the city of Jerusalem thus completely destroying the city and laying waste to Temple.  Only the poorest were left behind to tend and watch over the land.
Fast forward a mere 50 years later to 539 BC when the Persians launched an attack on the ancient city of Babylon and easily took possession of the city.  In the year 538 BC the Emperor Cyrus II “the Great” issued a decree stating that the Jewish exiles in Babylon could return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:2- 4).  About 50,000 people returned with Zerubbabel the appointed governor.  The people settled in and around the city of Jerusalem and began the restoration process.  They ambitiously cleared the Temple mount and replaced the altar so they could start daily sacrifices repaired the walls around the city and a year later they had laid the temple foundation.
 
Hostility began to arise with neighboring tribes and King Cyrus “the Great” died in battle, this caused the work to stop in Jerusalem.  When the work ceased, the people began to focus on their own private affairs and worshiping in the ruins of the rubble of the Temple became the norm.  The desire to rebuild died out and 15 or so years passed.  In 520 the prophet Haggai came onto the scene and he challenged the people to continue the work of rebuilding the Temple.  
 
Today, we are beginning a new four-week series in the book of Haggai titled “When God Builds”.  I have given the background information as a way to set the stage for this series.  It is in this short account that we will look at how when we get on board with what God is doing, we will see great things happen for the glory of God and for His Kingdom.
 
The Remnant
The book of Haggai is considered a minor prophet book.  Now the word minor does not entail that the book is less important, it simply means it is a short book.  We do not know much about the prophet Haggai.  We do not know who his father is, we just know him as “the prophet” as he is name in both in his own book and in the book of Ezra.

So, here we are around 520 BC… A large remnant of Israelites are living in and around Jerusalem and we can deduce (according to chapter one of Haggai) that the people’s spiritual priorities were not in the right place.  They had become complacent and even selfish in their daily lives.  They were fine worshiping God among the rubble of a destroyed temple.  Their priorities were set on themselves and not God as they began rebuilding their own homes and focusing on their livelihood.  It is safe to say that they had their priorities in the wrong place.  They were not being rebellious, just complacent. 

What makes this interesting is that the “remnant” (these are the 50,000 people who returned, not the whole nation of Israel) to whom Haggai is speaking is the group who originally had a special devotion to the Lord.  They were allowed to return to Jerusalem so they could rebuild the Temple and begin the process of restoring Jerusalem to her former glory.  When they returned they zealously began the rebuilding process and worked joyfully night and day.  Now, we do not want to paint this remnant out to be bad people.  Yes, their priorities were a bit mixed up.  However, they needed to build homes to live in, create livelihood, schools, shops trade etc.  These were necessary and valid pursuits.  However, it was the Temple that brought them to Jerusalem and now they were neglecting it.

(Read Haggai 1:1 – 5)
Haggai
Vs 1:  We have already established the background of this book.  The timeline puts us in the “second year of King Darius”, who was the successor to Cyrus “the Great”.  It was in the sixth month of his second year (probably August) that the word of the Lord came to Haggai.  His message was to the governor Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua (not the same Joshua in Exodus).
Vs. 3 – 5:  Haggai speaks for the Lord by first rebuking the remnant, “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house (the Temple) lies in ruins?”  God is speaking to the people and rebuking them because of how they have let their complacency replace their zeal.  They once had the passion and desire to see the Temple restored to its future glory, but now their passion has turned to complacency.  This is a sad state to be in.  The LORD tells the people to “think carefully about your ways”.  This is God’s way to put into perspective why they are facing what they are facing.  In one-way God says, “You are frustrated because you are not in line with my will.” 
(Read Haggai 1:6 – 9)
Vs. 6:  The frustration – You plant and reap little.  You eat and are never satisfied.  You drink you remain thirsty. You clothe yourself but remain cold.  You work hard and make no money.  I think we all can understand how these people are feeling.  Maybe you feel this way today.  You do a lot, but you see little to no return.
Vs 7 – 8:  The LORD tells them to once again, “consider their ways” and then tells them what they should do.  Get your priorities straight and resume the work.  Get the lumber and resume building.  When they do this then they will be able to please God and enjoy the benefits of the land.
Vs 9: God tells them the reason for their frustration.  The people never found satisfaction because they were not in line with Him.  In fact, it was God who caused all the frustration.  He was the one who ruined the harvest.  He was the one who caused all the dissatisfaction.  Why?  He answers, “Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.”  
He says, “You were so consumed with you, that you forgot Me.” Their failure was that that they failed to put God first. Instead of having God first, they put affluence first.   They became more concerned about self-preservation and less with doing what God had called them to do.  
 
(Read 1:12 – 13)
Vs 12 – 13:  These are key verses… They obeyed the LORD.  In the initial rebuke the LORD reveals His disappointment with the remnant, and they could have responded in one of two ways.

1. They could have wallowed and sulked in their guilt and done nothing.  For example, they could have said, “We let the LORD down and now He is mad at us.  There is nothing we can do.”
2. They could have realized their mistake and fixed it.  Fortunately, this is what the remnant did.  They received the rebuke and they owned up to it, repented and did what the LORD told them to do.

(Read Haggai 1:14 – 15)
Vs 14 – 15: “The LORD roused (Hebrew word is ʿuwr /oor which means “wake up”) the spirit.”  This was a revival of sorts.  The LORD roused the people to do the work.  Notice this… The LORD roused… This is key.  If you want to see the movement of God, it must be initiated by God.  Once the LORD roused the spirit of the people, the work could begin.  In this we see the mercy and grace of God.  He could have very easily said, “I am done with these selfish, complacent and lazy people!  I am going to destroy these people and start over!”  Fortunately, God does not do this.  Instead He rouses the people and they are renewed in Him to do the work.
 
Application 
So, what does this all mean for us today?  We are not the remnant of Jerusalem and as far as we know we have not received a mandate to go and forsake our livelihood, homes, schools and businesses to rebuild a Temple.  I am reminded of a very famous quote by Henry Blackaby in his book EXPERIENCING GOD where he writes, “Watch to see where God is working and join Him in his work.”  God is at work in this world, this church and in your life.  So, I think it is important for us to observe and to find out what the LORD is doing and get on board with Him.  We are to do as the LORD says, through the prophet Haggai… consider this.
  
Take some time today and think about your relationship with God.  Are you in a place of spiritual dullness, complacency or even rebellion?  Then think on these things...
 

1. When you/we lose the passion to serve God, you/we become complacent in our relationship with him.
   1. Do you remember the days when you had a zeal for the Lord that couldn’t be quenched?  I think back in my own life where I was passionately serving God relentlessly.  I lived for the time I could spend with God in His Word, prayer, and worship.  But somewhere down the line I lost that youthful zeal I once had.  Does this mean I am not passionate about Jesus today?  No.  It’s just that I have let the mundane become the norm.  I think of it this way… Complacency is when we allow the extraordinary become the ordinary.  
      1. I.e. grace, salvation, mercy, forgiveness.  Sometimes we take these extraordinary things for granted and begin to think they are our God-given right.  May we never do this.
2. God is usually behind our frustration.
   1. We can often experience the frustration that the remnant faced.  We seek to be satisfied in things other than God (work, home, people, stuff) and end up frustrated.  We find that nothing can satisfy outside of God.  When we work for our personal financial gain we never have enough.  When we seek satisfaction in relationships we will be let down.  When we desire to be fulfilled by living a life of fun, debauchery, and self-satisfaction we will become bored.  
   2. Many Churches and Christian are guilty of this.  When a ministry becomes more concerned with how much money they bring in, they begin to cater to the wealthy (James talks about this) and not the will of God.  Some ministries are determined to build their brand or legacy so as to leave a mark on society.  We want to be known for our accomplishments!  Some cater to the people because they do not want to offend, but in the process end up offending more.  When a church or ministry does this, they only end up frustrated, in chaos, and ineffective for the Kingdom of God.
   3. Many individuals do this as well.  Some become more consumed with what they get out of church (an emotional experience) instead of what they can do for the church (it becomes about me).  They demand to be catered to so that their selfish desires can be fulfilled.
3. Often God ruins our efforts because they were done for our benefit, and not his.  Whenever we put anything before God it becomes an idol and God will destroy the idols in our lives.  We must always consider… What is my motivation in everything I do?  Is it for my glory or is it for God’s glory?
4. Maybe you are feeling a little convicted right now… Good!  I was in writing this. However, all is not lost, we can repent, we can change, and we can do what God calls us to do.  The question is what are you going to do with the conviction?  Will you wallow and do nothing, or will you repent and change? We serve a loving, compassionate, merciful and gracious God.  He does lovingly call us back to him and forgive us when we repent and seek to get back on track with Him.
5. Revival is initiated by God.  God will always initiate revival.  However, this does not mean that we do not have a part to play in revival.  Revival is an awakening.  It’s a movement of the Spirit.  You can read about the Great Awakening between 1730 to 1740.  It was during this time that God used men like George Whitfield, Jonathon Edwards, David Brainard and many others to encourage believers to repent and be saved.  The Great Awakening notably altered the religious climate in the American colonies. Ordinary people were encouraged to make a personal connection with God, instead of relying on a minister. Revival happens when God rouses His people to wake up and serve Him.  We must actively pray for revival in our lives, our church, and in the world.  We are called to be people of prayer.  Our responsibility is to pray and let God do what God does. It has often been said, “prayer does not change God’s mind, but does prayer change me.”

So, in conclusion let us think on these things.  But let us not stop just at thinking.  May we be proactive in identifying our complacency, frustration, efforts, convictions, and passion for God and allow Him to arouse our spirits so we may be about His work and in establishing His Kingdom here on earth.