“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. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.'” Haggai 1:2-8
Devotional Thought For The Day
It is a rather strange thought, that the productivity of land and the socioeconomic welfare of a people should be dependent upon their deference to the LORD, and how they treat His house, His holy temple. Haggai prophesied to the children of Israel who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, under the orders of Cyrus the Persian. They were supposed to have reestablished agricultural production and commerce, and rebuilt the temple of the LORD. This was necessary because the Babylonians, in their conquest of Jerusalem nearly a century before, had utterly demolished and burned Solomon’s magnificent temple to the LORD. Few Israelite inhabitants had been left behind, so there was much to be done in restoring this area to anything resembling an organized people – a nation, or at the least, a discernible and governable region, district, or province. The children of Israel now inhabiting the environs of Jerusalem had been struggling to first build their own economic stability and homes, concluding from the difficulty of this that it was not yet time to rebuild the temple. The message of the LORD, delivered through the prophet Haggai, was just the opposite: first rebuild the LORD’S temple, and then they would prosper in their other affairs.
This is counter-intuitive, and just the opposite of the way most people view things. Even most Christians today look at the church as a luxury, as something to be supported from our “discretionary funds,” to be considered after we have paid all of our others bills. Of course, our other bills are adopted as a matter of taste and selfishness – how big our home and mortgage are going to be, how luxurious and expensive our cars are going to be, where and how we will vacation, etc., etc.. Obviously this dictates what is going to be left for our support of the church. And if only a portion of what is left goes to the support of the LORD’S church, we can pretty well see what will become of our churches – and many have already been forced to close. Interestingly, we are also beginning to observe around us the same thing that God observed in Haggai’s time: “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.” This will only get worse the further America drifts away from the Christian Church, and the further individual Christians drift away from real loyalty and discipleship to the LORD.
It has been different in the past. My grandmother and her family lived in a sod house long after the wood-framed church had been constructed in their area, in part through offerings of her parents. In many rural areas people took pride in the condition of their church, rather than in their own homes. And there are still some who have a greater commitment to the church than to their own property and fortune. However, to a large degree this has turned around and been lost to our way of thinking – we are more interested in building and enhancing our own homes and possessions than we are concerned with the health and vitality of the church. If you had the choice – either repair something in your home, or live with the disrepair so that you could contribute your finances and labor to fix up or beautify the church you attend, what choice would you make? What do you take care of first and foremost, your own home and property, or the LORD’S property and house? Would you sacrifice personal comfort, even important personal concerns, for the sake of the good and welfare of your congregation? Would you take an old television of the church so that you could purchase a new and better one for the church, or would you purchase a new television for yourself and give your old one to the church? How much of a personal commitment and responsibility do you have for the church’s property, for the support of those who serve the upbuilding of Christ’s Kingdom, or to bringing others into the fellowship of the church?
Of course God forgives us for our weaknesses, and for allowing a good bit of personal ambition and selfishness to weaken and diminish our love for Him and His house. It is His loving forgiveness and mercy that draws us closer to Him, and instills within us a growing love for Him. But it is also His wisdom and His encouragement, that when we put Him and His loving devotion to humanity [which is what church is all about] as our first priority, then “all these things will added to you.” [Matt. 6:33] We have lost much of this wisdom, this knowledge of God and His love, ignored it, and become oblivious to it, thinking that we were benefiting ourselves, but in fact, like these ancient Israelites, we have actually sabotaged ourselves and our well-being. We have much to recoup – in our faith, our piety, and our devotion to God. Perhaps if we head back in this direction, the younger generations will be exposed to this dynamic, and will see and adopt this wisdom from God. Much depends upon it.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us for capitulating to and adopting the wisdom of this world – greed, selfishness, selfish ambition, pride in our accomplishments and wealth, and disrespect toward and disregard of the treasure of Your kingdom. Wean us away from this self-destructive and impoverishing worldview, and move us to first take care of Your house, Your church. Through genuine repentance and the assurances of Your wondrous mercy and love, create within us a much greater love for you, that we live our lives with great humility and sincere devotion to You, for this is true security and personal wealth. Amen.