BIG IDEA:
THE WORK OF THE LORD AND HIS GLORY MUST BE OUR #1 PRIORITY
INTRODUCTION:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” God’s people come up with many excuses to justify their pursuing a life of personal comfort and pleasure. But there is no ultimate satisfaction apart from a life that is whole-heartedly committed to the work of the Lord and His glory.
I. (:1-2) SETTING: COMPLACENCY AND EXCUSES REGARDING THE WORK OF THE LORD
A. (:1A) Date Stamp for Message 1
“In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month”
Hanko: This first mention of Darius is a reminder that the Jews, at the time of Haggai’s prophecy, were no longer an independent nation, but under the dominion of foreign and heathen kings. They even dated events now by the reigns of these strange kings who ruled from far-off Persia. The fact that this king is not the same king who sent them back to Judah is a reminder that many years had passed and the work of the temple was not yet finished. It was Cyrus who had sent them back, and now another king named Darius was on the throne of Persia. It was also a reminder that circumstances had changed once again and that they could no longer use the hostility of former kings as an excuse for their neglect of God’s house, for neglect it was, as Haggai points out in verse two.
B. (:1B) Delivery of the Message
1. The Lord’s Message — Powerful
“the word of the Lord”
2. The Lord’s Messenger — Faithful
“came by the prophet Haggai”
Name means “festal one”
3. The Lord’s Target Audience = the Main National Leaders of Judah –
Responsible for motivating the people to obey the Lord
a. Political Leader
“to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,”
b. Religious Leader
“and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest”
Hanko: The mention of these two men is evidence of God’s faithfulness to Judah, a faithfulness that makes their unfaithfulness all the more inexcusable. God had preserved both the line of David and of Aaron through the awful years that led to and followed the Babylonian captivity. He had preserved those lines not because there was any merit in the house of David or of Aaron, but that his promises, especially the promise to live with his people and be their God, might not fail.
More importantly, however, these men in their offices of priest and governor represent Christ himself. It is really through him and from him that this word of God concerning the temple comes, and it is by his grace that the word of God through Haggai bears the good fruit of obedience in the hearts and lives of God’s people. Even in the Old Testament he was the great temple builder and nothing could or would be done without him
C. (:2) Denunciation of Complacency and Excuses Regarding the Work of the Lord
“saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, This people says, The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.’”
Preposterous even on the surface; just by expressing the hesitancy of the people their selfish priorities are exposed.
What types of excuses do we see people hiding behind?
– Mat. 8:21 “permit me first to go and bury my father” – putting family ahead of the Lord; waiting around to collect the security of one’s inheritance
– Luke 9:61 “but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home” – No place for emotional distractions or double-minded types of commitment
– Luke 14:18-20
The issue is one of priorities and whole-hearted commitment
II. (:3-6) CONSIDER YOUR WAYS = NOTHING TO SHOW FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK – WHY??
A. (:3) Prophetic Message Introduced
“Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying”
B. (:4) Problem Exposed: No Priority Given to the Work of the Lord
“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?”
C. (:5) Probing Encouraged: Call to Check Out Your Priorities
“Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!’”
D. (:6) Proof Detailed: Life of Futility
1. Reversal of the Harvest Principle – Frustration of Expectations
“You have sown much, but harvest little”
2. Frustration at the Very Base Level of Existence – the very 3 things needed for contentment – the very things God has promised to provide so that we need not be anxious like the Gentiles
a. Food
“You eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied;”
b. Drink
“You drink, but there is not enough to become drunk;”
c. Clothing
“You put on clothing, but no one is warm enough;”
3. Futility of All Work – no way to recover – no hope
“And he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
III. (:7-11) CONSIDER YOUR WAYS = THE PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF THE LORD IS AGAINST YOU — EXPLANATION
A. (:7) Probing Encouraged Again
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!’”
B. (:8) Pleasing God Must Be #1 = Go and Rebuild the Temple
“‘Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,’ says the Lord.”
Opposite of selfishness and pleasing self
Requires initiative and hard work; must set aside other distractions; must be willing to suffer hardship
Glory of God at stake
C. (:9) Problem Reiterated: No Priority Given to the Work of the Lord
“You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why? Declares the Lord of hosts, Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.”
D. (:10-11) Providence Denied
“Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.”