It's Time to Consider Priorities

Embracing God's Priorities & Perspective series

by Pastor Frank Rice

Haggai 1:1-11

Every so often we’re forced to examine and evaluate our priorities. All too often it occurs on the heels of an unexpected crisis! But are we really willing to take an honest look at our priorities and evaluate them in the light of His priorities? What’s really important to Him and how do we know that is the case? We can either learn from the mistakes / missteps of others or we can fall into the same ruts! God’s OT people were not that much different from us! As we study them, we must seek to learn from their experiences. Let’s do it (2 Tim3:16-17)!

 

v      Key players in this historic (586, 538, & 520 BC) drama are introduced (v. 1).

1.      King Darius, a foreigner, had intervened to assist the Jews in the rebuilding of their Temple! (Cyrus had initiated it earlier.)

 

2.      Haggai the prophet preached four messages from the end of August to the beginning of December, between harvests. The grains had been harvested; the grapes, figs, and pomegranates were next.

 

3.      Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest were the first to hear this message from the LORD through Haggai.

 

4.      The LORD of hosts, with whom these people were related by covenant, is the source of these messages! “He represented the God whom he loved to call the LORD of hosts, the source of all power, the controller of armies, on earth and in heaven. His word had authority; the weather obeyed His commands; the whole universe was in His grasp and would one day be shaken by His hand.” (Baldwin)

 

v      The key issue that needed to be addressed was their failure to finish what God had assigned them (v. 2). They had excuses!

1.      They had halted their work 16 years earlier and never got around to getting it done! (Note “this people” not “My people.”)

 

2.      They claimed that the timing wasn’t right yet! Really? They were living in “the dangerous state of moral paralysis which accepts as normal conditions that demand drastic changes.” (Baldwin)

 

v      A rhetorical question should prod the delinquent workers (vv. 3-4). He turns from the two leaders to address the people.

1.      The question comes directly from the LORD thru the prophet! Don’t get angry at him! The LORD has authorized this exam!

 

2.      They are challenged to take a look at the condition of their own homes and then at the condition of the LORD’s temple, the place where they are to meet with Him. (Notice anything?)

 

3.      Their homes are finished and fully furnished but His house lies in ruins! Is there a problem here? Are any “red flags” raised?

 

v       A quick survey of present realities should help to disclose a sobering discontinuity (v.6)! (Something doesn’t add up.)

1.      They had sown lots of seed but the harvest was pathetic!

 

2.      They had eaten and drunk but they were still feeling empty!

 

3.      They had clothed themselves but still couldn’t keep warm!

 

4.      They had worked hard for their wages but what they had earned didn’t even begin to cover their living expenses!

 

v      The principle of “cause and effect” must be considered.

1.      They may say, “The reason we don’t have the time, resources, and energy to rebuild the Temple is that we’re so busy trying to cover necessities of life!”

 

2.      The LORD says, “The reason you don’t have these things is because you’ve neglected My priorities in favor of your own and are therefore suffering the consequences.” (Deuteronomy 28)

 

3.      Who are you going to believe!? Which is the effect and which is the cause? Their poverty is related to their neglect!

 

v      The directive comes again, not from the prophet, but from the LORD of hosts (vv. 7-8).

1.      The challenge is again to take a good hard look at what they are doing, their lifestyles, and their ways (v. 7).

 

2.      The corrective to their discouraging situation is to take action – three are mentioned! Repentance is displayed by doing (v. 8).

 

3.      The ultimate objectives are that the LORD could take pleasure in what they do and that He would be honored (v. 8).  

 

v      The discipline which they had experienced was due to their neglect of God’s priorities (vv. 9-11)!

1.      When they anticipated God’s blessing, the dew and the rain to water their crops, it didn’t happen! “Experiences of hardship should always become opportunities for spiritual reflection in our lives.” (Boda)

 

2.      The LORD takes full responsibility for their dilemma; He blew it away and He sent the drought to bring to futility all their labors!

 

3.      The reason? They had forgotten their covenant commitment. They were quick (“runs to his own house”) to pursue their own concerns to the neglect of the LORD’s!

 

v      Why should we expect God’s blessing if we neglect His priorities?! “Present obedience sets God’s people in line with fulfillment of His ultimate purpose.” (Baldwin)

 

v      Why should we expect joy and satisfaction when we pursue our own goals without any thought for God’s? There is a direct correlation between their poverty and difficulties and their neglect of God’s Temple.

 

Could Warren Wiersbe be right?

“Christians in the Western world are living in luxury, yet their giving is low and their debts are high because their wealth is being used for things that really don’t matter.”