Lesson 229: “Give Careful Thought to Your Ways"
This way is the way of God and it is each individual’s responsibility to find this way and walk in it. Long years before the prophet Haggai, God warned Israel that they should be careful to keep the covenant He made with them or suffer His punishment (Lev. 26:14-46). The people did not seem to care what God said and rejected the covenant and the covenant Lord. God is slow to anger and long on mercy so He sent one prophet after another to remind His people that they were to obey Him. They continued to ignore the prophets and their messages and finally God sent the prophet Haggai to change the people’s priorities. Nothing is known about Haggai’s parentage or genealogy. He was a seemingly insignificant prophet and his ministry was of limited duration. Nevertheless this second shortest book in the Old Testament packs in four spiritual, common sense messages. Haggai was fully aware that he was God’s messenger, introducing his sermons with; “this is what the Lord Almighty says”, and ending with; “declares the Lord Almighty”. C. S. Lewis wrote that you can get second things done only by putting first things first! Haggai came to change the Jews’ priorities and put God back in first place. He came to rebuild the Temple of God!
In God’s plan to bring His people under obedience, He raised up a pagan king, Cyrus, to accomplish His purpose. “This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus; ‘I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not know me. I will make his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free”’ (Isa. 45:1-13). It was under the generous policies of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, that 50,000 Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Some 18-20 years would pass since the first return of the exiles to rebuild the Temple and only the foundation had been completed (Ezra 1:2-4). They had met with opposition from Judah and king Artaxerxes was persuaded to stop the building. Satan always steps in to challenge the work of God and occasionally appears victorious but always remember he has been defeated. If God gives you a task, follow it through. The Jews grew weary of fighting for the right to build the Temple and could not obtain the needed supplies so were discouraged enough to quit. The neglect of the Temple was made worse by the construction of elaborate homes for themselves. Does this sound familiar? You don’t think you have enough money to do any good in the church so you spend what little you have on yourself!
The people that had returned to Jerusalem had worked hard but their crops failed. There was never “enough” material wealth! This is when God tells them to “think about what they had done”. Do we need to stop and think? Are we working our lives away with no noticeable returns? The Spirit of the Lord came upon the elderly Haggai to get the people excited once more to finish the building project. Does God need to send a “Haggai” in order to once again get us excited about the House of the Lord? Has He already sent one and we are ignoring him? God said then and still says today; “BUILD MY HOUSE”! He commands that we go; teach; baptize (Matt. 28:19). Seek the Lord (Isa. 65:24); bring tithes to the storehouse (Mal. 3:10); seek the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33)! Do you have the supplies to rebuild the Temple? “Don’t you know that you are God’s Temple” (1 Cor. 3:16)? Have you stopped building because of opposition (2 Tim. 3:12)? What fruit do you see in your temple (Matt. 7:17-20, Gal. 5:22-23)? Do you encourage others to walk with Jesus (1 Thess. 5:11)? Are you growing in faith (2 Pet. 3:18)?
Rebuild God’s Temple just as though God Himself was coming to live in it! He will you know! New Jerusalem, the Holy City, will have no man made temple because the Lord Almighty and the Lamb are the City’s Temple (Rev. 21:22). Come and let’s re-build our bodily temples fit for a KING!