Haggai: A Call To Reorder Priorities

Haggai 1:7-9 says, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,’ says the Lord. ‘You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.’” 

Now, things around us, be it our work, our studies, some commitments, our desires and temptations are always drowning out our schedules. And people around us seem to always expect something from us, like our boss, our family member, our kids, our friends, school or church and such. As this goes on, we are almost always just trying to complete task after tasks, busying ourselves through life and just checking off the list of what looks like urgent things, immediate issues to resolve or the necessary stuff. But what is truly important for us to give time and build on, are often left unattended. With this, I mean what drives our hearts and minds rightly, that is our spiritual life. Now, let us take a moment to ask, where do we delegate most of our time, effort and gifts to? How far up or down is God in our “checklist”?

The book of Haggai is during a time where the Lord is calling His people back to the right priorities. The exiles returned to Jerusalem and God’s people set about to rebuild God’s temple. However, the work came to a standstill after awhile, as their attitudes and priorities shifted over time. But Prophet Haggai was set apart in his heart to know what is important and God, through him, challenged the people to reorder their focus and response.

“Living in your panelled houses, while this house remains in ruins?”
Now in Haggai 1:4, it gave us a good context to ponder upon. The word of God came through Prophet Haggai and he said, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains in ruins?” The fact is, Haggai is indeed speaking to our hearts too. It talks about the negligence to the rebuilding of their temple and our own “temple” as well. Now the temple was a focal point of God’s relationship with the people then, but it was still in shambles. Yet the people of God diverted their attention and efforts to beautifying their own homes. But the harder they worked for their own sake, the lesser they had because they ignored their spiritual life. This is telling us that caring for our physical needs while ignoring our spiritual life with God will lead to futile efforts and ruin. When we do not set our hearts right and firm in faith with God, you will find that we have many ideas and desires, but eventually, without the purpose, the strength and wisdom of being directed by the Lord, it will lead to a blockage, lack in fruitfulness or some form of dissatisfaction, because ultimately, material possessions and men’s limited love cannot satisfy us for long. This is the result of jumbled priorities. And like the people Haggai spoke to, we often jumble up God’s work, God’s voice with all other things like career, family, leisures and such. If we honestly ask ourselves, there could be bullet points that are placed higher on our list than God, like climbing to a better status in life, better salary, holiday plans. So are we also, living or busy building our panelled houses, and neglecting our spiritual living?

Stirred In Spirit and Work On It

Then in Haggai 1:13, the Lord said: “I am with you.” The Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.” Now the learning point from the people of God is this, once they have heard Prophet Haggai’s message from the Lord, God stirred their hearts and they started rebuilding the temple again after 23 days. It took some time but yes, they responded to it. These people heard the Lord, put in their hearts and live it out in action. Many times, we too hear the Lord’s convictions or nudges, through a sermon, through a devotion, through a brethren and such, but our response is important. When the Lord stirs our hearts like this, how do we react? To be honest, I have had my fair share of ignoring the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Knowing I will be tired and unproductive the next day, yet I choose to sleep late for leisure time. Or hearing a good sermon on love, writing some notes but never really acting on it. Now, we all fall into this moments, but let us, after hearing Haggai’s call, really slow down and take time to internalise the Holy Spirit’s directions and make plans to put our faith into practice. Is it to set aside time to read the Word more consistently, having someone to remind us when we get too carried away with using our phones or giving some attention to those around us who need ministering?

The Lord’s Encouragement: “Be Strong, Be Strong, Be Strong”

The Lord knows all our limitations, weaknesses and struggles. So as He has encouraged the people of God through Haggai, He is also giving us these encouragements to bless all our efforts to draw near to Him today as well. In Haggai 2:3-5, the Lord asked His people through Haggai, “‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ Here, the Lord said “Be strong” 3 times and He gave us 3 encouragements after.

1. God’s presence
Firstly, the Lord said: “For I am with you.” Here, God promises us His presence with His children. It is like a kid going into an unfamiliar place, unsure of what to expect. But knowing that his Father is there, it gives reassurance. There is courage in knowing you can always have someone to look to and seek protection with. We may have many pressures and uncertainties in life to complete or to deal with, but when we spend our efforts first building our life rooted in God, His presence will always go before us.

2. God’s covenant
Next, God said: “‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.” Now, our God is a faithful and an awesome promise keeper. He kept His promise from when His people came out of Egypt till now, as they are rebuilding a temple in ruins. This reminds us again that God is similarly faithful to us. Has He not delivered us out of our own “Egypt” before? Certain issues or problems we had in the past, has the Lord not led us through them? In the same way, as we are rebuilding our own spiritual life, the Lord’s promises remains. It is important to remember how the Lord has helped us come this far through life’s pathways. Many things around us may shift, but we can rest in the hope that the Lord’s promise to be with us, to love us, to use us and bless us in spirit will never change.

3. God’s spirit
Finally, the Lord also said, “My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.” Many times, we are fearful, stressed out because we still tap on our own reservoir of resources which we know are not always reliable and sufficient. So here the Lord says, “Tap on the resource I have given you, which is the Holy Spirit. Tap on me, come to me first, clear out your head from the voices of the world or your inclinations, and seek the ways the Lord wants to lead you. Maybe it is not about finishing that particular task right now, when you are so strung up. Maybe your so-called worries are uncalled for because you have been so clouded by assumptions. We need peace, we need wisdom and we need perspective beyond our abilities to gain them. And it can only come from drawing near to the wellspring of all of that. So go to the Spirit, pray on it, be convicted by it to hold on to His promises instead of fears, hope instead of playing through “worse case scenarios”, His Word instead of our own thoughts and feelings.

Brothers and sisters, maybe we have been consciously or even unconsciously used to the rhythm of building our own “panelled houses” for some time now. But as we hear this message from Haggai, let us start looking at the other house that could need rebuilding and shift our priorities to what truly matters first. God bless.