Haggai
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Haggai 1:1-2:
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. |
The Israelites gave up building the Lords house--in order to build their own house.
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Haggai 1:3-15:
3 Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
9 Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.
11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.
13 Then spake Haggai the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.
14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,
15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
3 Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
9 Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.
11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.
13 Then spake Haggai the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.
14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,
15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
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Haggai 2:25:
‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’ |
Two scriptures in Haggai, say it clearly: “‘I am with you’ declares The Lord” (v1:13) and “my Spirit abides in your midst; do not fear!” (v2:5). Ponder this saying, “Don’t worry about tomorrow because God is already there.” Yet, fear, worry and anxiety plague us. When researching this topic, I got conflicting results as to how many times this most often repeated commandment, “Do not fear” or “Fear not” appears in the bible. Whether it is at least 80, if not 200-365 times, the resounding message is that with faith and standing firm in the Lord, there is no fear (Exodus 14:13) (Psalm 56:3), (Psalm 118:6), (Isaiah 41:10), (Luke 12:7).
There is scripture for every fear you are facing. Fear of failure? 2Timothy 1:7, Joshua 1:5&9. Fear of an enemy? Zephaniah 3:15. Fear of rejection/disapproval? Romans 8:31. Need help? Psalm 46:1-2. Want strength? Daniel 10:19. And of course, Psalm 23:4 for death, dismay. There is a “fear” I encourage you to practice. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Fear in this context means to have a deep respect, reverence and awe. Fearing God is discipline and instruction (Psalm 86:11) that leads to provision, prosperity and perpetuity (Deuteronomy 5:29) and prolongs life (Proverbs 10:27). Blessed are those who fear the Lord (Psalm 112:1)! -Susan Mister |