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 2:10-19:
In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. 15 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord: 16 Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. 17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord. 18 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it. 19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. |
 Ray Pritchard
Then Haggai said, “‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the LORD. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.
Here is the application of those strange questions. The key is the word “whatever.” When your heart isn’t right with God, whatever you do will be wrong. You see, God wanted more than a temple built. He wanted the hearts of the people to be fully devoted to him. God didn’t want a big house filled with empty hearts. He didn’t want animal sacrifice unless it was accompanied by a living sacrifice of the people. Write it down big and plain. You can’t fool God. He isn’t impressed by religious ritual unless it is accompanied by a humble heart. We may summarize this truth in two crucial sentences: Holiness is not transferable. Holiness begins in the heart. That’s the whole point. God wants your heart because if he has your heart, he’ll soon have every other part of your life. That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” There’s an old gospel song that says, “How about your heart, is it right with God? That’s the thing that counts today.” So how about your heart? Many of us are concerned about heart disease—and rightly so– but what about spiritual heart disease that is just as insidious? During a heated battle one of Napoleon’s soldiers was shot just above a heart. In those days surgery was done without anesthesia. While the doctor was removing the bullet, the soldier declared, “One inch lower you will find the emperor.” What would we find if we opened your heart today? Would we find Jesus Christ enshrined in your heart? --Ray Pritchard; Keep Believing; The Blessings of Obedience Hagaai 2:10-19 6.1.97 |
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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 |