“Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 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. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.” — Haggai 1:5-7

Through the prophet Haggai, God challenged the people of Judah to consider their ways—to stop and assess what was going on in their lives and recognize that a change must be made. Today, in His love for souls, God issues the same challenge, calling individuals to consider how they are living and recognize their need of Him. Darwin Lee was one who responded to that challenge. 

Darwin had a difficult childhood. His mother died when he was just six years old, and his father was an atheist, so he was not taken to church and had no understanding about God’s salvation. After he married and began raising a family, his wife occasionally wanted to take the children to Sunday school. Darwin was against that. He said, “I figured the kids could make up their own minds about religion later on. I thought religious people were weaklings and that I was all right—after all, I was not a drinking man, and I worked hard and took care of my family. However, I had a vile temper and a foul mouth.” 

God began dealing with Darwin’s heart when their sixteen-year-old daughter became a Christian and started attending the Apostolic Faith Church. He said, “As I watched her, it was obvious to us that something had happened in her life. Her behavior and the way she dressed were quite different. However, I dismissed it, thinking it was just a passing whim. Then one of our sons, Darrel, came home from college to check up on what was going on with his sister, thinking to rescue her from what he felt were misguided notions about religion. He went to church with her and shortly thereafter, had an encounter with God himself and was saved.” 

He continued, “By that time, my life was miserable. I was nearly fifty years old. My wife and I had been married for over twenty-five years, but we were not communicating much at all. I felt hopeless, and I am sure that my son could sense my unhappiness. He kept asking me to attend church with him, even though I made excuses. Finally, I gave in and agreed to go.” 

Darwin was surprised when the pastor did not ask for money, which is what he expected would happen. And because of his son’s persistence, he continued to attend church with him. He recounted, “What I heard started to make sense to me. Gradually, I absorbed more, and finally, I began going down to the altar and praying.” He was considering his ways! 

Darwin’s breakthrough came when he went to the Apostolic Faith headquarters church in Portland for special meetings. On Saturday evening they showed the film “A Thief in the Night”—a dramatization about the coming of the Lord. It made an impression on Darwin, and that night he surrendered to God. He testified, “My first words when I knelt to pray were, ‘God, I need help!’ I got that help, and I have been getting it ever since. The Lord came down and saved me, and I knew something real had happened in my life. Things started improving at home. My wife had been saved earlier, and God restored the love and warmth in our marriage. Others of our children were saved over a period of several years. Today, my life is better than it ever has been.” 

Today’s text was God’s message to the people of Jerusalem, but it applies to us as well. God wants us to stop and think about our own lives—to consider our ways, giving careful thought to how we are living. Have we committed our lives to God, as Darwin did? If so, are we still living in obedience to His Word? Are we trusting Him in good times and challenging times? Are we following God’s will for us even when doing so is not easy? 

When the people of Judah failed to put God first, God’s blessing was withheld. Let’s make sure that we have surrendered to God and are living in a manner that will allow Him to bless us.

BACKGROUND

Only two chapters long, the Book of Haggai contains four brief but powerful messages delivered by the prophet Haggai to the people of Judah, who had previously returned to their homeland from exile in Babylon. Haggai began each of his messages by referencing “the word of the Lord” or a similar phrase. 

The Israelites had been in exile in Babylon for nearly seventy years when King Cyrus’ edict in 538 B.C. allowed them to return to Judah. Upon arrival, they had been confronted with the devastation left by the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar. Their capital city of Jerusalem was in ruins and the glorious structure that once was Solomon’s Temple had been demolished. 

The returnees had begun rebuilding the Temple soon after their arrival. However, opposition brought their work to a halt (see Ezra 4:4-5, 24), and for many years, the people had been consumed with secular pursuits and building their own homes. Because they had neglected God’s house, God’s blessing upon them and their efforts had been withdrawn. 

Chapter 1, which is Haggai’s first message to the exiles, begins with a rebuke for the people’s failure to finish rebuilding the Temple. The prophet then issued a call for them to renew their efforts and complete the task. The prophecy was delivered to Zerubbabel (the governor) and Joshua (the high priest), who had been given the charge to rebuild the Temple and the city. Verse 1 indicates that the message was given in the sixth month of the second year of King Darius’s reign, or 520 B.C. 

Verse 2 indicates that the people excused their failure to build by implying they were waiting for a convenient time. In verses 4-7, Haggai admonished the people to consider their ways. They had spent time and energy on constructing their own homes and neglected the building of God’s Temple. The word translated ceiled in verse 4 comes from the root word saphan, which means “to cover” or “to roof,” and refers to houses that were paneled with fine woods, as was common for royal residences (see 1 Kings 7:7 and Jeremiah 22:14). However, building fine personal dwelling places was inexcusable when the Lord’s house was still lying waste. As a result, God’s blessing had been withheld, and the people were dissatisfied and discouraged because of the troubles that had come upon them. 

In verse 8, Haggai instructed the people to obtain the materials needed and resume work on the Temple. He promised that God would be glorified and take pleasure in their efforts if they would be obedient. Verses 9-11 rehearse again the troubles they had brought on themselves by their disobedience. Grain, grapes, and olives, alluded to in verse 11, were Israel’s principal crops, so their livelihood had been significantly impacted by the drought that was God’s judgment. 

Verses 12-15 indicate that the people complied with Haggai’s instruction. Their obedience resulted in the message of reassurance, recorded in verse 13, that God would be with them as they followed Him in obedience. The dates given in verse 15 reveal that just twenty-three days after Haggai had received the message from God, work on the Temple resumed. Likely those twenty-three days were spent procuring the needed building supplies and preparing the building site for the resumed efforts.

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

I. The first message—To rebuke (1:1-15)
    A. Date: August 29, 520 B.C. (1:1)
    B. The building ceased (1:2-4)
         1. Because of indifference (1:2)
         2. Because of indulgence (1:3-4)
    C. The blessing ceased (1:5-11)
         1. Consider the leanness (1:5-7)
         2. Cure for leanness (1:8)
         3. Cause of leanness (1:9-11)
    D. The building continued (1:12-15)
         1. Reaction of the people (1:12)
         2. Renewal of blessing (1:13)
         3. Return to work (1:14-15)
             a. Return to work (1:14)
             b. Date: September 20, 520 B.C. (1:15)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. According to verse 2, what did the people say to excuse their failure to build God’s house?
2. Why do you think God told the people to “Consider your ways”? (verses 5 and 7)
3. What blessings has obedience to God brought into your life?

CONCLUSION

Obedience to God, even when it is not easy, proves the validity of our commitment to Him.