A Call to Build the House of the LORD
In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
This is what the LORD Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.’”
Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the 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 his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.”
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.
Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, 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 in the second year of King Darius.
My Understanding: Haggai was a prophet of God, so the words he spoke (or wrote) were the very words of Almighty God to the people. The message was addressed to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the high priest. They were the representatives of the people, so the message ultimately was for the people of God, i.e. for Israel.
The message of the Lord began: “These people say…” In Isaiah, the Lord said: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” In Jeremiah, the Lord said: “These people do not belong to the LORD. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me.” “But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away.” “Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.” And, in Hosea, the Lord said: “It is said of these people, ‘They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calf-idols.’”
“These people” were the people of God, yet, because of their sins of idolatry and spiritual adultery, the Lord God called them “these people” instead of “my people,” as a way of letting them know that God was displeased with them, and that they were not in fellowship with him.
The Temple of the Lord
The temple of the Lord in OT times was a physical building in which was the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence dwelt. The people of God would go to this physical temple to meet with God and to worship him. This was the house of the Lord. Today, the temple of God is in the hearts of true followers of Jesus Christ. Collectively we are the church, the body of Christ. So, we no longer have to go to a physical building to meet with God. For those of us who have believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by faith (via repentance and obedience), which is a gift of the Spirit of God, the temple of God dwells within us. We can worship God at any time and at any place. We worship him in spirit and in truth, and we worship him through giving of ourselves to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but transformed in heart and mind by the power and the working of the Holy Spirit of God within us.
Haggai addressed the subject of the physical temple. Evidently, according to my Bible Commentary in my NIV Study Bible, the foundation for the temple had been laid in 536 B.C. Opposition had arisen, which hindered the continuation of the construction of the temple, and the work was halted until 520 B.C. “These people” were saying that it was not time for the house of the Lord to be built, yet they had plenty of time for building their own fine houses. So, God’s response to “these people” was to bring a little reality to the situation. He confronted them with their hypocrisy and with their own self-deception. They had deceived themselves into believing that it was not time to build the house of the Lord so they could focus their attention on their own houses, careers, provisions, etc. They had plenty of time for their own “stuff” and their own priorities, but God’s house was not even on the radar.
Today, the people of God are believers in Jesus Christ. I believe God is calling much of his church today “these people,” and for the same reasons. We, the church, are so busy with our own lives, interests, careers, houses, entertainment, and “stuff” that we are forsaking the house of the Lord. Lest we get confused here, the house of the Lord is not the institutional church. God does not dwell in buildings built by human hands. The sanctuary (holy of holies) of God is not a huge auditorium in a physical building. When we enter into a building called “a church,” we do not enter into the house of the Lord nor do we enter into the presence of Almighty God, contrary to what most church people will tell you. When they teach that, they are carrying that over from the Old Testament temple. So, when I say we are neglecting God’s house, I am speaking of our hearts, which is where his temple dwells, and I am speaking of our personal and vital relationships with Jesus Christ. As well, this includes the corporate fellowship of believers, but again, this is a heart issue, not one of caring for physical buildings. We often forsake the nurturing of human lives and Christian discipleship in favor of church programs and church services. This should not be!
Careful Thought
The Lord challenged “these people” to give “careful thought” to their ways. Careful means: showing close attention to accuracy and detail; watchful and protective (Encarta); cautious, vigilant, observant, etc. Thought means: consideration, contemplation, etc. Basically, they were to seriously stop and take stock in what they had been doing and how that compared to what they should be doing. This was a call for self-evaluation and heart examination. Their ways had to do with their methods, systems, approach, manners, customs, practices, traditions, etc. They were being called upon by God Almighty to examine their hearts, lives, minds, things they do, say and are; things they involve themselves in, etc. And, then he brought them to reality when he let them know that all their self-efforts produced little. They were spinning their wheels and were going nowhere spiritually, because they were running their own lives and were doing what they wanted to do, without thought for what God wanted and desired of them. And, God is still saying that to his people, the church.
So many professing followers of Christ are really not following him at all, or very little, which is the same as not at all. To follow Christ means to do what he did and to do and say what he said we should do and say as his followers. It means dying to our old way of living, and to have new lives in Christ in which Christ now lives in and through us. It means forsaking our lives of sin and turning to walk in faithful obedience to Christ. Many who call him “Lord,” which means master, don’t even know what that means, and/or they certainly don’t demonstrate it by their lifestyles. If Jesus is our Lord, really and truly, then he is boss of our lives, and he is the one who determines what we do, say, and are, and our job is merely to surrender our will to his will, and to obey what his word teaches us, as the body of Christ. We are his servants. A servant’s job is to please his or her master and to do what is required by the master. Instead of just living to please ourselves, we should be living to please God. Instead of planning out our days according to our own wishes and desires, we should inquire of the Lord as to what he has for us for that day. When we sit down to watch something on TV or a movie or to listen to music or to play a game, we need to ask ourselves if this would be dishonoring to God in any way? He is inside those who are truly his, so he is right there with us when we watch stuff and listen to stuff that is bad.
Build the House
The Lord first of all presented the people with the problem. They were neglecting their relationship with God in favor of doing what they wanted and in favor of pleasing themselves instead of pleasing God. Then, he also gave them a dose of reality when he let them know that, although they were self-deceived into thinking it was ok for them to neglect their relationship with God in favor of taking care of themselves and doing what they want, it was not ok with God. Should we neglect our relationship with Jesus Christ so that we can build our own houses, human relationships, and careers? Should we neglect our service to the Lord Jesus so that we can spend more time watching TV, movies, playing video games, going shopping, attending sporting events, or whatever else we do for our own pleasure? Not all these things are bad in and of themselves, but they are bad if they are our top priority while God/Jesus gets last place, if he has any place in our lives at all.
Then, the Lord asked his people to take a heart examination, to look at their lives and priorities, and to see if God is truly their “Lord” or if they are their own “lord” of their lives. He is asking of us the same. Is Jesus truly our Lord? And, are we truly following him wherever he leads us, or do we set our own priorities and schedules and Jesus gets the leftovers, if he gets anything at all?
Once we have done the heart examination, and we have been honest with ourselves and with God, and he reveals to us, his children, where our hearts are truly in relationship with him, then we must turn from our sins of rebellion, of self-will, of pride, of selfishness, of idolatry and spiritual adultery, and we must humbly bow before the Lord in surrender and obedience to his will for our lives. And, then we must find out what pleases God and be willing to follow him in complete obedience. Then we can resume the building of God’s temple, i.e. we can continue to build our relationships with Jesus Christ in following him, in obeying him, in surrendering to his will, and in going where he sends us, in saying what he wants us to say, in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost, in encouraging and exhorting our brothers and sisters in Christ in faithful obedience, and in daily fellowshipping with our Lord Jesus in all tenderness and compassion for the things that are important to him, desiring within our hearts to be his servants and messengers of his love, mercy, compassion and of his salvation to a lost world. “The people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God… and the people feared the LORD.” Amen!! May we respond the same way!
No Less / An Original Work / March 19, 2012
I can do no less than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve done for me.
You died for my sins to save me,
So I would be set free.
I adore You! Lord, I praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has pardoned me.
I can do no less than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I would be,
Telling others of Your love,
And why You died on that tree.
Tell of how You gave of Your life,
So from sin we’d be set free,
So we could worship You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less than love You,
Lord, for You have first loved me.
You gave of Your life so willing,
Because You cared for me.
Turn from my sin! Obey freely!
Live for You each passing day.
Read Your word, and follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly pray.
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1483/No-Less
http://youtu.be/ntBP1BhcyzQ
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