Latest revision as of 14:28, 24 May 2023

Theological Proposition/Focus: Sometimes God's timeline is a long timeline but that does not change his expectation that we faithfully complete the tasks he has given us.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: In the midst of a long project for the Lord we must make sure we do lose track of our priorities.

Introduction:

Image: Loving to tinker verses getting things done

I enjoy tinkering on projects. When we were first married I was not as organized or picky as I am now and I would regularly have several projects going at the same time. In one area of the house I would have a computer in various parts. In the garage there would be a small engine in some state of repair. There would be some pile of lumber somewhere else and then a stack of papers for the latest math problem I was working on. When I got bored or stuck with one item I would jump over to the other item. Usually at some point Emily would be cleaning and ask me, can you please finish something!

Today we are going to look at the call God made on His people to finish His temple.

Need: we need to consistently consider our priorities

Preview: today we are going to see that the people who returned from exile to rebuild the temple faced a major problem, were given a solution, a reason to solve the problem, and responded in a wonderful way.

Text: Haggai 1

Setting the Stage:

Recall that after Solomon reigned the nation of Israel split, the temple was located in the nation of Judah to the south.

The northern nation of Israel fell to the Assyrian empire in 722 BC

In 586 BC Babylon invaded the southern nation of Judah and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem beginning a period of exile.

In 539 Cyrus made an edict that the Jews could return from exile and rebuild their Temple.

Two years later the foundations of the temple were laid as described in Ezra 3:8-13

However, 16 years later, spiritual apathy had set in and the temple was uncompleted. God commissioned the prophet Haggai to challenge the apathy that had set in.

The book of Haggai is a report on four messages delivered to the people by the prophet Haggai.

Haggai 1:1

Haggai's message comes at a significant time, August 29, 520 BC. On the eve of the season for grape, fig, and pomegranate harvest.

However, as we will see, there is a cloud of dread, will this harvest be enough?

The Persians are now in charge and Darius is on the throne, in his early years Darius instituted a series of economic reforms that included taxation that resulted in inflation.

The stage is set for Haggai to deliver this very important message from God to a people who have been in construction for 16 years and are wondering what exactly is going to happen.

Body

The problem: procrastination, wrong priorities, wheel spinning (2-6)

Procrastination: If you only serve God when it is convenient you might be procrastinating.

It is wise to wait for God's timing, it is unwise to procrastinate!

Look at the phrase that God uses to refer to His own people. "These people"

The phrase "these people" puts some distance between God and the people showing us God's displeasure with His people.

There are times when we should wait for God to tell us to act. However, when it is clear that God wants us to act, we must take action, further waiting does not please God.

Patience is a virtue but procrastination is a symptom.

Notice that the people recognize the need to rebuild the temple, it just isn't convenient for them.

Cyrus had ordered the temple be rebuilt (Ezra 1:2) but had not personally intervened when Samaritan opposition came (Ezra 4:4-5)

Finances were tight (we will see this later in the passage)

It really wasn't safe to go walking around (Zechariah 8:10)

It might be a stretch but Ezekiel 37 suggests that Messiah will rebuild the temple, so let's wait for him. i.e. we have a hairline theological argument for waiting.

God is not impressed with our ability to generate excuses.

The people had a laundry list of excuses and how does God respond "these people."

Wrong Priorities: If you consistently using your excess on yourself then your priorities are wrong.

The people had been arguing that they could not afford the resources to be able to complete the temple, yet they lived in houses with wood walls!

I honestly don't know of a minor prophet who speaks a more relevant message to us today than the message of Haggai. We complain about money, economic hardship, but we have it really good! You might not live in a mansion, but your apartment or house, bedroom or dorm, is far nicer than what I think these people would have known. Seriously, what these people would have known would probably be condemned today as uninhabitable.

The problem is not that the people have nice houses. The problem is that the people claim they cannot afford to complete God's work! The people are lying.

You are allowed to have a nice car if God has blessed you in that way.

You are allowed to have a nice house if God has blessed you in that way.

You are not allowed to make those things a priority over God's call.

Haggai's call here is not a call to live in poverty, it is call to prioritize God! God may bless you abundantly and if that is the case then I rejoice with you but as you enjoy those blessings always make sure that God remains the priority.

Wheel Spinning: If you feel like you are spinning your wheels in life then you need to check your priorities.

Sometimes God uses life circumstances to get the attention of His people.

If things are not going as you would normally expect, then it might be worth some self-reflection.

Give careful thought to your ways is God's way of saying "check yourself."

Sowing seed usually yields much grain, if not then something is wrong.

Since grain is harvested in the region at the end of May and this message is in August, the less than stellar crop would be in their memories.

Eating usually results in satisfaction, if not then something is wrong.

Drinking usually results in refreshment, if not then something is wrong.

Clothing usually results in warmth, if not then something is wrong.

Working usually results in savings, if not then something is wrong.

Be careful not to fall into karma!

Now for a warning. The one who does good is not guaranteed good, the one who struggles to do good is not guaranteed poverty. That is called karma and we should reject it.

Sometimes God disciplines in order to get our attention.

Sometimes bad things happen to people so that God can be glorified in some way (exemplified in John 9:1-5 by the man born blind)

The point here is that we need to carefully reflect on our circumstances and ask the hard question.

MTR: As yourself the hard question, "have I made God my priority?"

The solution: get to it (7-8)

Give careful thought to your ways!

This is the second time that Haggai has used this phrase which we might translate as Consider your ways!

The idea here is both a past and future connotation. Haggai is saying, "things are not working out right, well let' think about it and change!"

I want to be careful here. Just because something bad is happening in your life does not mean you have brought it about! However, in a lot of cases, it does! There is no law of karma, but at the same time, too many people are faced with disaster after disaster and never consider their ways. Haggai is a reminder that while everything bad in your life is not necessarily a consequence for something you have done, there are cases where it is a consequence! The command to give careful thought to your ways is a command to critically reflect and ask hard questions!

My last action step involved asking the hard question, let me take a second to one more time ask you "have you made God your priority?

After careful thought is given, it is time to get to work!

This step is really important. A lot of times people get so far as reflecting but then stop before taking action.

A three-fold command here is meant to get the people's attention.

Go up!

Remember, the people were living in paneled houses. Maybe they had used all the good timber on their houses. Now they were going to have to work harder to get good timber for the temple but the excuse did not excuse them from the command.

Get timber!

The temple had been burned in 587 BC, so there would have been ample stone for rebuilding but in general, wood does not do well in a fire. Timber was a specific need for rebuilding the temple and God responds to the specific need with a specific command.

Build the house!

The work that needs to be done has a very specific purpose and God reminds the people that they need to work toward that specific purpose.

After the work is complete God is honored.

This final element is important, God is honored when we get to work and complete the job. We also see that God takes pleasure in a job completed for God.

Image: Unexecuted church projects.

Almost ten years ago now I was on a church construction council looking at a remodel project. We talked through what needed to be done in the building. Developed our list of dreams and then went to meet with the architect. As is usual they asked us for blueprints. When we went and found the old blueprints we discovered a print from several decades earlier. The print was for almost exactly the project we were envisioning. It turned out that the church had formed a remodel team earlier and that remodel team had developed essentially the same idea we had. Unfortunately, they never executed the plan!

This story might sound familiar to some of you, not because it happened here, but because it seems like it happens often. Life is no different! How many times have you thought about reprioritizing your life and then ultimately never acted?

MTR: Get to it!

The reason: things just are not working right (9-11)

God has a variety of tools at his disposal for getting the attention of His people.

The crop looked good but turned out to be little

What came home seemed to just disappear.

The normal dew was noticeably absent.

The normal germination seemed to decrease

God had warned of specific curses upon a specific people for disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:15-24.

The point is that the problems the people were facing were problems they known would cause economic disaster.

God has not given you a specific warning that your disobedience will result in a national drought!

Don't take this out of context! Instead apply the principle. The principle is that

If things are not going right turn to God

Have you ever been in a situation where everything seems to go wrong?

There are times when things just all go wrong, and sometimes this is to bring God glory, but other times it is to get our attention. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. There are times when things just go wrong and there are times when God graciously blesses despite us doing everything wrong. I have said it before I will say it again, there is no such thing as Christian Karma. However, God does also at times discipline His children!

Proverbs 3:12 states because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

There are times when God simply wants to get our attention and remind us that we must make him our priority.

In the case of Haggai, the people had wrong priorities and so God used economic hardship to get their attention.

Image: Using a lot of extra water? Check your toilet. We had to replace the flappers in our condo toilet.

When Emily and I were in graduate school we had a condo and I served on the board of directors for the association. One year we noticed a huge increase in water usage and we started investigating. It turned out that since all of the condos were built at the same time, all of the toilet flappers failed at about the same time and nearly every condo had toilets that were running. Now, if your water usage jumps it does not mean your toilet flapper went bad! But it is worth a check. Similarly, if things just don't seem to be going right then it is worth a check.

MTR: Determine if you need to do an extensive spiritual health check.

The response: God stirred people went to work (12-15)

Step 1: Listen to the message of God (12).

It was rare for a prophet of God to get a rapid and appropriate response, but in the case of Haggai, it happened.

Two key items seem to have been present

An attitude of obedience

The people obeyed. I am reminded that God desires obedience more than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22).

An attitude of awe (fear)

If God were to personally call you before his throne and ask you to change something I venture none of us would hesitate. Yet, we hesitate all the time and God has made his dwelling in our hearts. We need to have a sense of awe at God and respond to his message. Actually, this gets right to my next thought.

Step 2: Recognize the presence of God (13).

God wanted the people to know that they were not being asked to reprioritize on their own.

God wants his people to know that you are not in this alone.

It may be hard to think about reprioritizing your life. It may seem impossible but God is with you. You are not on your own here!

Step 3: Follow those who God has appointed to lead (14-15).

Two things here

It is easy for leaders to become apathetic. Leaders, the majority of people will only go as far as they are led.

It is important that we actually follow people God has placed for us to follow!

The people responded by getting to work, so we must also respond to God's command by obediently getting to work.

Image: Don't just nod your head, agree, and then do what you think is best. Follow God. The novice nod at UNL

When I used to work with novice teachers at UNL there was a phrase that they used to love. The best way to get through a teaching meeting was to sit, not complain, nod your head, and then go and do what you think is best. Many of the teachers thought they really had a good grasp of what it was to teach and that they knew better. Unfortunately, the data always showed otherwise. Those same teachers consistently did worse in the classroom and their students did worse on exams. This clever idea of pretending to listen was in fact not so clever. Don't be that person here at the church. Don't just nod your head in agreement lave here and do your own thing.

MTR: Step up, Step out, and get started.