By Ife J. Ibitayo
For Part 1 on “A Foundation of Rejoicing and Regret”, click here.
The Israelites returned to the ruins of Jerusalem in 538 BC. As soon as they reached their homeland, the LORD commanded them to rebuild Jerusalem and His temple. They took the command to rebuild the city to heart, resurrecting their homes and businesses as soon as they arrived. But they put the command to restore the LORD’s temple on hold. Haggai the prophet said, “‘The people are saying, “The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”’ Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: ‘Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins’” (Haggai 1:2-4 NLT)?
Expecting Much
The Israelites priorities were clear: their own health and well-being. They furnished fine homes for themselves and planted much seed for themselves hoping to achieve success for themselves. But here was the fruit of their labor: “‘You have planted much, but 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… You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why’” (Haggai 1:6,9a NLT)?
God not only didn’t assist their hard work, He actively opposed it. He worked to minimize their profit and increase their losses. Why indeed would a good God trouble His people as they strived to secure security and prosperity?
Finding Little
The rest of Haggai 1:9 says that the LORD blew away the reward for their labor “‘because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.’” There are two reasons the LORD opposed the Israelites’ efforts: priority and provision.
Jesus Himself said, “‘Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’” (Matthew 6:33 ESV). An honest inventory of our time, money, and energy would force many of us to admit that God is not number one on our lists. He may receive one day of our week and—in good months—one-tenth of our paycheck, but He is the moon to our world of self rather than the Sun we revolve around.
The reason why God often finds Himself second-best is because of worry. Our cratering economy pushes us to labor from the crack of dawn to midnight. Our strained marriages send us into a death spiral of heated arguments and cold shoulders. We need financial peace, relational peace, and bodily peace, so we strive to lay hold of these things before we find spiritual peace.
Jesus, right before speaking about priorities in Matthew 6:33 said, “‘Don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs’” (Matthew 6:31-32 NLT).
Our God knows what we need better than we do, and chief among our list of necessities is not food, water, or shelter but our heavenly Father.
Finding Much
Once the Israelites finally prioritized building the LORD’s house over their own, the LORD told them, “‘“Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!”… The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace’” (Haggai 2:3,9 NLT).
If we align our priorities with the Father’s, He’ll fill us with spiritual peace and restore the other areas of our lives. But we must have the faith to reorient ourselves from our worries to His temple.
“‘Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.’”
(Haggai 2:18-19 NLT)