Today's reading from the One-Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Daniel 10-12, Ezra 4:24-5:1, Haggai 1.
I want to focus on Haggai today. We've spent some time looking at Daniel already and we've heard his stories from the time we were children. (Though not surprisingly, not the ones from the prophecy half of his book! I never knew he did so much end-time prophesying either until I read through it last year). He's quite a famous prophet. Now let's have a show of hands ~ who can recall hearing anything from or about Haggai?! You won't find many commentaries on this little 2-chapter book of the Bible either, but he's got just as important a message for us as any of the other more famous prophets do.
Haggai delivered only four recorded messages to the returned Israelite exiles, all relatively short. Three of the four are in the second chapter, but the first chapter, which is in our reading today, is devoted entirely to his first message: Getting (and keeping) our priorities straight.
We see here the first wave of Israelite exiles returning to Judah and Jerusalem and initially, they're on fire for rebuilding God's house and re-establishing worship. I mean, they REMEBER why they were exiled in the first place and God is their number one priority when they finally return. But time passes and after struggling with opposition for 4-5 years, the temple rebuilding project is abandoned and the focus shifts to their own homes. In just FOUR YEARS!!!
I don't know about you, but I find myself getting so frustrated with these Israelites!! So many times we read about them neglecting their relationship with God, often forgetting the amazing miracles He's done for them in the very recent past. And then I think, "Oh my goodness, how like them I am!" How many times have I praised Him for some direct answer to prayer or His gracious provision in time of need and then promptly fallen into a season where I feel like I don't need Him anymore because things are going well?
There seems to have been a progressively relaxed attitude about the temple repair. At first the excuse was the opposition, then the fact that they needed to build their own homes and plant their own crops, then the feeling that since it had waited this long, it didn't matter if it waited a little longer... Do any of these sound familiar? I think we often use these to excuse our meagre diet of spiritual food and our lack of will-power when it comes to pursuing a life of holiness. The conditions for hard work are never ideal, but that doesn't mean we should ever allow ourselves to de-prioritize God and our duty to glorify Him in all we do. No, that's all the more reason to diligently work at developing a "habit of holiness!"
My new Life Application Bible says this: "God asked his people how they could live in luxury when his house was lying in ruins. The temple was the focal point of Judah's relationship with God, but it was still demolished. Instead of rebuilding the temple, the people put their energies into beautifying their own homes. However, the harder the people worked for themselves, the less they had, because they ignored their spiritual lives. The same happens to us. If we put God first, he will provide for our deepest needs. If we put him in any other place, all our efforts will be futile. Caring only for your physical needs while ignoring your relationship with God will lead to ruin.
Judah's problem was confused priorities. Like Judah, our priorities involving occupation, family, and God's work are often confused. Jobs, homes, vacations, and leisure activities may rank higher on our list of importance than God. What is most important to you? Where is God on your list of priorities?"
Most of us would claim God is of utmost importance in our lives, but something we need to continually ask ourselves is this: Does it show?
Our beliefs determine our behaviour. Whether we like it or not, our actions are based on what we truly believe. So if our actions aren't lining up with what we say we believe, it's because what we claim we believe and what we really DO believe are two different things. The Israelites claimed they believed in God. They claimed worship was important ~ which is why they were satisfied that the altar was rebuilt. They had a place to offer sacrifices; what did it matter that the building around the altar wasn't complete yet? Clearly, it mattered to God.
We need to make conscientious efforts to honour God with our lives ~ with everything from cleaning toilets and wiping noses at home to playing piano or teaching Sunday school at church. He doesn't just want our lives on Sunday mornings at the altar, doing the bare "requirements" of our faith; He wants us in our "paneled houses" during the week, too, where we live out our true beliefs.
Tomorrow's passages: Haggai 2:1-9, Zechariah 1:1-6, Haggai 2:10-19, Ezra 5:2, Haggai 2:20-23, Zechariah 1:7-5:11.
I want to focus on Haggai today. We've spent some time looking at Daniel already and we've heard his stories from the time we were children. (Though not surprisingly, not the ones from the prophecy half of his book! I never knew he did so much end-time prophesying either until I read through it last year). He's quite a famous prophet. Now let's have a show of hands ~ who can recall hearing anything from or about Haggai?! You won't find many commentaries on this little 2-chapter book of the Bible either, but he's got just as important a message for us as any of the other more famous prophets do.
Haggai delivered only four recorded messages to the returned Israelite exiles, all relatively short. Three of the four are in the second chapter, but the first chapter, which is in our reading today, is devoted entirely to his first message: Getting (and keeping) our priorities straight.
We see here the first wave of Israelite exiles returning to Judah and Jerusalem and initially, they're on fire for rebuilding God's house and re-establishing worship. I mean, they REMEBER why they were exiled in the first place and God is their number one priority when they finally return. But time passes and after struggling with opposition for 4-5 years, the temple rebuilding project is abandoned and the focus shifts to their own homes. In just FOUR YEARS!!!
I don't know about you, but I find myself getting so frustrated with these Israelites!! So many times we read about them neglecting their relationship with God, often forgetting the amazing miracles He's done for them in the very recent past. And then I think, "Oh my goodness, how like them I am!" How many times have I praised Him for some direct answer to prayer or His gracious provision in time of need and then promptly fallen into a season where I feel like I don't need Him anymore because things are going well?
There seems to have been a progressively relaxed attitude about the temple repair. At first the excuse was the opposition, then the fact that they needed to build their own homes and plant their own crops, then the feeling that since it had waited this long, it didn't matter if it waited a little longer... Do any of these sound familiar? I think we often use these to excuse our meagre diet of spiritual food and our lack of will-power when it comes to pursuing a life of holiness. The conditions for hard work are never ideal, but that doesn't mean we should ever allow ourselves to de-prioritize God and our duty to glorify Him in all we do. No, that's all the more reason to diligently work at developing a "habit of holiness!"
My new Life Application Bible says this: "God asked his people how they could live in luxury when his house was lying in ruins. The temple was the focal point of Judah's relationship with God, but it was still demolished. Instead of rebuilding the temple, the people put their energies into beautifying their own homes. However, the harder the people worked for themselves, the less they had, because they ignored their spiritual lives. The same happens to us. If we put God first, he will provide for our deepest needs. If we put him in any other place, all our efforts will be futile. Caring only for your physical needs while ignoring your relationship with God will lead to ruin.
Judah's problem was confused priorities. Like Judah, our priorities involving occupation, family, and God's work are often confused. Jobs, homes, vacations, and leisure activities may rank higher on our list of importance than God. What is most important to you? Where is God on your list of priorities?"
Most of us would claim God is of utmost importance in our lives, but something we need to continually ask ourselves is this: Does it show?
Our beliefs determine our behaviour. Whether we like it or not, our actions are based on what we truly believe. So if our actions aren't lining up with what we say we believe, it's because what we claim we believe and what we really DO believe are two different things. The Israelites claimed they believed in God. They claimed worship was important ~ which is why they were satisfied that the altar was rebuilt. They had a place to offer sacrifices; what did it matter that the building around the altar wasn't complete yet? Clearly, it mattered to God.
We need to make conscientious efforts to honour God with our lives ~ with everything from cleaning toilets and wiping noses at home to playing piano or teaching Sunday school at church. He doesn't just want our lives on Sunday mornings at the altar, doing the bare "requirements" of our faith; He wants us in our "paneled houses" during the week, too, where we live out our true beliefs.
Tomorrow's passages: Haggai 2:1-9, Zechariah 1:1-6, Haggai 2:10-19, Ezra 5:2, Haggai 2:20-23, Zechariah 1:7-5:11.
2 comments:
Thanks, Tammi, definitely a useful reminder about keeping our priorities straight! No matter how good our intentions, it's really hard to look past our immediate circumstances sometimes. It's important to remember to take a step back and look at those circumstances with the bigger picture in mind!
"Whether we like it or not, our actions are based on what we truly believe. So if our actions aren't lining up with what we say we believe, it's because what we claim we believe and what we really DO believe are two different things."
Bang on!
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