Haggai 1:1-11
Give careful thought to your ways. - Haggai 1:5

TODAY IN THE WORD
According to the program AD 2000 and Beyond, there are about 260 people groups in the world that still need to hear the gospel. There are also 1,120 people groups that don’t have a church of 100 or more members among them.

God’s people still have plenty of work to do when it comes to obeying Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission. And we have been reminded this month that one of the reasons God wants us to work is to be able to support His work. Speaking through the prophet Haggai, God warned Israel not to forget His work as they went about their own tasks.

Today’s devotional begins the fifth section of the study on work, a five-day series on precautions for workers. The Bible teaches us how to keep several clear priorities in mind as we work, and then how to use the income and other benefits work provides. These precautions are easy to forget or set aside when life gets busy, but each one is too important to neglect.

God’s message to His people through Haggai is a good example of this. Haggai was the first prophet to speak to Israel after the people returned from exile in Babylon. Rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem was high on God’s priority list. After a good start on the temple, however, the exiles became preoccupied with building their own houses. Work on the temple stopped for about fifteen years.

But this was not what God intended. The temple was central to Israel’s worship, the place where God came to live among His people. By neglecting the temple the people were not only being disobedient. Their lack of concern reflected a deeper problem of spiritual apathy.

God had tried to get their attention in the most dramatic ways possible. He had withdrawn His blessing on their work in the fields and the vineyards, so that they got little return for their efforts. And even when they did earn a wage, God cut holes in the bottom of their pockets. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Haggai 1:1-15

TODAY IN THE WORD
A beautiful building in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine, has recently been reclaimed for its original purpose, and is now home to a thriving Christian congregation. Like so many churches in the former Soviet Union, this church was confiscated by the government and used for other purposes during many of the seventy-four years of Communist rule. The building suffered from years of neglect, and still needs a lot of repair and restoration work.

Many centuries before the Communists formed the Soviet Union, a foreign conqueror swept through a nation and left a house of God in ruins. A little more than twenty years after the death of King Josiah, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar swept into Judah in a final conquest of the southern kingdom.

Most of God’s people were sent off into exile in Babylon in fulfillment of God’s judgment, and the magnificent temple of Solomon was leveled. But the godly line survived in Babylon, and when the seventy years of captivity God had decreed were finished, He kept His promise to restore Israel to her land.

The book of Ezra records the fulfillment of this promise of restoration, as the first exiles returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. A man named Zerubbabel was among this group (Ezra 2:2). He was a prince of Judah, the grandson of King Jehoiachin who had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:8-16). We’re studying Zerubbabel today because he was one of the last descendants in the godly line mentioned in the Old Testament.

The prophet Haggai says that Zerubbabel was appointed governor of Jerusalem. The main task of the returned exiles was to rebuild the temple, a job they began with great enthusiasm. But after the temple’s foundation was laid, opposition from the people living in Samaria caused Zerubbabel and the people to stop the work (Ezra 4:1-5, 24).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Today’s study finishes our survey of some of the people in the Old Testament lineage of Jesus Christ.  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Haggai 1:2
In His Time

READ: Haggai 1:1-15

This people says, "The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built." --Haggai 1:2

I know of a church that has desperately needed to expand for a number of years. Many of the members have had a desire to build for quite some time and are ready to press ahead with the project. There are others, however, who believe that because the church hasn't been able to raise the full amount necessary to pay for the project, the timing isn't right.

When doing God's work, the issue of His will and timing is a very important one. The Israelites in Haggai's day faced such an issue in the rebuilding of the temple. After years of captivity in Babylon, they returned to Jerusalem. With God's instructions, they began the project (about 15 years prior to Haggai's prophecy). But then, because of fear and intimidation, they quit (Ezra 4). As days and years went by, they excused their inaction by saying that the timing wasn't right (Haggai 1:2). Nonsense! The real problem was that they were too busy increasing their own comfort—building and living in their own "paneled houses" (1:4)—to give any time or effort to constructing the house of God.

How careful we must be to avoid becoming so absorbed in building our own "houses" (physical or financial) that we ignore the work of God. Let us always seek to do His work in His time and according to His instructions. —David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Lord, I would always do Your will,
Your perfect plan I would fulfill;
Don't let me move too fast or slow,
For it's Your timing I would know. —Fitzhugh

Now is the right time to do God's will.

Haggai 1:4

Paneled Houses
READ: Haggai 2:1-9

Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins? —Haggai 1:4

The prophecy of Haggai is often overlooked in Scripture, but it holds much for us. This brief book consists of four messages from God to the Jewish exiles who had returned from Babylon. Their mission was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

They started well, but then their enthusiasm waned and they turned to building houses for themselves. In his first message, Haggai asked, "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" (Haggai 1:4).

In message two (Haggai 2:1-9), Haggai asked if anyone remembered the temple Solomon had built, and that King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed. A few elderly exiles could recall the former glory. By comparison, the abandoned work looked pitiful.

Let's think for a moment about our work of building the church. For us, the church is the body of Christ—the believers themselves (1 Corinthians 12:27). Our mission as followers of Jesus is to become a strong, dedicated, growing, witnessing church.

How is your local congregation doing? Is it busy doing the work of God? Are you personally involved? Or have you become distracted with the work of building your own "paneled houses"? —David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

God gives us talents to be used for Him.
Should then His work for lack of zeal decline?
His kingdom first! Our light must not grow dim—
Through faithful servants may His glory shine! —Mollon

Commitment to Christ goes hand in hand with commitment to His church.

Haggai 1:6
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

He that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

In these words, spoken on their return from captivity, God remonstrates with his people for neglecting the rebuilding of his house, and indicates this as the reason for the failure of their crops, and the profitlessness of their labors. They seemed to put their hard-earned wages into a bag with holes.

How true a description of many in the present day! They work hard, but derive little comfort from their toils. Their homes are bare; their children unkempt; their circumstances meager. They are always in anxiety. Gambling, drinking, loose and evil company—are indeed bags with holes. But there are other analogies. We sometimes find our days slipping away without accomplishing anything worth mentioning. We have nothing to show for them—nothing accomplished, nothing done. Or we expend time and thought on plans that are apparently well and carefully devised, but they prove abortive and disappointing. All this is like a laborer putting his wages into a bag with holes, and when he reaches home he has nothing to show for his labor.

There is a reason for this loss and failure. What applied to the Jews on their return from captivity, applies still. We have not placed God first. We have run every man to his own house, while His house has lain waste. We have worked from the wrong base of operations. We have not made first things first. If we do not trust in the Lord with all our heart, but lean to our own understanding; if in all our ways we do not acknowledge Him; if our eyes are not single to his interests, we need not be surprised when He calls for a drought upon the land. Let us consider our ways, and amend them.

Haggai 1:7
Careful Thought
READ: Haggai 1

Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Consider your ways!" —Haggai 1:7

Have you ever locked your keys inside your car? Mailed an envelope without putting the payment check inside? Baked a recipe without adding one of the main ingredients?

These are the kinds of things we all do when we don't give careful thought to what we are doing. Careless thinking means we either do something we shouldn't do or fail to do something we should. These wrong actions or irresponsible inactions can be minor inconveniences—or they can have serious lasting consequences.

You would think the people in Haggai's day wouldn't have committed thoughtless mistakes. Just 20 years before, they were living in exile in Babylon because they had disobeyed God. Now they were back in Jerusalem, but they were living as if that whole exile episode had never happened.

So through the prophet Haggai, God told them, "Consider your ways!" (Haggai 1:7). Then He told them their mistake: They were living selfish lives of luxury instead of completing God's temple. Careless thinking had led to wrong decisions and inaction.

God wants us to give careful thought to our actions, words, and relationships, and make decisions that bring glory to Him. Whatever you do today, give it careful thought.—Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Let us think about what's good—
What's right and pure and true;
May God's Word control our thoughts
In everything we do. —Fitzhugh

Keep your thoughts in line, or they'll lead you astray.

HAGGAI 1:7
Consider Your Ways
Our Daily Bread
READ: Haggai 1:10-14

EVIL spreads like a contagious disease. Just as one person coughing in an airplane can infect all the passengers, evil infects all within its radius of influence.

Holiness, on the other hand, must be deliberately sought. We do not become holy by associating with godly people. Holiness comes as a result of seeking the Lord.

That is the point Haggai made centuries ago when he explained that meat set apart for sacrifice to God could not make other food holy by coming in contact with it (Hag 2:12). Ceremonial uncleanness, on the other hand, could be transmitted by a mere touch (Hag 2:13).

Haggai told the people of Israel, who assumed they were holy because of their godly heritage, that they had become defiled because of their disobedience (Hag 2:14). Having devout parents and associating with religious friends may help us see the value of a holy life, but neither can make us holy. To be holy, we must give ourselves to God and then live and walk in His ways.—H W Robinson (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Haggai 1:9
C H Spurgeon
Morning and evening

“Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” — Haggai 1:9

Churlish souls stint their contributions to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our God has a method in providence by which he can succeed our endeavours beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of his hand he can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord; he gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed the Lord makes the little much by the contentment which the sanctified heart feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss, and godliness is great gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an open hand, but surely he deserves it of us; and all that we can do is a very poor acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to his goodness.

Haggai 2:4
Courage To Continue
READ: Haggai 2:1-9

"Be strong, all you people of the land," says the Lord, "and work; for I am with you." --Haggai 2:4

I enjoy my job, so usually I am eager to get out of bed and go to work. But one day I became discouraged when I thought about my family's financial security. Was I providing enough? Other people seemed to be doing so much better. I grew fearful as I thought about the future, and those fears sapped my zest for life.

It would have been helpful for me to recall what God had said through Haggai to the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from exile. Even though they had started enthusiastically to rebuild the temple, they became discouraged. Memories of Solomon's glorious temple made their work seem insignificant by comparison.

They needed courage. So God told them, "Be strong, all you people of the land, . . . and work; for I am with you" (Haggai 2:4).

How can we find courage? Some find it in a group. Some depend on their achievements. Some try to boost their self-confidence by raising their voice. But these do nothing more than camouflage their insecurity.

As God's people, our confidence comes from our relationship with Him. He is with us. We are His people. As we keep these truths in mind, we will find courage to continue working in a way that pleases Him and brings us joy. —Albert Lee (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

God has said He will not leave us,
That He never will forsake;
We can trust His Word unchanging,
And new hope and courage take. —Anon.

We find courage to stand when we kneel before the Lord.

Haggai 2:8
Our Daily Bread

IT'S GODS
Haggai 2:1-9

The silver is mine, and the gold is Mine," says the Lord of hosts. - Haggai 2:8

My friend Cindy subscribes to the Tightwad Gazette, a newsletter dedicated to "promoting thrift as a viable alternative lifestyle."

The monthly publication is filled with money-saving ideas such as vacuuming furnace filters and reusing them, and using shredded newspaper for cat litter. Cindy tells me that living by the Gazette's philosophy can save people a lot of money.

Now, I agree that a free-spending way of life can lead to serious trouble. So it's smart to shop wisely and follow principles of good stewardship. But for some people, being a tightwad takes on a deeper meaning. They become obsessed with saving every penny or hoarding things to protect themselves in the event of an economic collapse. They put their trust in their own resourcefulness instead of in God and His ability to meet their needs.

No matter how great the amount we save, however it cannot compare with the riches that God has. He owns everything! He owns all the silver and gold on earth (Hag. 2:8). The earth and everything in it are His (Ps. 24:1; 50:10-11).

Yes, the One who has promised to meet our needs has all the resources of the universe to back it up. And He gives without measure. -- David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

God owns the riches of the earth
And all its hidden treasure,
And He provides for all His own -
It is the Father's pleasure.-Fasick

To be rich in God is better than to be rich in goods.

Haggai 2:8–9

F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former. (r.v.)

The new Temple was deficient in the splendid adornment which Solomon had lavished on the first. Neither gold, nor silver, nor precious stones garnished its bare walls. But Haggai says that this lack was not due to any failure in the resources of Israel’s God. The silver and the gold were his; and if He had chosen He could have poured them without stint into the lap of his people. But He purposely withheld them, that their attention might not be distracted from the spiritual glory which was to make the second Temple more famous than the lavished gold of Parvaim. The latter glory of this house, or the glory of this latter house, shall be greater, saith the Lord of Hosts; and then, as though to indicate that the glory was to be moral and spiritual, the Divine voice adds, “And in this place will I give peace.”

Dear child of God, it has pleased thy Heavenly Father to withhold from thee both gold and silver. Thou hast just enough to live on, but that is all. With the apostle thou sayest, “Silver and gold have I none.” God could have done otherwise for thee; for the silver and gold are his. But He purposely abstained lest thy head should be lifted up; lest thy attention should be so absorbed by these things as to neglect the sure riches; lest the radiance of thy faith, which is more precious than gold tried in the fire, or the beauty of thy meek and quiet spirit, should be obscured by the tawdry sheen of earth’s metals.

But peace, and righteousness, and meek humility, are of everlasting work. Cultivate these; let thy life be a Temple whose glory is the indwelling of God; expect that the Desire of all nations should make thee his home, and shine through thee to others.

Haggai 2:17
Why Am I Not Blessed?
READ: Haggai 2:10-19

I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me. --Haggai 2:17

When my friends from the United States came to visit me in Singapore, I was surprised that they walked into my home without removing their shoes. Because of our cultural differences, I thought their lack of concern about tracking in dirt was strange.

As you read Haggai 2, you may think all the talk about holy meat and dead bodies is peculiar (vv.12-15). But the Lord wasn't just concerned about physical cleanliness. He used those object lessons to help the people of Judah to remember what had happened to them after they returned from exile in Babylon.

The sinful attitudes of a few had spread and defiled the whole community. Instead of rebuilding the temple, they had focused on constructing their own homes (Hag 1:4). And because of their sin, they lost God's blessing. Then the Lord, like a father who longs for a close relationship with His child, disciplined them to encourage them to return to Him (Hag 2:17).

When Haggai came along, they renewed their commitment to God. So the prophet challenged them to remain faithful, and he said the Lord would bless them abundantly (v.19).

Are you enjoying the blessings of a close relationship with God? Or do you need to turn from sin and renew your commitment to Him? —Albert Lee (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Our sinful ways can sap our joy
And isolate us from the Lord;
Confession and repentance, though,
Provide the way to be restored. —Sper

God sometimes takes us into troubled waters—not to drown us but to cleanse us.

Haggai 2:17
C H Spurgeon
Morning and evening

“I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands.” — Haggai 2:17

How destructive is the hail to the standing crops, beating out the precious grain upon the ground! How grateful ought we to be when the corn is spared so terrible a ruin! Let us offer unto the Lord thanksgiving. Even more to be dreaded are those mysterious destroyers—smut, bunt, rust, and mildew. These turn the ear into a mass of soot, or render it putrid, or dry up the grain, and all in a manner so beyond all human control that the farmer is compelled to cry, “This is the finger of God.” Innumerable minute fungi cause the mischief, and were it not for the goodness of God, the rider on the black horse would soon scatter famine over the land. Infinite mercy spares the food of men, but in view of the active agents which are ready to destroy the harvest, right wisely are we taught to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” The curse is abroad; we have constant need of the blessing. When blight and mildew come they are chastisements from heaven, and men must learn to hear the rod, and him that hath appointed it.

Spiritually, mildew is no uncommon evil. When our work is most promising this blight appears. We hoped for many conversions, and lo! a general apathy, an abounding worldliness, or a cruel hardness of heart! There may be no open sin in those for whom we are labouring, but there is a deficiency of sincerity and decision sadly disappointing our desires. We learn from this our dependence upon the Lord, and the need of prayer that no blight may fall upon our work. Spiritual pride or sloth will soon bring upon us the dreadful evil, and only the Lord of the harvest can remove it. Mildew may even attack our own hearts, and shrivel our prayers and religious exercises. May it please the great Husbandman to avert so serious a calamity. Shine, blessed Sun of Righteousness, and drive the blights away.

Haggai 2:19
Holiness
Our Daily Bread

Read: Haggai 2:10-19

From this day I will bless you. --Haggai 2:19

Holiness is hard work. That's one of the messages Haggai the prophet gave to the exiles returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.

Haggai gave the example of an Israelite who carried in his garment meat that had been set apart for use in the temple. The garment was considered holy because of what it carried, but that holiness could not be transferred to another object (Hag 2:12). In contrast, ceremonial uncleanness would pollute whatever it touched (Hag 2:13).

That tells us something about how carefully we must live in this world. We are easily soiled by the filth that sweeps around us each day. It's a bit like what happens with little boys. They always come home dirtier than when they left. Dirt, grass, and bicycle grease all seem to attach themselves to active boys. The only way to keep them clean is to keep them away from the grime.

When children get dirty, they can be cleaned up. But the people of Haggai's day had been defiled by disobedience and selfishness. The prophet said their cleanup would begin when they responded to his message and put God first. Then, as verse 19 explains, God's favor would return. Holiness would lead to blessing.

Obedience to God is difficult--but it's worth it. --J D Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

More purity give me, more strength to o'ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains, more longings for home;
More fit for the kingdom, more used would I be,
More blessed and holy--more, Savior, like Thee. --Bliss

A small step of obedience is a giant step toward blessing.

Haggai 2:19
C H Spurgeon
Faith's Checkbook

From Obedience to Blessing

“From this day will I bless you.”—Haggai 2:19

FUTURE things are hidden from us. Yet here is a glass in which we may see the unborn years. The Lord says, “From this day will I bless you.”

It is worthwhile to note the day which is referred to in this promise. There had been failure of crops, blasting, and mildew, and all because of the people’s sin. Now, the Lord saw these chastened ones commencing to obey His word and build His temple, and therefore He says, “From the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider. From this day will I bless you.” If we have lived in any sin, and the Spirit leads us to purge ourselves of it, we may reckon upon the blessing of the Lord. His smile, His Spirit, His grace, His fuller revelation of His truth will all prove to us an enlarged blessing. We may fall into greater opposition from man because of our faithfulness, but we shall rise to closer dealings with the Lord our God and a clearer sight of our acceptance in Him.

Lord, I am resolved to be more true to thee and more exact in my following of thy doctrine and thy precept; and I pray thee, therefore, by Christ Jesus, to increase the blessedness of my daily life henceforth and forever.
 

Haggai 2:21
Earthquake Power
READ: Hebrews 12:25-29

I will shake heaven and earth. --Haggai 2:21

Have you ever been through an earthquake? Several years ago a mild quake awoke me with the swaying and trembling of the house. It was not severe and did not greatly disturb me. I am told that a really severe earthquake is a fearful experience. Much of the fear, however, may depend on the view one takes of the phenomenon.

During an earthquake that occurred many years ago, the inhabitants of a village were extremely alarmed. Yet they were also surprised at the calmness exhibited by an old woman whom they all knew. Eventually one of them asked the woman, "Aren't you afraid?" "No," she answered. "I rejoice to know that I have a God who can shake the world!" She had no fear because of her confidence in her God, who could rattle the world in His hand.

There is a future "shaking," a final universal earthquake coming. In Hebrews 12 we read, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven" (v.26). So great will this cataclysm be that Isaiah tells us "the earth will move out of her place" (Isa. 13:13). In that day we'll be safe with our Lord, and we'll be glad that He who shakes the universe is our God and our Savior. —M. R. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Great God of wonders! All Thy ways
Are matchless, Godlike, and divine;
But the fair glories of Thy grace
More Godlike and unrivaled shine. --Davies

Nothing can shake those who are secure in God's hands
 

Haggai 2:23
Signet Ring
Haggai 2:20-23

I will take you...and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you. —Haggai 2:23

Haggai 1:1, 2. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying. This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built.

God keeps an almanack, and the date on which he speaks is always important. There is a set time for each of his messages to come to men, and God would have them give heed to every message as soon as it is delivered to them. If they do not, he keeps count of the days of their delay; and therefore he is particular in causing his servants to record the exact date when his message was delivered: “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest.” Oh that God would make this very day notable in our history by speaking to the hearts of many here!

Notice, too, that God also takes care to direct his messages to those for whom they are intended. The word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel and to Joshua. God knows to whom his message is specially addressed to-day, and he will not let it miss its mark. Oh, that someone here would cry unto him, and say, “Lord, speak to me, as thou didst to Zerubbabel; and not to me only, but to such-and-such another, as thou didst to Joshua.”

“Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say.”

So that the Lord notes what people say, and in due time he reminds them of what they have said. Sometimes, he makes men eat their own words; but, if not, he at least recalls them to their remembrance: “This people say, The time is not come, the time that Jehovah’s house should be built.” Delay has always been one of the strongest of Satan’s temptations even with God’s own people, who far too often say, even concerning his work which they know ought to be done, “The time is not come.” How much more would be done for God if we would all do at once what ought to be done! We could then go on to something else, and make our lives still more useful and fruitful. But we delay so long the carrying out of one good purpose that there remains no opportunity for another. If any of you Christian people are tempted to put off some service for God which lies upon your heart, I pray you to remember your Lord’s words, and to imitate his prompt action, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Haggai 1:3, 4. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?

“There seems to be time enough for you to enjoy the luxuries of life, but not time for you to rebuild the temple of the Lord;-time enough for you to get rich, but not time for you to serve God;-time enough for you to spend your labor upon anything for yourself, but not upon the house of your God!” What a rebuke was this to those who professed to be the Lord’s people!

Haggai 1:5. Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; consider your ways.

“Just look back a little, and see what have already been the consequences of looking to yourselves, and not to your God; have you gained anything by so acting?

Haggai 1:6. Ye have sown much, and bring in little;

“You have sown much to yourselves, but little to God; what has your sowing brought in to you?”

Haggai 1:6. Ye eat, but ye have not enough;

“Those of you who do seem to prosper are not content with what you have. Peace of mind does not come with it; you are not happy.”

Haggai 1:6. Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink;

“You are as thirsty as ever after all your drinking from the earthly cistern, yet you still crave for more of that drink which can never quench your soul’s thirst.”

Haggai 1:6. Ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes.

How often does this happen! Yet what folly it is for a man to work hard, and earn wages, and then put the money into a bag with holes, and so lose it all!

Haggai 1:7-9. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

Again I beg you to note what a stern rebuke this was, yet how richly was it deserved! God had done great things for his people; he had brought them back from Babylon to Jerusalem, and their first concern should have been to rebuild the temple which had been destroyed. But every man was more concerned for his own house than for the house of the Lord, and, therefore, no good could come of whatever they did, or whatever they had. “I did blow upon it,” said the Lord; and when God blows upon whatever a man has, or upon whatever a man does, he soon blows it away, as the marginal reading says.

Haggai 1:10, 11. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands.

We are dependent upon God for everything, and sometimes he makes use of the ordinary laws of nature to be a chastisement to those who forget him. If we will not be reminded of him by his mercies, we shall be reminded by his judgments; and if, as stewards, we do not make a proper use of that which he entrusts to us, he can easily take it all away.

Haggai 1:12. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the word of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their and had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD.

What a blessing it is when faithful testimony is thus received! Sometimes it happens that people get angry, and hate the preacher who too plainly rebukes them for their sins; but when the Spirit of God works within them, they take heed to what is said, and receive the preacher’s message as from God himself.

Haggai 1:13. Then spake Haggai the LORD’S messenger in the LORD’S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.

Haggai was the Lord’s messenger, so he did not utter his own words; but he “spake in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith Jehovah.” He was with them, so they were with him; and it is the same with us if we are true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, for he says to us, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world;” and if we have the presence of God, we have all that we need.

Haggai 1:14, 15. And the LORD stirred up the Spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the Spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, in the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

God takes note of the time when his people work for him; he records, in his almanack, the day, the month, the year, for he loves to see his people actively engaged in his service.

Haggai 2:1. In the eleventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,

God’s people need to be spoken to very often; and every time God speaks to them, he takes account of it. Let us do the same: let us not think it is such an unimportant mutter for us to hear a gospel sermon that we need not take note when we hear it. Oh, that the Word of the Lord were more precious to us in these days! Let us praise God for it, and not reckon it to be so common a thing that we take no more notice of it than we do of eating our breakfast or sitting down to our supper.

Haggai 2:2, 3. Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

There could not have been many persons left who had seen Solomon’s temple. If any such were still living at that time, they must have been extremely aged persons; yet there were many there whose fathers had seen it, and who had heard from their fathers, when they sat upon their knees as children, what a glorious place the house of God had been in Solomon’s day.

Haggai 2:4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:

This is the second time that Haggai was sent with this message. It was so rich, so full, so divinely encouraging, that the Lord might well repeat it: “I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Haggai 2:5-7. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of host.

So it happened that, to the second temple, the Babe of Bethlehem was brought, that glorious “Desire of all nations” whom we worship; and thus it came to pass that the glory of the second house was, after all, far greater than the glory of the first.

Haggai 2:8. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.

The released captives had not much of it with which to build the second temple, but God had all that was needed, and he was willing to supply them with enough for all the needs of the great work which they had undertaken in his name.

Haggai 2:9. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Prince of peace gave peace to many in that second temple.

Haggai 2:10. In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,

Here is another message from the Lord, and the date of its delivery is as carefully noted as the dates of those that had preceded it.

Haggai 2:11-14. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; And now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD, and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

That which is ceremonially holy cannot communicate its holiness to that which is unclean; but that which is unclean, in the eyes of the law, can communicate its uncleaness to anything that touches it. These people, being themselves defiled with sin, could not bring to God either acceptable service or acceptable offerings.

Haggai 2:15-17. And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD: since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labors of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.

How often, in thes