SERIES: The Economy of God: A Study in the Book of Haggai
TEXT: Haggai 1:1-15
MESSAGE: “Consider Your Ways”

Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and money.”

TEXT: Haggai 1:1-11

“Haggai was probably an older man, likely in his 70s at least. Haggai 2:3 indicates that Haggai may have seen the original temple, which would have enabled him to understand the significance of God’s call to rebuild the temple as well as the value of the temple.” — Stephen Rummage

“Haggai was faced with the inertia of despair and sluggishness…And to cap it all, drought and various crop afflictions left the land poor and the people dispirited. (The temple) had been in ruin for decades; most would have thought that it should remain that way until the economy improved. Haggai was one of a small handful of men who perceived that, despite the sad state of the economy, something had to be done about the temple…From a religious point of view, the temple was a symbol of God’s presence amongst his people, while it remained a ruin, there was little hope for a revival of the faith.” — Peter Craigie

Q: And so, in the midst of economic drought, what did God tell Haggai to challenge the people to consider? (1. A Different Perspective 2. A New Order 3. A Deep Conviction)

1. A Different Perspective (v.2-6)

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.”

“They not only stopped, they stopped for more than 16 years. In the interim, however, they moved forward with the rebuilding of the rest of the city. They built homes and businesses, among other things. They established the city once again. It is no stretch to imagine that the city was a hive of activity, as business and pleasure intersected on its streets once more. However, in the midst of life being lived, the most important thing was being forgotten—namely, the worship of God.” — Stephen Rummage

“It is a hard lesson to learn that practical policies are not always the best policies. But the real flaw in the policy that Haggai criticized was to be seen in its ordering of priorities; it was wrong, not because it was practical, but because it was selfish. A life devoted to one’s own needs rarely brings fulfilment, whereas when the focus is shifted to an external need, the consequences is frequently satisfaction and fulfillment.” — Peter Cragie

Fill in the blank: I don’t think I have enough ___________________.

2. A New Order (v. 7-9)

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.”

“They needed to abondon their excuses as to why they could not serve the Lord and to reorder their priorities. In place of the wood they had eagerly gathered to panel their own houses, they should go out to the hill country and gather wood for God’s house (v.8). Instead of running about on behalf of their own houses (v. 9), they should instead labor to turn God’s house from a useless and desolate ruin into a place in which God might delight and be glorified. Until their priorities were reordered and God’s house restored, they could hardly expect to see greater fruitfulness in their own lives and land.” — Iain Duguid

3. A Deep Conviction (v. 10-11)

“Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

“Because I longed for eternal life, I went to bed with harlots and drank for nights on end. I slept in bliss, but awoke with the bitter taste of the mortal state.” — Clamence (“The Fall” by Albert Camus)

“…The immediate effect of the conviction of sin on the exiles was to move them to fear (Hag. 1:12). This was exactly the right response…Fearing the consequences of our sins is not an irrational reaction for us either. On the contrary, if God is holy and pure, and we are sinfully self-centered, it is the most rational response in the world to be deeply afraid, yet as the returned exiles turned their hearts toward the Lord, they found that the Lord was also turning toward them. He announced through Haggai the comforting good news, “I am with you” (Hag. 1:13). In spite of their sin, when they came to God and repented, there was immediate restoration of the relationship.” — Iain Dugiud

TAKEAWAYS: Start by considering…(My Excuses, God’s Ways, The Why)

• My Excuses
• God’s Ways

“In the Old Testament, we know the Old Testament believers were required to give away 10 percent of their annual income to God’s work, to the poor, and so on. Everything we know from both pagan and Christian historical texts, from the New Testament and early Christian and even pagan historical texts is the early Christians went way beyond the tithe. They went way beyond 10 percent. As a result, the pagans had never seen anybody this promiscuous with their money. They’d never seen people give their money away in such proportion…they’d never seen people give it away with joy. Here’s the reason why. Christians don’t worship money.” — Timothy Keller

• The Why