FEBRUARY 13, 2014. TIME TO BUILD GOD’S HOUSE AND PUT HIM FIRST

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13

Give careful thought to your ways. Haggai 1:5

Time to Build God’s House and Put Him First

In 538 B.C., emperor Cyrus of Persia issued a decree permitting exiled Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. The first wave of returnees, under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra, laid the temple’s foundation by 536 B.C. But then progress stalled, as Samaritans and others who had moved in during the years of Jewish captivity opposed the rebuilding.

By the time of Haggai, however, external adversaries were not the main reason why the temple had not been rebuilt. The people had become self centered and spiritually lazy. Beginning in 520 B.C., Haggai prophesied specifically to the Jewish leaders and scolded them for wrong priorities.

The people had been saying it was not yet time to rebuild the temple (v. 2), but this was just an excuse. Enough years had passed since Nehemiah’s time that they were no longer in survival mode. They had actually become rather well established, as indicated by the fact that they lived in “paneled houses” (v. 4). Next to their own nice homes, the ruins of the temple served as a stark reminder of their laxness toward the covenant. As in the case of Solomon, whose palace was more extravagant than the temple he had constructed (1 Kings 6:38; 7:1), buildings served as a spiritual barometer. Through Haggai, God told the people to stop and think: “Give careful thought to your ways” (v. 5). They should already know their choices were dishonoring Him, since He had warned them by keeping them struggling against drought and famine (v. 6; Deut. 28:38–39). They had been busy with their own affairs and neglected their duties toward God. Haggai wasn’t the only one bringing this message, as Zechariah ministered around the same time. We know their ministry met with success, because the temple was rebuilt by 516 B.C.

Taken from the Word for You Today Devotional