June 1, 2014 Obey the Lord Bible Background HAGGAI 1 Printed Text HAGGAI 1:1-11 Devotional Reading LUKE 19:41-48 Aim for Change By the end of the lesson, we will: UNDERSTAND why God commanded Haggai s encouragement to the Israelites to rebuild the Temple; INTERNALIZE the connection between the neglect of God s house and the poor results of the Israelites selfish efforts; and LIST ways to cany out God s desires before attempts to satisfy our personal agendas. In Focus Brian and Carmen were second-generation members of their church, but over time things started to change. They noticed that the church was not an active part of the community anymore, and grew especially concerned about the church s commitment to social justice. The pastor admitted he lacked the support of the congregation on important issues impacting the city. As the members grew more successful in their personal lives, they began to focus more on their own prosperity rather than helping others. Brian and Carmen were discouraged because it was not the church they had known growing up. They began visiting other churches and prayed about whether they should consider changing churches. Ultimately, they agreed not to move until they received clear direction from the Lord. There is nothing wrong with personal pursuits of success. When they interfere with following through with God s assignments, however, we ought not to be surprised if He corrects or disciplines us. In today s lesson, the prophet Haggai is sent to call the people back to God s business. Keep in Mind 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? (Haggai 1:3-4). Focal Verses: KJV Haggai 1:1 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, 2 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. 3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? 5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 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. 9 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. 10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11 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 labour of the hands. NLT Haggai 1:1 On August 29 of the second year of King Darius s reign, the LORD gave a message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 2 This is what the LORD of Heaven s Armies says: The people are saying, The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD. 3 Then the LORD sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 4 Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? 5 This is what the LORD of Heaven s Armies says: Look at what s happening to you! 6 You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! 7 This is what the LORD of Heaven s Armies says: Look at what s happening to you! 8 Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the LORD. 9 You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the LORD of Heaven s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. 10 It s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. 11 I have called for a drought on your fields and hills a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get. The People, Places, and Times: Prophet. As God s messenger, a prophet s responsibility was to represent, declare, and announce God s will to the people. A prophet was not primarily a fore teller but a forth teller. The prophets spoke about social, cultural, and political situations and gave moral and spiritual guidance to God s people. In particular, the prophets carried oracles from God directed at Israel, Judah, and surrounding foreign nations. The purpose of such oracles was to reiterate God s promises to their ancestors, give assurance of His presence, correct the people by expressing His displeasure, or give warning before judgment for wrongdoing. Interwoven in Israel s prophetic messages before, during, and after the exile were foreshadows of the coming Messiah. Temple. Building erected and sanctified for the worship of God. King Solomon completed the first structure in the 11 th year of his reign in 949 B.C., which mirrored the composition of the tabernacle containing the outer court, inner court, and most holy place. The temple has great significance in Jewish history, as it housed the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God. The Levites (descendants of Levi) were the designated caretakers of the temple, and only the high priest was allowed to enter into the most holy place once a year, as he represented God to the people and the people before God. The Babylonians destroyed the first temple in 586 B.C. when the southern kingdom was led into captivity (2 Kings 25:9). Background After seventy years in captivity in Babylon, the Israelites were allowed to return to their native land. King Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians in 538/9 B.C., and he then decreed that the exiled people could
return to their land, reestablish worship of their God, and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-8; cf. Isaiah 44:28). The first order of business was to record an account of the first wave of people returning from captivity. Their first goal was building an altar on the temple site and the reinstitution of the sacrificial system (Ezra 2-3). In 535 B.C., plans were underway to rebuild the temple as the foundation was laid, but work stopped in 520 B.C. due to political and economic struggles with neighboring nations who were adversaries of Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 4:1). Sixteen years passed. It wasn t until the second year of King Darius reign that the release was given to resume work in 520/1 B.C. God called both Haggai and Zechariah to usher in revival by imploring His people to honor Him by finishing what they started. In Depth At-A-Glance 1. Call to Rebuild (Haggai 1:1-2) 2. Call to Reflect (vv. 3-9) 3. Call to Reap (vv. 10-11) 1. Call to Rebuild (Haggai 1:1-2) Haggai the prophet was commissioned by God to speak directly to political power; Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, was governor of Judah and spiritual authority; Joshua, son of Jehozadak, was the high priest. Both Zerubbabel and Joshua were from families of influence among the exiles. Because they were considered leaders, the word of the Lord came to them through the prophet Haggai. God now required that His temple be complete as a sign of His restoration and abiding presence. Haggai was God s mouthpiece; he did not speak of his own accord. To say that the word of the LORD [came by] Haggai the prophet (Haggai 1:1) was not said lightly. When the prophet spoke, the people would do well to pay attention. A prophet was considered credible in speaking the oracles of God when every word he spoke proved true (1 Samuel 3:19, 9:6). Haggai, along with the prophet Zechariah (believed to be considerably younger), worked in tandem to promote revival among the returning exiles. They began with the first wave under Zerubbabel s leadership, then continued with subsequent exiles in the second and third waves who returned under Ezra and Nehemiah. Even after receiving clearance to rebuild, however, the people decided that the time was not right and neglected their charge to rebuild. Haggai called this decision into question; his proclamation was a strong rebuke to hold God s people accountable. When God clears the way for us to accomplish His work, we should promptly obey and follow through to accomplish His plans in the earth. 2. Call to Reflect (vv. 3-9) Continuing the word of the LORD (Haggai 1:1), Haggai addressed the people, telling them to look within and consider [their] ways (v. 5). Why were they disobeying the Lord? God s house remained unfinished while the exiles focused on restoring their own lives and homes. The temple was a symbol of God s presence and holiness among His people; for it to remain incomplete was a sign of ingratitude for His deliverance from captivity. Through Haggai, God inquired about their ungrateful behavior. Humility should have followed their deliverance completing God s temple an eagerly anticipated undertaking. Such thankfulness and obedience would have brought them prosperity and security; instead, the exiles did just the opposite. They refused to obey God s command. They had sown but not harvested. As a result, their earnings disappeared as quickly as if they had put it into a bag with holes (v. 6). God expressed displeasure with the hearts of His people. As Haggai continued to preach for them to consider [their] ways, the Lord commanded immediate action by holding the leaders accountable first. The directive was for the men to take action and build His house. Only when they made this a reality would He be pleased. As much as God appreciates our praise, true worship (surrender) requires action. God declared to the
exiles that it was He who rewarded them, and it was He who punished when His word was not obeyed. His word should be their first priority. Their decision to focus on themselves resulted in God s house remaining in ruins. We would do well to also consider our ways. Where do we place our priorities? Do we promptly obey God? Do we start but leave things unfinished? 3. Call to Reap (vv. 10-11) The exiles were held accountable for their collective negligence in rebuilding the temple. They were experiencing economic stress from a drought, the land would not produce, and wages were lost. Today, we might equate their situation to rampant unemployment and recession. In other words, there seemed to be a direct connection between their obedience and their prosperity. Though there are many who have abused the idea of prosperity as it pertains to the people of God, there is scriptural evidence that connects God-honoring obedience with blessings and favor. So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess (Deuteronomy 5:32-33, NIV). It is not to say that we won t experience hardship while walking in obedience, but it does say that there is great blessing in our obedience. Because the exiles did not honor God by finishing the restoration of His temple, He called their irreverence to their attention. God was giving them an opportunity to make corrections. The Lord has not changed. He does the same for us today when He makes us aware of our sin He gives us an opportunity to make corrections. Sometimes the consequences are averted and sometimes, in order to learn the lesson, we must endure the consequences. In either case, God is always just and His judgments are righteous. Search the Scriptures 1. What were the people doing that displeased God (Haggai 1:3)? 2. What does God direct the people to do in order to please Him (v. 8)? Discuss the Meaning 1. Why do you think God specifically called out Zerubbabel and Joshua? What s the significance? How can we as the people of God hold our political and spiritual leaders respectfully accountable? 2. What does it mean for us to consider our ways? How might our socio-economic conditions answer that question? Lesson in Our Society It is easy for us to get caught up in our own world and not consider what is happening around us. When personal or corporate tragedy hits a community, it makes us more cognizant of our need to completely depend on God. Our love for God and others demonstrates ways in which we may honor God in our daily lives. In fact, Jesus stated that all the commandments and prophetic passages of the Old Testament hang on those two concepts loving God and loving our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). God s heart for justice and righteousness has not changed; He desires that His people always consider their ways by being reflective of how they are representing His kingdom in this world. The world would be a better place if we would put God first and others before ourselves. Make It Happen This week, take to heart Haggai s message to consider your ways. Consider the purity of your motives; is God truly the head of your life and at the center of it all? Do you hold the things of God in high esteem? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is right in your relationship with God and praise Him for the progress. What are areas of improvement those things you know the Lord has tugged on your heart to start or complete? Seek to promptly obey the Lord when He gives you instruction to move, not so you can receive but so He can have an opportunity to bless with His goodness.
What God wants me to do: Follow the Spirit Remember Your Thoughts Special insights I have learned: More Light on the Text Haggai 1:1-11 1 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, 2 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. Experts date the writing of Haggai to Elul 1 according to the Jewish calendar (which corresponds to August 29 on a contemporary calendar) in the year 520 B.C. A contemporary of Zechariah, little else is known of the prophet Haggai. However, his important message to the nation of Israel is mentioned again in Ezra 5:1-2. In a plain and simple voice, Haggai began by pricking the conscience of the returned Jewish exiles from Babylon by reminding them of their historical lineage Zerubbabel was the great-grandson of King Jehoiakim (see 1 Chronicles 3:16-19) and the nephew of Shealtiel; Joshua was of the Aaronic priestly line (see 1 Chronicles 6:1-15). Both men had returned with the first group of Jewish exiles around 532 B.C. (see Ezra 2:2, 3:2). Haggai also confronted them with the fact that God heard what they were saying: This people say (Heb. amar, aw-mar, meaning spoke or kept saying) that the time was not right for rebuilding the Lord s house, even though they had been in the land for nearly twenty years. 3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Repeated from verse 1, the LORD (Heb. Yehovah, yeh-ho-vaw, meaning the self-existent or eternal) spoke through Haggai with a probing question: Is this the time for you to be so taken with the state of your own living condition? The people who had returned from the Babylonian exile had become concerned solely with their physical living conditions and had forgotten the God who delivered them. They built cieled (Heb. caphan, saw-fan) homes (NLT translates luxurious ) but were neglecting God s house. Upon entering the land two decades earlier, Cyrus had given the returning exiles an edict to rebuild Solomon s temple. They had begun the work but abandoned it when some of the nearby inhabitants began to complain (see Ezra 4:1-4). After abandoning the rebuilding of God s house, the Jewish exiles turned their attention away from God and His temple and focused on building their own homes. God s temple, which lay in waste (Heb. chareb, khaw- RABE), would have been a constant and visible reminder to the people of their place within the empire in which they now found themselves. They were still subjects under the rule of the conquering King Darius and were suffering economically with resources sufficient only for the building of their own homes. One scholar suggests that in the face of the native inhabitants overwhelming opposition, the returning exiles had grown to accept their subject status and withdrawn into themselves. They then sought to make themselves as comfortable and unnoticeable as possible (The New Layman s Bible Commentary, 1020). 5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Speaking through the prophet Haggai, God sought to awaken the people from their state of despondency by calling for them to look at how they were living and consider (Heb. suwm, soom, meaning to think about or regard) their ways (Heb. derek, DEH-rek, meaning a course of life or mode of action) as they lived in
luxury while God s house lay in ruins. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. God then helped the people to see their condition through His eyes. Upon returning to the land two decades earlier, the returning exiles found the land desolate and idle, awaiting its restoration as prophesied by Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 25-26). The returned exiles immediately began work on two fronts first to rebuild Solomon s temple as Cyrus had ordered; second, to plant crops and make the land fruitful. However, King Cyrus died in battle a year after their return. As the invading armies of his son, Cambyses, made their way across the land to subdue Egypt, they demanded tribute from the people, probably paid in the form of produce, which impoverished the land and its inhabitants further. As a result, work on the temple halted as the Jewish exiles became depressed and settled into passivity. The people tried unsuccessfully to eke out a living, but their efforts proved unfruitful. Planted crops produced little in the way of food, water did not satisfy their thirst, and the clothing they made did not keep them warm. Even the few dollars they were able to earn didn t do much to alter their living conditions. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 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. God once more spoke to the people through Haggai and offered them instruction on how to go about correcting their situation. Haggai instructed the people to go to the mountains and gather wood to rebuild God s house. Wood, though sparse in the fields, would have been plentiful in the mountains. In calling for the people to unite around the task of gathering wood, Haggai reasoned that the people would be stirred from their passive state. As a result, they would experience a revival of their religious commitment and spiritual zeal. The people were to ascend up to gain a different perspective. It is likely that the people only needed to gather wood because the stones of the original foundation and earlier aborted reconstruction of the temple were still in place. Haggai tried to communicate to the people that their depression and passivity were not a result of their condition as subjects of a foreign king, which they probably offered as an excuse, but rather the result of not obeying God. Only as they actively altered the course of their daily activities and redirected their energies into the completion of God s house, would God take pleasure (Heb. ratsah, raw-tsaw, meaning to be pleased with) in them and be glorified (Heb. kabad, kaw-bade, meaning to enjoy honor). Haggai realized that the people had placed their own living in front of a concern for God and, as a result, He withheld His blessings. Haggai called the people to remember God and place Him first. Jesus may have had this prophecy in mind when He admonished the populace of His day to seek ye first the kingdom of God (from Matthew 6:33) in order to receive God s blessing. 9 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. 10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11 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. It is noteworthy that Haggai did not mention the earlier decree from Cyrus to encourage the people to continue rebuilding God s house. Rather, he directed their attention to the drought, which now gripped the land, and the lack of harvest from their labor. Nothing was spared from God s displeasure. The people, land, crops, and animals were all suffering. The sight of Solomon s temple still in ruins coupled with the lack of success on the part of the people to produce from the land provided ample evidence of the truthfulness of Haggai s words. Sources: Burton, James. Coffman Commentaries on the Old Testament and New Testament. Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 2000. Dunn, James D. G. and John W. Rogerson. Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003. HarperCollins Study Bible (NRSV). New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006. 1265-66. Hebrew Greek Key Word Study Bible (KJV) 2nd ed. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1991. 1152, 1607-08. Howley, Bruce and Ellison Howley. The New Layman s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1979. Unger, Merrill, and Robert F. Ramey. Unger s Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1981. 439, 890-92,1076-78. Unger, Merrill. Unger s Bible Handbook. Chicago: Moody Press, 1967. 255-56, 432. Daily Bible Readings: MONDAY A House of Prayer (Luke 19:41-48) TUESDAY The Fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52:1-9) WEDNESDAY The Temple Destroyed (Jeremiah 52:10-14) THURSDAY Given into Enemy Hands (2 Chronicles 36:15-21) FRIDAY Carried Away into Captivity (2 Kings 24:8-17) SATURDAY Rebuild God s House (Ezra 1:1-8) SUNDAY God s House Lies in Ruins (Haggai 1:1-11)