#1172 Haggai 1 Paneling

 

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “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.

7 “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. 10 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.”

The People Obey the Lord

12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. Haggai 1 ESV

Haggai 1 Prophet Whose Name Means "Festal One"

Came by the hand of Haggai to Zerubbabel - Zerubbabel was the governor of Jerusalem and a descendent of Jeconiah. He was of the line of David, but Israel is under Persian rule at this time. 

Little is known about Haggai apart from this short prophecy. He is mentioned briefly in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14, on both occasions in conjunction with the prophet Zechariah. The lists of refugees in Ezra mention nothing of Haggai; there are no indications of his parentage or tribal ancestry. Nor does history provide any record of his occupation. He is the only person in the OT with the name, although similar names occur (cf. Gen. 46:16; Num. 26:15; 2 Sam. 3:4; 1 Chr. 6:30). Furthermore, Hag. 2:3 may suggest that he too had seen the glory of Solomon’s temple before it was destroyed, making him at least 70 years of age when writing his prophecy. There is no ambiguity or controversy about the date of the prophecy. The occasion of each of his 4 prophecies is clearly specified (1:1; 2:1; 2:10; 2:20), occurring within a 4 month span of time in the second year (ca. 520 B.C.) of Persian king Darius Hystaspes (ca. 521–486 B.C.). Haggai most likely had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon with Zerubbabel 18 years earlier in 538 B.C. - GTY

2-11 These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord - They had left Babylon under Cyrus's decree, which Darius upheld, because even though Cyrus was long since passed away, in their society the kings decree was a fixed law. Now the people had been in the land for some time, but they were met with hostility from their neighbors, and the work of rebuilding was no small task, but after 18 years they had not moved much past the foundation. They had decided in their wisdom that it was not time to rebuild the temple, though this was what they came to do.

Ezra 3

Dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins - They continued to work on their own houses, yet their labors in the land were not amounting to much. 

You have sown much and harvested little - Unless the Lord builds the house, they that labor do so in vain. Their priorities were mixed up again, everything was to them a sign, oh, our hateful neighbors do not want us here, so lets stop building, it is not popular, it is not easy, but did God call you to this or not? I have fought against God for my own way, to set my priorities and I have lost time and time again, rightly so. How can you be a man of God and not know His word, a Christian father and not teach your children, a godly boss but not pray for your men? It was not wrong for them to till and plant their fields, but they were not making time for those things of eternal weight. Like those that came out of Egypt, they were probably wishing they could return to Babylon. Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.

…16But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods, 17or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you. Deuteronomy 11: 16-17

That I may be glorified says the Lord - So the nations may see that God is their priority, that He is their great cause and affection. Be a light.

12-15 Obeyed the voice of the Lord their God - The most reasonable and sane thing a man can do, but we must be thankful even in hearing that we were given ears, that we were given discernment to recognize, that we are His sheep, for they hear His word and follow Him.

…8Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise? 9He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see? 10He who admonishes the nations, does He not discipline? He who teaches man, does He lack knowledge?… Psalm 94: 8-10

…14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. 15As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.” 16For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?… Hebrews 3: 14-16

And the people feared the Lord - The only One worth fearing.

…9Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning. 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.… Proverbs 9: 9-11

And the Lord stirred up the spirit - This is where the power comes from, the way God's church is built, not by might or human power, but by His Spirit. It is the Spirit that gives life.

…16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.… Matthew 16: 16-18