How does Messianic Expectation affect God’s people? Read Haggai 1:3-15

Haggai’s prophecy is not particularly long.  It consists of four dated messages, each encouraging the people of his day to complete the building of the temple.

·        Haggai’s 1^st message (1:2-15): 6^th month, 1^st day, 2^nd year of King Darius.

·        Haggai’s 2^nd message (2:1-9): 7^th month, 21^st day in the same year.

·        Haggai’s 3^rd message (2:10-19): 9^th month, 24^th day in the same year.

·        Haggai’s 4^th message (2:20-23): later the same day.

Haggai begins with a powerful question: Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?  This is a powerful question for the people of Israel because the building itself was a necessary part of their worship.  In the Law of Moses God had said He would specify a place of worship once they were in the land.  From that point they would not be free to offer sacrifices just anywhere.  So in post-exile Israel the project begun 16 years earlier.  I mention this because often this passage is used to encourage local churches today to complete building projects but it is not the same.  For Haggai there is a moral obligation; the local church needs a different basis in understanding the leading of the Head of the Church.

God had been seeking to get the attention of the people through a drought, what insurance people these days accurately call an act of God.  The meagre harvests and shortage of basic necessities were to get their attention but they now needed to hear from God’s prophet as well.  What was the point?  It was because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.  Today we would say that the issue is that we are caught up in pursuing our own lives, ambitions and purposes while we fail to maintain our abiding relationship with Christ (John 15:1-8).  Both in Israel and for us by application we are dealing with a heart issue, not simply a building.

When you hear Haggai you might think he is just laying a guilt trip on people.  He is not.  This is a call to repent and the sin involves priorities.  And further note that the call to repent is accompanied with the greatest possible promise of God’s help.  When the people realized they had sinned and thus feared the presence of the Lord they were encouraged by Part II of the prophets message: I am with you, says the Lord.  What more do we need to know as we commit to obedience in following the Lord than to know that He will be with us to help us along the way.  Led by their two leaders, Zerubbabel and Joshua, the people arranged their lives according to the restored priority and three weeks later they restarted the work of building the temple.

The example of the people, in hearing and heeding the message of God’s prophet, is strong for us today.  Let us arrange our priorities, our schedules, our goals so that we walk faithfully in obedience to the Spirit’s leading.  People who live in expectation of the Messiah, whether first or second coming, will live in this manner!