I don’t know why, but I am interested in the sequence of events as I read through the Bible this year. It may make a difference it how I interpret tese verses
Here’s my thought: If the people are living in luxurious homes, then they must have moved into the area and spent some time settling in, right? We know that the first thing they did was to lay some foundation stones and rebuild the altar. That allowed them to begin offering the sacrifices again, but it would appear that the work stopped there. From what we read yesterday, it was interference from the locals who had settled in the land that prevented the Jews from building. I’m wondering if they would build nice homes before the wall was up. There is some debate about what came first, the walls or the temple. From reading this verse the homes are being rebuilt….which sort of seems to imply that the city and the walls are going up and the temple is not.
I could be wrong here, because all the different dates and names get me confused…but it seems like they returned to rebuild around 537 during Cyrus’ reign and then received this word from Haggai about 10 years later. That would mean that the temple was being built first, and Nehemiah and the wall building came later. Even if it’s only been 10 years, a lot has happened. By that time Cyrus had been killed in battle, his son ruled briefly and then Darius the Great took over. Not that it matters to us, but don’t confuse Darius the Great with the mention of Darius the Mede….who apparently is a completely different person. Why they couldn’t all pick different names is a mystery to me. When the troublemakers contact Darius the Great to inform him that Haggai and Jeshua have motivated the people to build, they receive word back that they must help them….not exactly the news they were looking for. Here’s a thought: the people began to build again BEFORE Darius was contacted and blessed the effort. They must have known that the king who told them to rebuild was now dead, and the people around them didn’t want them there….but they mustered their courage and were obedient anyway.
Trying to refocus on a spiritual theme….. the important part of this passage is that the work on God’s house has stalled, and because of that the people have experienced a “downturn” in productivity. Think of that for a moment…the failure to build God’s house has limited the production of the apple trees, the grape vines, the wheat crop and the wine press. They don’t have enough money to get by on…and it isn’t because they aren’t working….it’s because they aren’t Worshipping. Their focus was quickly diverted from building for the Lord to building for themselves. They aren’t lazy, just misdirected.
Haggai and Jeshua hear from the Lord and encourage the people to refocus their efforts on the temple. God promises to bless them when they are obedient to the work. Certainly it isn’t any different for you and I….we must be obedient to do what God calls us to..and when we do we can expect that He will bless us in other areas as well. Let’s not allow the world to get us “off track” or out of focus, we need pray intensely to make sure that we are hearing from God, and that we are doing what he wants. Only then can we expect to be blessed.
This passage says “go up into the hills and get wood” to build the temple. the previous temple was stone and precious metals, this one was far more plain. But that isn’t really what makes a temple important is it? As long as God resides there, it’s filled with power.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but this passage holds special significance for me, and for the Youngsville Church. Some years ago an elderly member of our congregation was praying and the Lord told her to call me (her pastor) and tell me to read Haggai. These two chapters hit me hard…I felt as if God was giving me a mandate to get moving. If it weren’t for her we might have delayed, and who knows what would have happened. One ironic thing is that she hadn’t read the book herself when God told her to have me read it! When she called me she said “I think if God wants you to read it, I’m going to read it too”. Ha! she didn’t even know what it said when she spoke to me….that’s God working! June C. will always have a special place in the history and formation of this church. I thank God for her obedience.
Faithfully,
PR