When was the last time you read through the book of Haggai in the Old Testament? If you’re anything like me, you might not remember because it’s probably been a while. Out of the books of the Bible, it seems to be more obscure, short and we don’t seem to mention it as much as say John or Ephesians but it’s beautiful and impactful and has such an important message (just like every part of the Bible does!) In this post, I just wanted to share some things that stood out to me while I was studying and journaling through this short but profound book of the Bible.

As I was reading the first chapter, the message that Haggai spoke from the Lord convicted me and challenged me, probably similarly to how it did to the Jews thousands of years ago. God’s Word is always completely appropriate for us today, just like it was for them back then, even though we are in different circumstances. I wasn’t prepared for what leaped off the page at me because sometimes the minor prophets can be a little hard to understand and it takes digging a little deeper in study to understand what they are saying. However, Haggai’s message is so clear and straight-forward.

After years of being exiled in Babylon, a very large group a Jews were finally given permission by King Cyrus to go back to their home land and start rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed many years earlier. They started building with enthusiasm and joy but were stopped in their tracks by opposition from some of the people in the surrounding areas. Add in to the mix a new Babylonian king who didn’t recognize the importance of their work and mission from God like king Cyrus had, and the Jews’ work was stopped in their tracks.

Fear and intimidation left them paralyzed in their progress. It didn’t keep them from carrying on with their normal lives — building houses, sowing crops and herding livestock — it didn’t even send them running back to Babylon. Instead, it kept them from rebuilding the temple, which was the mission they had been sent on, and restoring the place of worship and the place that symbolized the presence of God dwelling among them.

Maybe some of them didn’t understand the priority of how rebuilding the temple affected their worship. Many of them had been born in exile and had never known any difference. Maybe they had become used to surviving in a foreign land and were used to doing whatever they had to do to make it through the next day. Maybe they didn’t realize that the presence of God dwelling among them was more important to their survival than even food and shelter.

Whatever their reasoning was, God was about to step in, by using a prophet named Haggai, and draw them mercifully back to Himself.

In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.”’” Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “ Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. (Haggai 1:1-7)

The people Haggai was speaking to were exiles and many of the younger people probably didn’t even know what they were missing out on by not having the temple rebuilt and a place to honor and worship God. They were probably discouraged and trying to meet their earthly needs and survive. They had forgotten how essential the presence of God is. Their hearts needed revival.

This made me think, how many times have I been just like them and gotten distracted by worldly cares and needs at the expense of seeking God’s presence and spending time in worship — being overwhelmed by the needs or stresses instead of looking to the One who meets all my needs and the One who gives perfect peace. In neglecting what’s really important, I’ve missed out on so much.

We’re living under the New Covenant now and we no longer need a temple building because Jesus tore down the wall of separation and made a way for us to go directly to the Father in prayer. His grace covers us and we don’t automatically miss out on the blessing of God just because we’re distracted or not trying hard enough. That’s NOT how grace works. But if we neglect our relationship with the Lord, we will miss out on the blessing that comes from spending time in the presence of Jesus, something that is so essential for our lives. It is something that no temporal blessing can ever replace. Jesus said in Matthew 6:32-33, “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
If we focus on the other stuff first we’ll be stressed, unfulfilled and not enjoying the blessings that God gives.

God wants His people to be restored to a proper relationship with Him. He wants us to receive the full joy and satisfaction of being in His presence and having fellowship with Him. It breaks His heart when He sees us chasing after flimsy idols that will never satisfy us when He is there ready and waiting to bless His people.

One of the things I love so much about this story is what happens next:

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 presence of the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord ’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the Lord .” So 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, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius. (Haggai 1:12-15)

God didn’t just leave His people to figure things out on their own. He could have easily done that but He told the people He was with them and stirred up and roused their spirits to do His work. I just love that. Even when we’ve messed up, He mercifully helps us get back on track and gives us desire to obey. Confidence in God’s faithfulness and covenant nature gave the people hope to move into the future in obedience. Their faith resulted in action and God blessed them even more by increasing their desire to obey Him.

Our culture views things so similarly as the Jews did in Haggai’s time. Jesus is often an afterthought that is added in to the mix of all the other things that people need to pursue to survive. People hope they’ll get blessed if they add Him in there with everything else and wonder why their “money is going into a bag with a hole in it.” We can’t just use His name like a charm and act like the world with the rest of our lives. Jesus needs to be our focus, our everything. He’s the only one who’s designed to fully satisfy our hearts. It’s so easy even as a Christian, to lose focus and get caught up in the cares of the world instead of setting our minds on Christ but He is the most important thing. He has to be our priority.

One thing that the book of Haggai makes so clear is that our God is a relational God and a covenant-keeping God. He wants to be with His people. He wants us to be satisfied in His Presence. He is a God who wants to draw near to us. It’s also one of the last books in the Old Testament and I think it’s so beautiful how the books of Haggai and Zachariah (who was a contemporary of Haggai and were both prophets at the same time and in the same place) paint such a clear picture, when we take the time to look, of the coming Messiah. Emmanuel, who would be God with us. Haggai and Zechariah both spoke directly to Zerubbabel, who was the governor at the time, and Joshua, the high priest. The idea of this ruler and priest heading up this project point to Jesus our ultimate King and Priest. The temple they were rebuilding wouldn’t last but Jesus came and did away with the need for the temple making a way for us to go straight to God through Him, paying with His blood for a new covenant that would last through all eternity.

It’s my desire to make worship a priority in my life, intentionally put Jesus first and keep asking Him to stir up my heart to accomplish whatever He’s set before me to do. I hope that you’ll join me in doing the same thing!