HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1210
Haggai
“ A C T I O N S S P E A K L O U D E R T H A N W O R D S ” may be a cliché,
but it’s true. What we choose to do or not to do directly reflects our set of
priorities. We spend most of our time on those things we consider most
important or most urgent or most demanding. If you say, “I don’t have
time to go to church,” you really mean “I think something else is more
important than going to church, so I’m spending my time on that.”
What you will be
How do you choose to spend your time? Does
reading about
your work get most of it and your family very
little? Does a sport or hobby get a good chunk
1:1-15
Haggai urges the people to
of it? What about God’s Word? What about
rebuild the Temple
God’s work at church or with a ministry? How
2:1- 9
much time do you spend there? Uncomfortable
The future glory of the Temple
questions? They are the same ones the prophet
2:10-23
Haggai posed to his people over 2,500 years ago.
God’s blessings because of
In 586 BC, the Babylonians had captured
the people’s new priorities
Judah and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.
In 538 BC, Cyrus let some of the people return to rebuild the Temple. They
came back to the land with enthusiasm and began to rebuild. But as time
passed, the people’s priorities shifted. They began to build their own homes
and take care of their own needs. The Temple work took second place.
Then, in 520 BC, Haggai called them to action. Some people are especially
gifted at motivating others. Haggai was such a motivator and encourager. He
had a way of cutting right to the point. “Why are you living in luxurious houses
while the house of God remains in ruins?” he asked. “You say God is most
important to you, but you don’t act like it. Get your priorities in order and get
busy rebuilding the Temple.”
Fortunately, the people listened. They got to work and built the Temple. It
was not as elegant or magnificent as Solomon’s Temple had been, but it was
built, and God was celebrated and worshiped again in his house.
Haggai’s challenge is for us today. It is time to get our priorities in order. If
God is first in our lives, it’s time to prove it. Put God’s work at the top. Don’t
make excuses about not having time. The problem is one of priorities. What is
most important in your life? For that, you will always have time. In a culture
where we know so much about investing for the future, how ironic that we
seem to know so little about investing for our eternal future. Spending time on
eternal investments pays priceless dividends.
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