MAY 2, 2025 – PRIORITY

READ: Haggai 1:4-6

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.’

Nothing is mentioned about Haggai’s background, but he speaks in the name of the LORD. This is evident in everything. The entire book of Haggai is filled with the strong assurance that these are the words of God Himself. Haggai is merely a servant of that Word.

Haggai’s message must have hit like a bomb, precisely because it was the word of the LORD Himself. And that message is extremely critical: You say that the time has not yet come to build a house for the LORD, but in the meantime, you find it the right time to build your own houses and make them as beautiful as possible.

The people might object that they truly wanted to build the temple but had not yet found the right opportunity, but the LORD makes things clear: Who and what comes first for you? What takes priority: your own affairs, your own interests, or the matters of the LORD, His Kingdom, and His interests?

Meanwhile, the house of the LORD lies in ruins! You are making the wrong choices! How can you find gratitude and love for the LORD in that?

The issue that the LORD raises also applies to us. What comes first? What are we primarily engaged in? Is service to the LORD the first and most important thing in our lives? Or is it mainly about our own desires, our pleasures, and our interests?

Haggai continues: Look at how poor your living conditions are, how meager the harvest from the land, how little the food and wages provide. Why is that? You use this as a reason to delay the rebuilding of the temple. But are you considering the act of God Himself?

Who comes first in your life: God or yourself? Please explain.    

Sing: Ps. 24:2