1 The prophet
Haggai spoke the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel and to Joshua. Zerubbabel son
of Shealtiel was governor of Judah. Joshua son of Jehozadak was high priest.
This message came in the second year that Darius was king of Persia. It came on
the first day of the sixth month of that year. This was the message: 2 “This
is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘The people say the right time has
not come to rebuild the Temple of the Lord.’”
3 Then Haggai the prophet spoke the word of the Lord: 4 “The
Temple is still in ruins. Is it right for you to be living in fancy houses?” 5 This
is why the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Think about what you have done. 6 You
have planted much, but you harvest little. You eat, but you do not become full.
You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but you are not warm
enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all. It is as if you put it into a
purse full of holes.”
7 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Think about
what you have done. 8 Go up to the mountains. Bring back wood
and build the Temple. Then I will be pleased with it and be honored,” says the
Lord. 9 The Lord of heaven’s armies says: “You look for much,
but you find little. When you bring it home, I destroy it. Why?
Because you are busy
working on your own houses. But my house is still in ruins! 10 Because
of what you have done, the sky holds back its rain. And the ground holds back
its crops. 11 I have called for a dry time in the land. There
will be no rain in the mountains for the grain, new wine and olive oil. It will
be a dry time for the plants which the earth produces. It will be a dry time
for men and farm animals. The dry time will make your hard work useless.”
12 Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. And Joshua, the high
priest, was the son of Jehozadak. Zerubbabel and Joshua obeyed the Lord their
God. And they obeyed the message from Haggai the prophet. All the rest of the
people who were left alive also obeyed. This was because they realized that the
Lord their God had sent Haggai. And they feared the Lord.
13 The Lord sent a message to Haggai, the Lord’s messenger.
Haggai gave this message to the people. He said: “The Lord says, ‘I am with
you.’” 14 The Lord made Zerubbabel and Joshua excited about
building the Temple. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel was the governor of Judah.
Joshua son of Jehozadak was the high priest. The Lord made all the rest of the
people who were left alive excited, too. They came and worked on the Temple of
their God, the Lord of heaven’s armies. 15 They began on the
twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. This was in the second year that Darius
was king of Persia.
(Haggai: 1-15,
ICB)
Stop making excuses about timing.
See Haggai 1:1-2 above
34 Jesus
said, “My food is to do what the One who sent me
wants me to do. My food is to finish the work that he gave me to do. 35 You say,
‘Four more months to wait before we gather the grain.’ But I tell you, open
your eyes. Look at the fields that are ready for harvesting now. (John 4:34-35, ICB)Step off the success treadmill.
See Haggai 1:2-11 above
10 The person who loves money will never have all the money he wants.
The person who loves wealth will not be satisfied when he gets it. This is also useless.11 The more wealth a person has, the more friends he has to help him spend it. So what does he really gain? He gains nothing except to look at his riches. 12 A man who works hard sleeps in peace. It is not important if he has little or much to eat. But a rich person worries about his wealth. He cannot sleep. (Ecclesiastes 5:10-12, ICB)
Go with God.
See Haggai 1:12-13 above
19 So go and
make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything
that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will
continue with you until the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ICB)
Go the time is now.
See Haggai 1:14-15 above
13 Then Mordecai gave orders to say to Esther: “Just because
you live in the king’s palace, don’t think that out of all the Jews you alone
will escape. 14 You might keep quiet at this time. Then someone
else will help and save the Jews. But you and your father’s family will all
die. And who knows, you may have been chosen queen for just such a time as
this.”
(Esther
4:13-14, ICB)
“Our everyday cares, making a
living, the crazy rat race of life, often make us forget the value of a good
deed. Thus, the goodness that exists within each and every one of us is covered
with layer upon layer of indifference and unawareness. In fact, we almost have
to be reminded of the fact that goodness is there inside us.”
(Shari Arison)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon “The Time
is Now: Facing the Unfinished, “(installment one) Sunday
June 23, 2019, Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
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