Please read the previous devotion, “What Time Is It?” from Haggai 1:1-3. The people of God had chosen to stop God’s work on the House of God and had chosen to build their own houses first, because of opposition by the enemy in Jerusalem to the building of the Temple of God. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah had told Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest, that the people had said, “The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built” (verse 2). But God had the prophets to rebuke the people by saying, “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled (or completed) houses, and this house (the House of God) lie waste? Now therefore…Consider your ways” (verses 3-5).
You need to consider why:
- “Ye have sown much, and bring in little”
- “ye eat, but ye have not enough”
- “ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink”
- “ye clothe you, but there is none warm”
- “and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”
- “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little”
- “and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it…And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.” (Verses 6, 9, 11)
Why? See verse 9, “Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” You have put yourself first and not God.
The people of God were admonished to examine why they were not being blessed: “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little” (verse 9a). Their blessing bag was full of holes. This may be your problem.
When you are not being blessed; when nothing seems to be going right; yet you are doing the right things to have more. You labor in honest employment, but you never have enough to meet all the bills. Your bank account never has enough in it. You can’t figure out what is wrong. God is saying to you, “Consider your ways”
God’s Way to cause you to “Consider your ways” is to cause you to:
1) Reflect on His Word of Rebuke. Take heed how you hear His Word. You must realize that He is speaking directly to you. In our text God, through the prophet Haggai, brought these people to reflect on why they came back to Jerusalem. It was to build His House first and not their houses. But, they had done the opposite. By God’s Word they had to face the issue at hand. Therefore, be still and listen to God’s Word. Reflect on God’s original commandment to you. Ask yourself, why would God send His Word of Rebuke to you if there was not something wrong?
2) Admit that there is something wrong. Stop your justifying as to why you deserted God for your own selfish goals. Admit that God’s evidence of your “little” is proof that God is right and you are wrong. God’s evidence of your “little” is proof that you have “a bag with holes.” Once you consider your ways, you cannot deny God’s Commandments, His Rebuke, or of the lack of blessings from all your work.
Friend, look at your life, your home, your testimony. Are you experiencing a drought? Look, look, you have set yourself against God and you cannot win. All of your work is producing “little,” not “much”.
The next step is to find out exactly what is wrong, then repent and turn to God; make confession, followed by obedience.
(This devotional was previously posted on October 6, 2010.)
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