“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. I have called for a drought on your fields and hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.””
Haggai 1:5-11 NLT
God had a message for the returning exiles. They had come home after 70 years and begun the process of rebuilding as commanded. But upon arrival they found significant push back from the region. And so, instead of continuing to do what they could, they gave up and began focusing on establishing their lives around a temple that lay in ruins. The area continued to become increasingly hostile. In this time they built a narrative that the push back and difficulty surrounding their lives was circumstantial, but God is clear here. They had brought it upon themselves with an attitude of complacency and lack of respect for God’s holiness. The adversary will always be at our gates, but he only is allowed in because we let him encroach. Haggai demanded that the people tell the truth about their relationship with God and success. They were guilty of brokering success without God and this is the reason why it became elusive to them. This is still a common trope of his followers today. We should not be surprised when we are not producing a godly fruit, even in a land filled with God’s enemies. We should look at our narrative and truthfully ascertain if we have forgotten once again to respect his holiness in our lives with the highest regard for his word, his ways and his people.
JOSH McGARY. COM 