Discerning when we lost our way (Hag 1:1-6)
Hag 1:1-6
When we were children, my brother was once asked what he wanted to become when he grew up. Remembering Hungarian folk tales, where battle reports often concluded with a set phrase about how ‘not even a messenger remained’ to carry the news, he replied firmly that he wanted to be the messenger. While such thinking is endearing in a child, it occurs to me that our attitudes as adults in a Western context may not be a million miles from this. So often, we would rather escape hardship and survive than face responsibilities in fighting our battles. Commercials and other cultural messages suggest that happiness is our right and pleasure is our primary purpose, not just a by-product of doing what is right and fulfilling our duties. In subtle ways, this worldly perspective can also seep into our Christian thinking. It is tempting to focus on how God fills our lives with good things, deals with our difficulties and makes us happy and complete without putting it in the context of living for God and in obedience to Him. At heart, this is the problem of our sinful nature: the self in the centre.
The question of timing?
In Haggai’s time the process may have started with a genuine questioning of God’s will. When difficulties arise, it is legitimate to probe whether the obstacles in our path are the Lord’s way of saying that we should not do something or that it is not the right time. For the exiles, there could have been good reason to question the timing (Hag 1:2), since it was expected that the restoration would follow the same sequence as Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The prophets, especially Isaiah, talked of the Jews’ return from Babylon as a new exodus (e.g. Isa 48:20-21; 51:10-11; 52:11-12),[1] and so it stood to reason that they would have to wait for their Davidic king (Messiah) to be established before the temple could be built.
The sign of wrong priorities – whose house are we building?
So, how can we discern our true motivation and recognise if there is something wrong with our reasoning? Haggai points to two tell-tale signs that all is not well. First, he appeals to the disparity between the returnees’ panelled houses, and the temple that is in ruins (Hag 1:4). While the people are busy adding luxurious decorations to their houses with wood panelling, God does not have a house. This contrasts with David’s concern whose conscience bothered him when he looked at his royal palace of cedar and then at the makeshift tent that God was supposed to dwell in, which led to his desire to build God a permanent house (2 Sam 7:1-2).[2] Haggai is saying in effect that there is something wrong when the focus is so exclusively on our own advancement that the concern for God’s things fades into the background.
The sign of wrong priorities – what we have is never enough
Second, Haggai asks the exiles to consider their life in terms of the return of all their efforts (Hag 1:6). While economic hardship may have played a part in their problems, the overwhelming sense of the description is discontent: what is there is not enough.[3] What you have does not fill you, quench your thirst, lead to enjoyment, or keep you comfortable. The money, like water, flows out of the purse as if it had holes. When our primary purpose becomes the satisfying of our own appetites for life’s goods, the desire is somehow always for more. This constant urge for more is a sure sign that we have lost our true focus.
When we are in God’s will
What would it have looked like if the exiles had been in God’s will? They would probably have grieved over the temple’s ruin and prayed fervently for the resumption of its building. They may have experienced the straining of their resources but sought God for help and looked to be content with what they had been given (Phil 4:11-12). In other words, their priorities could still have been focused on the Lord. The challenge in Haggai resonates in our times when we easily get busy and preoccupied with our daily concerns and do not look to building up and serving the people of God (the Church), and the wider world. May we take the Lord’s message to heart and make His priorities our own.
[1] Notice in Isaiah the imagery used from the exodus, the splitting of the rock to give the people water (Exod 17:6), making the sea a pathway (Exod 14:21-22), the Lord going before them and behind as a pillar of cloud or fire (Exod 13:21; 14:19).
[2] Mark J. Boda, Haggai, Zechariah, NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 90.
[3] Most commentators emphasise the economic difficulties, but Motyer rightly argues that the issue is less objective lack and more dissatisfaction with what is there. After all, the people could afford certain luxuries, like panelling their houses, so they are not necessarily living on subsistence level. J. Alec Motyer, ‘Haggai’, in A Commentary on Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Vol. 3 of The Minor Prophets, ed. T.E. McComiskey (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 963-1002 (976-77).
For interest – Reading different Bible perspectives on the same event well
Today, I interrupted our studies in Ezra because our last reading concluded with the second year of Darius (520 BC) in Ezra 4:24, and Ezra 5:1-2 opens in the same year with the prophets Haggai and Zechariah speaking to the people. Their ministry will lead to the re-start of the temple building and I thought it would be interesting to see the angle Haggai takes on these events because he directly addresses the issues the exiles face.
As we read, it is important to acknowledge that each book has its own perspective that adds to the overall picture. When we have two accounts of the same event, it is tempting to prioritise one over the other (this happens a lot when reading the gospels). In this case, we are tempted to read Ezra’s account of why the building stopped in the light of Haggai’s challenge that the exiles’ priorities were wrong. However, when we do so, we flatten Scripture’s witness. We should not lose sight of Ezra’s perspective that opposition can be expected when we do God’s work, and such hostility can lead to discouragement.
Situations are rarely black-and-white, and it is quite possible to have the right priorities but start feeling dejected because there are obstacles in doing God’s work (Ezra’s perspective). Over time then we may lose our focus about what matters because we bury ourselves in our own life and its concerns (Haggai’s angle). The benefit of holding several viewpoints together is that it provides a three-dimensional picture that gives depth and a richer understanding.
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