“Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” (Haggai 1:9)
After the Babylonian captivity many returned to Jerusalem. They were occupied building their homes and making their lives more comfortable. They worked hard, but their hard work didn’t get them what they wanted. They planted and worked their animals, but it came to nothing. In all their work and restoring their lives, it all came to nothing. What they had worked for, the Lord had blown it away. They had neglected the rebuilding of the second temple. They would say that it was not time to build the temple. They wanted to rebuilt their houses and their lives first. But the Lord saw their neglect. “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.” (Haggai 1:2)
The reason they had nothing and couldn’t get ahead in their plans to build their houses and rebuild their lives was because they had neglected the house of the Lord. Haggai prophesied, “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 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.” (Haggai 1:5-6) The Lord tells them what the problem is. “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 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.” (Haggai 1:9-11) They had brought a curse upon their homes and all their work because they had neglected God’s work.
Haggai prophesies what the Lord wants them to do. “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.” (Haggai 1:7-8) They obeyed the word of the Lord, led by Zerubbabel and the Lord confirmed His blessing on them. (Haggai 1:12-14) “Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.” (Haggai 1:13)
In a few passages we learn about how it displeased the Lord that they took care of themselves first before they took care of God’s work. This just didn’t happen in a few days or weeks, but probably in a couple of seasons, the season of building and planting, then the season of harvest. All that work and expectation that came to nothing because they neglected God’s work. It has implications for us.
God’s message to us is that yes, He delights to bless us. But He also expects us to obey Him. His commands are plain and clear. This is a spiritual law that even blesses the unbeliever. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38) What do you have to give? What do you need? Do you need a job? Give work. Do a job at the church or for someone in need of help. Do you need money? Give whatever you have even if it’s you last penny to the Lord. Do you need a new wardrobe? Give your clothes away. God’s promise is to give, and it will be given to you.
We learn of a law God has set in motion in Malachi. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:8-11)
Some will say this is Old Testament and doesn’t apply to us. In a way it does and in another way it doesn’t. And I will explain. This commandment applies to the tithe which is ten percent of all gain. But in the New Testament, we have a new covenant. God commands us to give all. He told the rich young ruler, how to have eternal life. “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21) Jesus gave His all. If you want to follow Jesus, you must give your all. Now God is so good, He will not leave you penniless or in poverty so that you will have to beg. It’s the condition of your heart. Are you holding on to your gains, whatever it may be money, clothes, or any other fortune, for a rainy day or for an emergency? Do you think your piddling fortune will help you when you have brought a curse on your head for being stingy with the Lord and when you are trusting in that to keep you supplied with what you need? God is our Provider. He is Jehovah Jireh. When we are liberal, we will be blessed liberally. He is faithful to His promises, even if they were made in the Old Testament. We are to give all of ourselves, our bodies for His glory. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1) Are you worried about future finances, labor, your dreams and goals? Give them all to the Lord. “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” (1Peter 5:7) Our lives belong to Him. He purchased them with His sacrifice. We no longer belong to ourselves, but to the Lord. “ Ye are bought with a price; ...”(1Corinthians 7:23) And in Acts, Luke charges the leaders in the church to care for those the Lord purchased with His blood. “ Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28) Our lives belong to Jesus. He bought us and snatched us from the evil one’s grasp. So we live for Him. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” (Colossians 3:17)
Notice that in Malachi He was speaking to the nation of Israel. Some may say then that these things in Malachi don’t pertain to the church. But they do. As believers, we have been made part of Israel. We were grafted into His people. “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.” (Romans 11:17-19) So all of God’s promises to Israel are promises to the church also.
The gist of it all is that we must look after the things of God. The Lord will provide what we need. It all belongs to Him anyway. He is in control of all it. We want to prosper. Yes, but why? To accumulate it or to keep blessing the Lord by giving it away to His work and to bless others? Like the Lord told the Israelites after the Babylonian capture when they returned home, “Consider your ways.”
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