Haggai 1:12-14 Sermon

Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) 

Think About It

Haggai 1:12-14

12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord. 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God,

“Give careful thought to your ways.”  The advice is sound in any number of areas of life.  As you are managing your finances, careful thought should go into your budget each month, your savings, your investments, etc.  Without giving careful thought to your ways financially, it won’t be very long until you’d be in rough shape.  It is also good to give careful thought to your ways when managing your schedule – allowing sufficient time for work, family, projects, relaxation, and so on, so that you don’t end up neglecting anything or anyone.  It also applies to choosing friends, or what to watch on television, or where to explore on the internet – “Give careful thought to your ways.”

It also happens to serve as a sort of catch phrase in the book of Haggai.  But God’s counsel to his people through the prophet Haggai is more than just the “Be careful!” shouted to a child by an over worried parent.  It’s an invitation to his people to conduct a review or an assessment of their lives in light of their calling as God’s holy people.  It is an opportunity to consider their life and actions and how they are a reflection of priorities in one’s life.  It was a needed reminder for God’s people at the time of Haggai because something important was being neglected: God’s house.  And even that may have been understandable if it was simply a matter of not having the manpower or the resources or the time get anything done.  But those things weren’t the case, as the manpower, the resources, and the time were all there… they were just being utilized in a way that reflected skewed priorities; they were being utilized on their own homes and not God’s.

Before we come right out and blast the Jewish people for giving their attention to their personal homes at the expense of God’s house, we should recognize that it is easy enough to do.  Remember, after all, that they had been displaced from their homes and taken into captivity.  Their homes were vacated and emptied and they were herded away to a foreign land.  Now, they were being allowed to return to their homes. 

And anyone who has ever gone through any sort of big move or relocation knows all the work that is involved in making a house a home.  The repairmen needed to come in and address any possible structural issues and make sure the house was safe.  Maybe the family had grown a bit, and it was necessary to build an addition.  Then, once that stuff was done, all of the little personal touches that make a house a home needed to take place.  Some redecorating was necessary – a coat of paint here, new furniture there; trips to Home Depot, Target, and Kohl’s were a daily occurrence.  Finally the Jewish people were starting to feel settled once again.  They were ready to hang the newly framed  “Welcome Home” picture they had just purchased.  And that was how they overlooked the shabby and shameful state of God’s house. 

Enter Haggai, and God’s message proclaimed through him.  Notice that God didn’t have any issues with his people rebuilding their homes.  That wasn’t the problem.  It wasn’t what they were doing, but what they weren’t doing.  They weren’t giving precedence to God by giving precedence to their place of worship, which served as a visible reminder of God dwelling with his people.  So God said to his people through the prophet Haggai, “Give careful thought to your ways” (1:5).  “Consider your priorities and how they reflect your relationship with me.  Think about it.”

Doesn’t God call us to do the same?  We are so blessed that we’re not tied down by rules, regulations, and requirements in our relationship with God.  Christ has freed us from such obligations by keeping the law perfectly in our place.  In Christian freedom we are not limited by the law, but guided by grace. 

But somehow we can so easily manage to abuse that freedom, can’t we?  Like a caged animal just released into the wild, we sprint away to enjoy our freedom and can so quickly forget to give careful thought to our ways and whether or not they reflect our relationship with Jesus.  It reminds me of a line from the movie Jurassic Park.  The creator of the park had discovered how to recreate dinosaurs from old dinosaur DNA. After sharing his excitement over that process and its implications with a curious, but cautious scientist, the scientist responded.  His wet blanket reply was, “Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

Christian freedom affords us more liberties than we can possibly count, but we cannot be so enamored with what we can do, without thinking about if we should do it.  We don’t have to go to church to get to heaven.  I don’t have to give 10% to the Lord to make him love me more.  The Bible doesn’t say I have to marry a Christian.  We are not obligated to do any one of these things.  But…

… we’re also free to do those things.  We’re missing out if we let our sinful nature dictate and control Christian freedom.  When that part of us gets a hold of the freedom we have in Christ, of course all it wants to do is drive a wedge between God and us.  No, let Christian freedom appeal to the new creation in each of us, the one who gives thoughts to our ways in light of Jesus’ love for us.  When that part of us gets control of Christian freedom, then it isn’t “I don’t have to…” but, “I’m also free to…”  So no, I don’t have to go to church, but I am free to go as often as I want.  I don’t have to give 10% to the Lord; I am free to give 20%!  I am not obligated to marry a Christian, but the new creation in me sure does find that attribute attractive.

For God’s people who had returned from captivity, it was a matter of sin, not Christian freedom, because God was not their number one priority in life.  God sent Haggai to address that issue.  So what was the result of Haggai’s admonishment to his people to “think about it?”  “Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord” (v.12).  “The people feared the Lord.” 

What does it mean to fear the Lord?  On the one hand it can mean terror.  The Jewish people could have been absolutely mortified because God had shamed them for being more concerned about the comfort of their own homes than the building of God’s home.  God demands perfection of us, too, and we can’t keep a secret from him that we’re anything but perfect.  So when we consider that God is the one who has the final say regarding our eternity, in light of our sin, that instills a terror that fills us with fear.

But God didn’t only use Haggai to point out the misplaced priorities exhibited by the returned captives; he also used Haggai to comfort and console them. “Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord” (v.13).  So their fear was not based on terror, but on awe, for they had carelessly cast God and his house aside, but he didn’t return the favor.  Instead he promised that he was still with them.  He was still their God.  They were still his people.  He had delivered them in the past.  He would be with them to deliver them in the future.  No, their fear of God was not based on threats and punishments, but on honor and respect.  For what other reaction could they have toward a God who had treated them so mercifully?

And see what a difference it made in their lives to be reassured with the promise that God was with them?  “So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God” (v.14).  They didn’t waste anymore time.  Their unfinished weekend warrior and DIY projects on their own homes would either have to wait or just get written off, because now their priorities were back on track.  God was back to his rightful place in their lives and they reflected it by getting right to work on his house.

God’s promise to the returned captives is his promise to you.  “I am with you,” he says.  We need to hear that most when, like the returned captives, our priorities are misplaced and we allow sin to master us.  For that is when our fear of God is based on threat and punishment.  “We’ve done it again,” our conscience tells us, “we’ve let sin get the better of us.  Surely God’s love and forgiveness have run out this time.”  Yet to repentant ears, the reassurance “I am with you” are words that give life, hope, and restoration.  Again we’ve sinned.  Again God sees our tears of sorrow and assures us, “I am with you.”  He invites us to think about it for a moment, to recall the sacrifice of his Son, to remember that he willingly let his only child be murdered so that we could be forgiven.  While he certainly showed it on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, he still reminds us that nothing has changed.  He still is with us.  Think about it.  And then go bask in your Christian freedom and delight in all he has freed you to do for him and for one another.  Amen.

                                                              

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)