Theological Commentary: Click Here
Haggai 1 is
an ominous chapter, especially since it should be a message form a prophet who
has every reason to be happy! Haggai lived
after the Persians conquered Babylon and while Darius came to Hebrew leaders to
allow them to return to Jerusalem and start rebuilding. The time of judgment is over. The time for rebuilding is at hand. It is a time for the remnant to return and be
faithful.
Instead, the
people returned and focused on their own lives.
They built their own homes. They
planted their own fields. The protected
their own claims of land. In other
words, the faithful remnant returns and proves how human they actually
are. Even among the faithful,
self-centeredness reigns.
They ignored
the Lord. The temple wasn’t built. The message of the Lord wasn’t going anywhere. The people had returned, but they didn’t have
the Spirit of the Lord among them.
Look at the
critique in verse 5. How can you live in
expensive houses when my temple is a pile of ruins? This is a harsh statement, but it goes to the
heart of the people. They are focused on
restoring their fortunes and making their life as luxurious as possible. Yet, they neglect the Lord.
In the modern
age, it isn’t so much about the temple anymore.
Instead, God is concerned about the heart because He now dwells within
us. That actually makes this harder, not
easier. While god may not be concerned
about the status of a building, He absolutely cares about the status of our
heart! We are not to neglect the
conditions of our heart. We are not to
allow evil to reside. We are responsible
for sweeping our heart clean and not giving sinfulness a place to reside.
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