Haggai: Getting Our Priorities in Line

The Minor Prophets: Big Fish, Bad Wives, and Doom

My husband and I are blessed to be part of a wonderful Bible study at our church. At my husband’s request, we are currently studying the minor prophets. This week’s “prophet of the week”: Haggai. You never know what you’re going to get when it comes to the minor prophets. Sometimes, it’s a nice short two-chapter book. Other times, you must slog through 11 tedious chapters of doom and gloom with a bit of messianic prophecy at the end and some talk of the end times.

There are, however, a few minor prophets that are quite memorable (and read more like a bad Hollywood script than a prophetic vision): Jonah is my personal favorite. Who doesn’t enjoy reading about someone getting thrown overboard, swallowed by a giant fish, and then wishing death upon himself over a lack of shade? Hosea is another fun one–his wife had a quite a reputation (and not for hosting killer Pampered Chef parties).

The minor prophets are not usually a hot topic for Bible Study groups. Most groups study the Roman road (be saved!), the gospel of John (the one whom Jesus loved–don’t get it wrong) or Genesis (old women have babies, jail time can end well for you, don’t trust snakes). Good for you, but the “Day of the Lord” is coming whether you’re ready for it or not. Be warned – (Target doesn’t put out Day of the Lord decorations months early like it does with Christmas)!

Memory Problems (Keeping the Minor Prophets Straight)

My husband is a “word nerd”. That means that he studies the Bible with Hebrew-English, Hebrew-Greek, and Greek-English dictionaries, a concordance or two, and several secular contemporaneous sources nearby. He would take approximately 2 years to get through Haggai. To remember the minor prophets, he suggests leaning the meaning of their names in Hebrew, as the names are often relevant to the theme of the book. The name Haggai, for instance, has to do with pilgrimage (They’re finally back home and are building the Temple!). Hosea means “God saves” (Another Pampered Chef party? I’ll still love you, Gomer). Zechariah means “God remembers” (fantastic, at least someone does–I still don’t know what happened in Zechariah).

One leader of the study provided a timeline and a chart with the names of the prophets, notable imagery, and a memorable quote from each. She also came up with a wonderful list of mnemonic devices to help keep them straight. It worked really well for me–until I left that morning’s study.

This isn’t the leader’s fault. I have a notoriously poor memory. My mother has to remind me about important details of my adolescence that she wasn’t even present for. “Remember that time that you and Billy went out for crabs and you wore your white capris?” That was a made up example. I can’t recall the actual stories she’s reminded me of…

So, to get around my memory problems, I use fun little tricks. Haggai. It sounds like Haggis. A delicious Scottish meal (I’m part Scottish–I’d probably love it) made of sheep’s liver. Sheep were sacrificed at the Temple, which God ordered the people to rebuild. Boom! Visual, visceral, committed to memory forever, just like that time that I managed to get deodorant stains (in fairness to me, deodorant stains are better than sweat stains) on my prom dress 30 minutes before leaving the house. I wonder if my mom remembers that one?

Haggai

Back to haggis…I mean Haggai. I was quite pleased when Haggai was only two chapters in length, despite that those two chapters were chock-full of names I couldn’t pronounce.

So the Lord stirred up the spirit of “Zebra babble” son of “She will trill”, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of “Has a Deck”, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people.

Haggai 1:14 NIV (sorta)

Also, we had finally reached the post-exilic prophets. Less doom, though still quite a bit of gloom. Those 70 years of exile felt like 400 after slogging through the 2 months of pre-exilic prophets.

Besides the shorter length and the difficult names, I was struck by just how pertinent this was to my own life. Not that the others weren’t, it’s just–well, this was unexpectedly so.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.

Haggai 1: 2-6 (NIV)

They had returned to Jerusalem to the build the Temple, but had applied the majority of their effort (and the high quality wood designated for the Temple) to their own houses. God’s people were once again more focused on what mattered to this world and to their earthly selves than what mattered to God. As a result, God was withdrawing His blessing on their crops and their harvests were struggling. In addition, even what they did have didn’t satisfy them.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t struggle with this–putting time into those things that feel more urgent or more enjoyable and passing over the more important and fulfilling tasks. How often do we neglect the calling of God on our lives in favor of pursuing the treasures of this world? Are we true disciples of Christ or do we only honor God with our words? (Matthew 15:8)

Digging Deeper

It is human nature to believe that spending time with God is a luxury rather than a necessity. We don’t see how that time creates the foundation on which the rest of our life stands. One member of our study astutely noted that if we were in the returning Israelites’ proverbial shoes and the harvest was struggling, most of us would want to spend MORE time in the fields, not less. We would be tempted to put off giving that larger portion of time to rebuilding the Temple.

Yet God was insistent. If the people wanted His blessing, they needed to put first things first. In running about doing everything but what God asked, their hearts were far from Him. Because their hearts were not pure, nothing was going well for them.

God gives them a concrete example to help them understand. He reminds them that if a person has dirty hands and touches something clean, it becomes dirty (unclean) as well. The same is true with their unclean hearts.

¹⁴ Then Haggai said, “‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.

Haggai 2:14 (NIV)

What is in our hearts defiles or purifies what is around us. When our hearts are focused on the things of this world and on selfish gain, the state of our heart desecrates all that we do. Jesus’ heart, by contrast, was pure, and he purified and healed everything he touched, or that touched him. This is why Jesus taught us to first pursue the kingdom of heaven–to take care of our hearts and get right with God, trusting in the process that all else will be taken care of in turn.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33 NIV

On another occasion, when Martha was bustling about concerned with the things of the world while Mary “just” sat at Jesus’ feet, Jesus gently scolds Martha, saying:

“…you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42 NIV

From the time of Haggai until now, there is only one thing that matters. It is of utmost importance that we purify our hearts and build up the Temple of God within us before anything else. When we choose to put the kingdom of God first in our lives, all else falls into place.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Jesus, both fully divine and fully human, struggled with the temptation to pursue His own agenda over the will of His Father. The human mind, even Jesus’ mind, required direction and discipline. Jesus took responsibility to train the highly distracted mind to desire what is best for it–the will of God. This is our responsibility as well. This is why Jesus asked the disciples to pray the night before his crucifixion.

“Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:41 (NIV)

How did Jesus train his mind to be fully in tune to the will of God? The Bible tells us that Jesus spent multiple hours communing with God daily. He went out into places apart from his disciples and listen to his Father’s voice. He purified His heart in His time of prayer and from that place of purity, was able to bring God’s wisdom and healing to the world.

By becoming fully human, Jesus was able to teach by example. He showed us that there is near NOTHING that takes precedence over time with God. If anyone had a reason to be too busy for God, it’s Jesus–we can’t top Him. Jesus could easily have justified skipping that time–another thirty people healed, another woman like the Samaritan at the well reached, or a starving child fed. Perhaps even a visit home to the family who missed him. Yet Jesus prioritized time in prayer–hours of it daily–over all else. He knew that without that time, none of the rest would be possible. It was because of the time spent with God, not in spite of it, that He changed the world.

The truth is here, if we are willing to hear it. We have a teacher who knows what it means to be fully human who can lead us along the road. Sit with Him and learn from Him. He truly is “the way” and when we learn from Him, we will have abundant life (John 10:10).

The Challenge from Haggai

What would it take to follow in Jesus’ footsteps? Will you make communing with God a priority? At our core, we all know “the one thing that is needed”. We know that when we make time with God a priority , our lives align with God’s will for us and everything else falls into place. Ultimately, this is what we most desire.

Today, run to the Good Shepherd and follow in His example. Whether you have strayed for years, months, or only a few minutes, He is ready and willing to bring you back home with open arms.

Before you scroll away from his page, make a commitment to building God’s Temple in your own life. Set that alarm for a time of extended prayer before the day begins or enjoy a period of meditation to listen to the voice of God.

It is the only that thing that truly matters.