Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
The book of Haggai is a series of prophecies that Haggai gave over a 4 month period to the exiles who had returned from captivity.
They returned by the decree of Cyrus, the king of Persia, in 538BC.
Zerubbabel led a group of fifty-thousand Jews back to Jerusalem to begin the efforts of rebuilding the nation, especially the temple.
Upon their return to their homeland, the people of God found things in disorder.
The land had been left barren.
The homes and communities of the past had been leveled.
Foreigners had inhabited their land.
The
tells us of the beginning of their important work in rebuilding the altar of the LORD and the temple that had been destroyed.
The work on the temple began during the second year after the return.
But what joy the people experienced would be short lived.
Adversaries came in and discouraged the people of Judah and frightened them from building.
Upon their return to their homeland, the people of God found things in disorder.
The land had been left barren
The book of Haggai is a series of prophecies that Haggai gave over a 4 month period to the exiles who had returned from captivity.
homes and communities of the past had been leveled.
Foreigners inhabited their land.
But what joy the people experienced would be short lived.
Adversaries came in and discouraged the people of Judah and frightened them from building
says, “Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
This work stoppage lasted about sixteen years.
After this time passed, God sent prophets to His people - Haggai & Zechariah.
They are introduced in .
They come to rebuke the people for neglecting God’s house and to encourage them in the work of building the temple.
This is the main purpose of their prophecies to to God’s people that are recorded in the books that bear their names.
HAGGAI 1
Haggai opens with a call to action in verses 1-11.
This first oracle is directed to Zerubbabel and Joshua.
Zerubbabel had been appointed as the governor of Judea.
He was the grandson of deported King Jehoiachin.
Joshua was the high priest of the Jews.
His grandfather was slain by Nebuchadnezzar () and his father was carried away into Babylon.
These two men played a key role in leading the Jews in their homeland.
The Lord speaks through Haggai and asked if it was right for them to dwell in comfortable homes while the house of the Lord remained desolate.
During the sixteen year layoff, the people had concentrated on making things comfortable for themselves and allowed the opposition to rebuilding the temple to “put off” the project.
So Haggai tells them in verse 5, “Consider your ways.”
He repeats this statement again in verse 7.
The Lord speaks through Haggai and asked if it was fair for them to dwell in comfortable homes while the house of the Lord remained desolate
During the sixteen year layoff, the people had concentrated on making things comfortable for themselves and allowed the opposition to rebuilding the temple to “put off” the project.
Then he makes a statement in verse 5 that he repeats in verse 7, “Consider your ways.”
They needed to examine themselves and reconsider why their priorities were lined up as they were.
They needed to consider why they allowed the enemies of the LORD to cause them to worry and fear.
They needed to consider why they were living for themselves instead of for the LORD.
Because of their messed up priorities, the LORD had withheld blessing from them.
The LORD has made their yield from their fields diminish greatly.
Much of their work was unsuccessful.
The LORD did this to try to wake them up and to get them to see that they should not have been busying themselves as they should with their own homes while His house lied in ruins still.
If they wanted to be blessed by the LORD, they needed to put pleasing Him and His receiving of glory first, not last.
APPLICATION TO US
We need to consider the words of Haggai in chapter one and “consider our own ways” also.
May it often be the case in our own lives that we are like the Jews who returned from exile?
We live in our great big “paneled homes,” but we don’t use them to build up the kingdom of God.
We don’t use them as tools to encourage others.
We have multiple cars but we don’t use them to go and encourage someone who answered an invitation and told us how they were struggling with sin.
We have jobs, yet we never try to find an opportunity to talk about the LORD with coworkers.
We assume that all of these will be done by someone else.
Someone else will visit the sick.
Someone else will encourage and teach a struggling Christian.
Someone else will help him overcome his sin he is enslaved to.
We may think that if we just go to church a couple times per week and try to do more good than bad in our lives that everything will be ok.
The Lord will be pleased and that He will see that He is #1 in our lives.
We need to consider our ways.
Can you and I truly say that the LORD is #1 in our lives?
Can we say that He is the focus of all of our life and that we are living our lives in a way that shows that we are concerned about the state of God’s people and for lost souls in this world?
Can we say that Jesus comes before ourselves, our families, our work… that He is over everything?
Or would we say that we are to busy with building our own lives, busy with our own things and that we fitting the LORD in when we have time to do so?
Turn your Bibles to .
Beginning in verse 25, Jesus talks about a lot of the things that unbelievers put all of their energy into seeking in the world — The things that they worry about.
He says,
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
“25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
(, ESV)
Jesus here is trying to get kingdom citizens to think bigger.
To think about higher and more important things.
He shows them in this section, that God takes care of his people and there is no reason for us to get so wrapped up in these things like we do.
Look at verses 31-33:
“31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (, ESV)
Jesus talks about where our priorities need to be.
It shouldn’t be said of God’s people that 10% of the people do 90% of the work.
It should not just be those who are appointed to do service for God’s people that do most of the serving.
We all have equal responsibilities in serving.
We all are to “seek first” God’s rule and reign in our lives.
We all have the responsibility to see what His will is for us in His word and to get to the work that He wants us to do.
ILLUSTRATION
I read a story of a picky customer comes to a small food shop and sees a new delivery of fresh fruit.
"Give me two pounds of oranges and wrap every orange up in a separate piece of paper, please," he says to the saleswoman.
She does.
"And a pound of cherries, please, and wrap up every one in a
separate piece of paper, too."
She does, although frustrated with the demand.
"And what is that there?," he asks pointing out a bushel in the corner.
“Raisins," says the saleswoman, "but they are not for sale!"
There's nothing wrong with a customer in a grocery store who wants to individually wrap each piece of fruit.
It may be strange, but there is nothing wrong with it.
But don’t we sometimes we tend to do the same thing with our lives.
We wrap up a piece of our lives and give it to our family.
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