After 50 years of captivity in Babylon, Ezra records how God stirred Cyrus to allow the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. There now 16 years, the house of the Lord remained in ruins. God speaks through the prophet Haggai, ‘You say the time has not yet come to rebuild. Is it time for you to dwell in your luxurious homes?’ The divine appeal follows: Consider your ways.
In other words, reassess your priorities. Things weren’t going so well. The Israelites never seemed to have enough money, food or clothing. We’ve all experienced how self-interests can easily take precedence over the interests of the Lord. God sovereignly uses our circumstances to get our attention. The Israelites came to realize their failure to put first things first, and their lack was God’s loving discipline (Hebrews 12:7-11), for when spiritual decline sets in, material and physical decline often follows.
God sought to take pleasure in the temple and to be glorified. The temple served as the central place of worship and sacrifices for atonement of sins, and a tangible symbol of God’s desire to dwell among His people (1 Kings 9:3). It shaped the Israelites’ duties and identity.
The person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the reality of the temple (John 2:19-21, Hebrews 9:11-12, 1 Corinthians 3:16). The Father redeemed us in Him so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we would resemble His image and represent Him well to the world. That’s our priority. May it be so, even at the expense of self-interest and pecuniary sacrifice.
—Dan Gallagher,
Stewardship Team