To begin our study of Haggai, we must start with a short history lesson. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. In 538 BC, Cyrus the king of Persia allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. About 50,000 Jews returned to do so. By 536 BC they had completed the foundation. The bordering countries intimidated them, so they quit working on the temple. In 520 BC, God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to get the Jews back on track. Notice what God told the people to do: “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.”
Folks, what about us? Are we guilty of neglecting God because we are selfish and doing our own things? Have we considered our ways? Is God really first in our lives?