Haggai 1:10-11

“Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.”^[1]

Haggai is very specific; judgment has come upon the people because they did not fulfill the covenantal responsibility they had to rebuild the temple. Unlike many other pronouncements of God’s judgment that is yet to come should behavior not change, Haggai makes it clear that the drought and famine, the lack of productivity is as a result of what they refused to do, and the only way that the conditions they were experiencing could be and would be reversed is by them making the decision to make fulfilling their obligation to rebuild the temple their priority.

We, who preach, often stand in the pulpit and declare the blessings of God that accompany obedience, but neglect to highlight the reverse. Haggai’s pronouncement harkens back to Deuteronomy 28 where Moses makes it clear that blessing does accompany obedience, but curses just assuredly accompany disobedience. If we are to take anything from what these early Jews experienced it is simply how serious God is when He gives instruction. It is simply not wise that we would choose to do what we desire instead of what He commands. The result of such a tragic decision may very well be curses of the magnitude of what Haggai pronounced.

If we find ourselves guilty what recourse is available to us? It is the same as that of these early Jews. There had to first be genuine repentance and a change of heart, an acknowledgement that their choices were out of order and sinful, a proactive plan to take corrective action, and finally a reprioritizing of their commitment to rebuild the temple. Take the opportunity today to review where you are then take the necessary action to change your course.

Dear Lord, we are more like these early Jews than we care to admit. We are slow to perform Your will. We are hesitant to walk in obedience. We are often more self-interested than we are interested in You and Your plans for our lives. We love You but constantly subordinate our commitment to You for lesser commitments. We are heartily sorry for our rebellion and we ask that You allow us the opportunity to change our circumstances. Forgive us today our sin, instruct us in what we should do to correct what we have done, and then show us favor in reversing the curses operative in our lives. This we ask in the strong name of Jesus our Christ. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Hag 1:10-11.