“Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.” — Haggai 2:18-19

Some days are just plain challenging! Have you ever had so much to do that you wondered how you would ever get it all done? On days like that, establishing priorities and giving precedence to what is most important can be the solution. 

The account of Charles Schwab and Ivy Lee is an example of the importance of correct prioritizing.¹ When Schwab was president of Bethlehem Steel, he hired Lee, a highly respected productivity consultant, to show him how to get more done with his time. He promised to pay Lee any fee within reason if he was successful. Lee’s suggestion was simple. He handed Schwab a piece of paper and told him to write down his most important tasks and number them in order of importance. Then he instructed Schwab to begin working on the first task as soon as he arrived at work each day, and to stay with it until it was completed. Next, he was to recheck his priorities and start on number two. If any task took longer than one day, he was to stick with it for as long as it remained the most important. 

Lee told Schwab that if this method worked for him, he was to share it with his employees and then send him a check for whatever he felt it was worth. Sometime afterwards, Lee received a check for $25,000, a very large sum in the early 1900s! Schwab’s company later became the largest independent steel producer in the world, and he attributed his success to Lee’s guidance regarding priorities. 

In today’s text, Haggai delivered three messages from God to the exiles who had returned to Judah after having been in Babylon for seventy years. The people had begun rebuilding the Temple in 536 B.C., soon after their arrival in Jerusalem. However, their priorities had become misaligned. The Book of Ezra and the first chapter of Haggai record that after facing opposition from the inhabitants of the land, the people became more and more involved in building their own homes and eventually ceased the rebuilding of God’s house (see Ezra 4:4-5, 24; Haggai 1:2-4). As a result, God had sent judgment. Drought had come upon the land, their harvests were meager, and the people were discontented and discouraged after facing repeated setbacks. 

In 520 B.C. Haggai delivered his first message, calling on the people to resume rebuilding the Temple—that had to be their priority. And they obeyed! In today’s focus verses, which are part of a message given just one month after the first message, Haggai relayed God’s promise that from the day the foundation of God’s house was laid, His blessing once again had been upon the people. 

The concept of putting God and His work first is still vital for us today. There are twenty-four hours in a day and 168 hours in a week—the same for each one of us. How we spend those hours is crucial. Our priorities must align with God’s priorities! When we choose to put God first, we determine that His will is more important than our own preferences. Obedience to Him is a necessity if we want His blessing.

^1. Alec Mackenzie and Pat Nickerson, The Time Trap, 4^th ed. (New York: Amacom, 2009) 85-86.

BACKGROUND

God gave the prophet Haggai four separate messages to deliver to the people of Judah, and today’s text records the final three. Each of the messages begins with the specific date it was given, and all were delivered to the people within a period of four months. The prophet started each message by referencing “the word of the Lord” that was given to Haggai the prophet. The instruction to “consider” their ways is issued five times in the two chapters. 

Haggai’s first message, described in the preceding chapter, had included a rebuke for the people’s failure to finish rebuilding the Temple and then a call for them to renew their efforts and complete the task. Although the people had obeyed and resumed building, they were still experiencing discouragement when Haggai gave his second message about one month later. 

Haggai’s timely call to courage (verses 1-9) exhorted the people to continue the work despite the opposition of their adversaries and the challenges they faced. The older people of Judah had memories of the glory of the original Temple built by Solomon, and they could clearly see that the rebuilt Temple, when completed, would not compare to it. However, this was not to be a cause for despair. Rather than feeling disheartened by the contrast, Haggai encouraged Zerubbabel (the civic leader of the people), Joshua (the high priest), and all the people of the land to be strong in the Lord.

Verse 6 is the only portion of Haggai quoted in the New Testament (see Hebrews 12:26). Some Bible scholars suggest that verses 6-9 refer to revolts that took place during the early years of Darius’ reign. Others view these verses in an end-time context, seeing God’s declaration that He will “shake all nations” as a reference to His divine judgment when all national powers of the world will be overthrown. With that perspective, “the glory of this latter house” in verse 9 would refer to a future Messianic Temple that will be even greater than that of Solomon’s Temple. 

About two months after the second message, Haggai delivered his third exhortation from God (verses 10-19). In this message, the prophet instructed the people to ask the priests two questions to be answered from God’s Law. The queries illustrated the differences between “clean” and “unclean” and established that while holiness could not be transferred, uncleanness could be (verses 12-13). The people needed to understand that their religious observances and offerings had been unacceptable to God because they were not obeying Him, and their uncleanness had polluted the offerings. As a result, God had sent judgment in the form of “blasting” (wind), mildew, and hail (verse 17). However, now that the people were obeying God and were rebuilding the Temple, they could expect His blessing even before they harvested their grain, grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives. 

The Book of Haggai concludes with the prophet’s fourth prophecy, recorded in verses 20-23, which was delivered to Zerubbabel on the same day the preceding message was given to the people. In this continuation of God’s promised blessing, Haggai spoke of a coming upheaval in which God would overthrow kingdoms and the strength of the chariots, horses, and riders, and would shake the heavens and the earth. Many Bible scholars consider this to be a reference to the Battle of Armageddon at the end of time. 

Verse 23 states that Zerubbabel was to be God’s own signet, indicating his leadership would bear the mark of divine authority. God was reaffirming and guaranteeing His promise of a Messiah through David’s line, as Zerubbabel was a descendant of David (see Haggai 1:1 and 1 Chronicles 3:17) and in the ancestral lineage of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:12-13).

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

II. The second message—To encourage (2:1-9)
     A. Date: October 17, 520 B.C. (2:1)
     B. The people’s discouragement (2:2-3)
     C. The Lord’s encouragement (2:4-9)
          1. The present prospect (2:4-5)
          2. The future promise (2:6-9)
               a. Shaking of the nations (2:6-7)
               b. Filling of the Temple (2:8-9)
III. The third message—To bless (2:10-19)
     A. Date: December 18, 520 B.C. (2:10)
     B. The illustration of contamination (2:11-13)
          1. Holiness not transferable (2:11-12)
          2. Unholiness is transferable (2:13)
     C. The application to the nation (2:14-17)
     D. The abundance in the nation (2:18-19)
IV. The fourth message—To promise (2:20-23)
     A. Date: December 18, 520 B.C. (2:20)
     B. The destruction of the nations (2:21-22)
     C. The choice of Zerubbabel (2:23)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. What did God say in verse 9 about the Temple?
2. In verses 13-14, what was Haggai trying to bring to the people’s attention?
3. If Haggai’s message were delivered to us today, what are some ways you could apply it in your life?

CONCLUSION

Though it is one of the shortest books in the Old Testament, the messages contained in Haggai are applicable for our day as well. We must be careful to obey God’s instructions and keep Him first in our lives if we want His blessing.