Haggai 1:1, 2- "In the second year of Darius ("lord") the king, in the sixth month in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD (Jehovah) by Haggai ("festive" - the Festival Dancer) the prophet unto Zerubbabel ("sown in Babylon" - heated up, burnt, dried up - wormwood like, reduced to poison) , the son of Shealtiel ("I have asked God") , governor of Judah ("Praised") and to Joshua ("Jehovah is Salvation") the son of Josedech ("Jehovah is righteous") , the high priest, saying: Thus speaketh (once and for all, standing as eternal) the LORD ("Jehovah" - all sufficiency) of hosts saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built."
And there stands the conflict - "NOT NOW!"
In the small, two chapter book of Haggai there is a description of a core conflict that we face in every day living ---Here is a brief historical snapshot: A Hebrew remnant in two waves of migration had come back from their Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem. One crew of pilgrims are to rebuild the walls and the other to rebuild the temple. This book is dedicated to challenging the group of pilgrims, who returned, with a heart to rebuild the Temple. This task had been derailed and cluttered with the struggles of life that can cause anyone to forget the voice of God... that lovingly says, "I AM with you!"
So begins the daily conflict - (We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with ("principalities") beginnings: There is always the "home base" that needs to be set up, right? So homes are built for the workers, and then comforts are desired, and then a way to make a living needs to be established, and of course food and clothing provisions must be raised, made or purchased, and then decorations to further beautify the ownership, and then maintenance, and then home improvements ... on and on until the daily driving focus is no longer the mandate from Heaven but gnawing cry of a very real, temporal need.
It became apparent that the remnant had lost sight of their initial purpose of rebuilding the temple by their efforts to sustain their dwellings. This disconnect with their original purpose impinged on their success to accomplish sustaining their own dwellings; it created a constant battle of 3 steps forward and two steps backwards. Haggai, whose name means "festive" ... knew from the LORD, that the joy of the vision of temple building would be lost in... the physical struggle of daily living (our houses are not done), the mental oppression of defective memory comparisons (our work on the temple will never be what was), and constant debating of "what is holy?". His job as prophet was to bring God's people to understand that their re-adjusted and misdirected focus was killing their "Joy in the LORD!" Their failure to effectively handle the temporal was directly affected by their omission of the joy filled task of living for eternity ... "Build the LORD's Temple!" (His dwelling in and with you).
Our true supply for living is in the Lord. Our relationship with Him is not just maintained to be effervescent adornment, but it is our only real wellspring and effectual supply for the consequential events of our lives. True success is not based on our conquest of the world around us through momentary temporal acquisition, but true success is found in a daily sustaining of that "thirst" for His Eternal Presence that effectively and festively satisfies the eventful needs of our lives.
We spend so much time paneling and adorning our houses while the house of God crumbles within us via daily negligence. Panel and adorn our lives with the daily secret love rendezvous with our God and watch the power of His resurrected temple rise and reign. Neglect His temple building of you and your temporal success will be unstable and unsustainable. Rise up and see ... now is the time to come apart from the temporal and Walk with your God ... Dance in Love within the Holy Rendezvous!
HLFA,
Jeff