Haggai 1:7-15: a reflection

7“This is what the LORD of Armies says: ‘Consider your ways. 8Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says the LORD. 9“You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. 10Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.” 12Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the LORD their God’s voice, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared the LORD. 13Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you,” says the LORD. 14The LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of Armies, their God, 15in the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Through the prophet Haggai, God calls his people to consider why their lives feel unsatisfying, and points to their misplaced priorities. You looked for much, and it came to little, he says. Why? Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. They had put their own concerns first and neglected the things of God, and it left them unsatisfied, their efforts coming to little. Consider your ways, God says. He calls them to put his priorities first rather than neglecting him while busy with their own concerns; and when they obey, he gives them a word of great comfort: I am with you. The disorder was in their priorities, God's house neglected while they attended to their own; and the remedy was to put first things first.

Notice the disorder God names: his house neglected, while each was busy with his own. They had put their own concerns first and left the things of God undone; and their efforts came to little, leaving them unsatisfied. Consider your ways, God tells them; look at where your priorities have gone. The remedy was not to work harder at their own concerns, but to put God first, to attend to his house, to set their priorities in order. And when they obeyed, God met them with, I am with you. The trouble was misplaced priorities, God's things neglected while their own were pursued; the remedy was to put first things first, to give God his rightful place. Rightly ordered priorities, God first, was what God called them to.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are called to put God first rather than neglecting him while busy with our own concerns. We can pour ourselves into our own concerns while neglecting the things of God, and wonder why our efforts leave us unsatisfied, coming to little; but God calls us, as he called his people, to consider our ways and put him first. When God's place in our lives is neglected while we attend to our own concerns, our priorities are out of order. Do not neglect God while busy with your own concerns; consider your ways, and put him first, as God called his people to do. Put God first in your priorities rather than neglecting him while absorbed in your own concerns, as God called his people to consider their ways and build his house, promising, I am with you; for when we put our own concerns first and neglect the things of God, our efforts leave us unsatisfied, and the remedy is to give God his rightful first place and order our priorities around him.

Lord, through the prophet Haggai, you call your people to consider why their lives feel unsatisfying, and point to their misplaced priorities. You looked for much, and it came to little, you say. Why? Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. They had put their own concerns first and neglected the things of God, and it left them unsatisfied. Consider your ways, you say. You call them to put your priorities first rather than neglecting you while busy with their own concerns; and when they obey, you give them a word of great comfort: I am with you. Show me the disorder you name: your house neglected, while each was busy with his own. They had put their own concerns first and left the things of God undone; and their efforts came to little. Consider your ways, you tell them. The remedy was not to work harder at their own concerns, but to put you first, to set their priorities in order. And when they obeyed, you met them with, I am with you. Take that to my heart, for I am called to put you first rather than neglecting you while busy with my own concerns. I can pour myself into my own concerns while neglecting the things of you, and wonder why my efforts leave me unsatisfied; but you call me to consider my ways and put you first. Keep me from neglecting you while busy with my own concerns; help me consider my ways and put you first, Lord, ordering my priorities around you, as you called your people to build your house and promised, I am with you.