I know you have heard this phrase, “Keeping up with the Joneses.” You know the Joneses, the ones with the biggest house in the neighborhood. The best-kept yard. They wear only name brand clothes. They’re perfect children attend the best schools. The ones who are living the American dream! Are you trying to keep up with the Joneses? Have you bought into the lie? Are you spinning your wheels trying to keep up? Are you neglecting the things of God for your personnel affairs? Let’s go to the book of Haggai and see what we can learn about putting God first. Beloved, Are your priorities in the right order?
This post goes along with our study Reading Twelve Old Testament Books. You can purchase the workbook here: Study Guide for Reading Twelve Old Testament Books.
Abandoning the Work of God
We know from Biblical history, the Israelites spent 70 years in the hands of the Babylonians. In, the year 538 B.C. Israel returned to her homeland. Ezra 1:1-4. About fifty thousand Jews returned and the rebuilding of God’s temple began. Ezra 3:1-4:5. However, opposition from their neighbors, their indifference toward the work of God, and their selfishness, the rebuilding of the temple was abandoned. Their priorities were not in the right order.
Consider Your Ways
Through the mouth of the prophet Haggai God sent a message to the people. “ Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled house while this house lies desolate?” Haggai 1:4. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, consider your ways!” Haggai 1:5 & 1:7. God brings to their attention 5 economic distresses.
- You sow much but harvest little
- Eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied
- You drink, but there is not enough to get drunk
- You put on clothing but there is not enough to keep warm
- He who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.
They pursued selfish ambitions while the temple of the LORD laid desolate. Yet, all their effort was producing nothing.
Go, Put God First
Does it seem that you put in tons of effort yet there is very little to show for it? I’ve been there! God is saying consider your ways. Are you building your own kingdom and neglecting the kingdom of God?
The world has a way of taking our attention away from that which matters the most. It lures us into a trap. The world is passing away. All the things that we spend so much time and effort on will one day pass away. No one can keep up with the Joneses. One day their perfect little world will come crashing down.
The People Obeyed Their God
When God rebuked the people they heard and obeyed the LORD. God is calling you and I to consider our ways. Is their anything in your life that takes first place over God? Does the world and its ways have your attention? Repentance brings blessings from God. Obedience brings about the strength of the LORD to carry out the task He assigns to each of us.
I Am With You
God inhabits the praise of His people. When you and I get our priorities straight. When God’s agenda is our agenda, glory and honor are His. And He promises to be with us!
Have you given to much time to your own affairs but neglected the things of God?
What is God speaking to your heart today?
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