God First

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.  Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why?  saith the LORD of hosts.  Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

Haggai 1:7-9

It these verses (and the ones preceding them), we get the idea that these people are working for things that are not satisfying them.  They are earning wages just to be put “into a bag with holes” (1:6).  They “looked for much, and, lo, it came to little.”  And what little they did bring home, the Lord says that “I did blow upon it.”  They are doing everything they can do for themselves.  They are working for wages.  They are eating and drinking.  They are trying desperately to satisfy themselves.  But they found no satisfaction.  The reason for this is given in verses 8 and 9.

“…build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”  “Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”

Apparently, in all of their work for themselves, they forgot God.  They all ran to their own houses, and did everything they could to build them and take care of them while God’s house “is waste.”  These people make the terrible mistake of putting themselves before the Lord.  God should always come first.  That is an easy thing to say, but not always an easy thing by which to live.  How much of our lives are spend pursuing things for ourselves?  And how much of our lives are spent for the Lord?  Does He get the “firstfruits” or does He get the “leftovers” of our lives?

The Israelites faced judgment because they did not put the Lord first.  We will face the same if we make the same mistake.

A Bag With Holes

Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

Haggai 1:5-7

The Lord here tells His people twice to “Consider your ways.”  We would be wise to follow that advice ourselves.  He points out the futility with which they live their lives, and I think that we could easily see parallels in our society.  People have “sown much, but bring in little.”  People today are busier than they have ever been.  We are constantly and frantically running around trying to get ahead.  Yet contentment is low.  People are still not happy.  People “eat, but have not enough.”  We are never satisfied.  We are always wanting more or better instead of being thankful for what we have.  And how about this one for today’s society:

“…he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”

If there is one statement that would describe most people today, it is this one.  People work long and hard hours for a paycheck.  When that paycheck finally comes, it seems that it’s gone as soon as it hits the bank.  After looking back, we sometimes wonder where it all went.

There are people all around us who live life exactly as described in this verse.  They would be wise to do as the Lord told the Israelites: “Consider your ways.”  If we find ourselves being described by any of these things, we would be wise to “Consider our ways.”  If we aren’t getting the results we want, we need to do something differently.  In most cases, that would involve turning to the Lord and doing things His way instead of our way.