Misplaced Priorities - Your Daily Forward Devotional

Misplaced Priorities

June 13

Read Haggai 2:7-9 (ESV)

“And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all the nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.”

Reflect

Have you ever started something important but failed to finish it? What got in the way? Why did you quit?

If you remember from our study on the book of Ezra, in 538 B.C., the Persian king, Cyrus, gave the Jewish people permission to return to Jerusalem and start the rebuilding process after 70 years of exile. Initially, they wasted no time in starting work on the new temple. By 536 B.C., the governor, Zerubbabel, had construction on the foundation underway. The temple was incredibly important to their spiritual life. It was where the priests gave offerings and sacrifices. It was where they gathered together to worship. In the original temple, built during Solomon’s reign, the Ark of the Covenant and the Lord’s Shekinah glory were visual reminders of God’s presence among His people. The temple was vital to the Jewish community.

But as Ezra 4-6 recorded, the rebuilding process didn’t go smoothly. Typically, whenever we start obeying God, we should expect opposition and pushback from a hostile world. This was true for the Jews when the Samaritans began causing problems and threatening hostility. Besides that, those who returned to the Promised Land were met with rubble, opposition from enemies, and lots of hard work. Rebuilding was going to be an uphill battle and they were discouraged. So they quit. 16 years later, God’s house still sat unfinished even though the people had dedicated plenty of time and resources to rebuilding their own homes. So God sent a prophet to urge the people to get their priorities straight and get back to His business.

In his book, Haggai records his short but to the point message from God to the people of Jerusalem in 520 BC—make rebuilding His temple their first priority. In Haggai 1:4-6, God said through the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.”

God had withheld His blessing because they had misplaced their priorities. When the going got tough, they abandoned God’s work for them to do and focused on their own instead. But no matter how hard they worked, they saw little gain. Thankfully, the people took Haggai’s message to heart and began rebuilding the temple just 23 days later.

But in chapter 2, we see that once again, discouragement began to sink in. Ezra 3:12-13 recorded why. The older generation, who remember the glory of Solomon’s temple, understood that Zerubbabel’s temple was significantly inferior to the first. It was not nearly as large or as grand. So, God sent them these encouraging words in Haggai 2:3-4: “Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now, be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD… Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts.” God commanded them to keep working and not be discouraged or afraid because He was still present with them. Rebuilding the temple was the work that God wanted them to do so He would bless it.

In today’s verses, we see our Scarlet Thread of redemption. God promised that even though Zerubbabel’s temple lacked the splendor of Solomon’s temple, the latter temple would be more glorious than the first. We know from the New Testament Gospels that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would one day teach and minister in this very temple. It’s true that the Ark of the Covenant was never recovered or returned to this temple and there is no record of the Shekinah glory ever filling this temple. But Haggai’s prophecy would be fulfilled when God in the flesh walked the temple courts one day. Additionally, this prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled when Jesus returns to reign over the entire earth. At that time, all of the treasures of the earth will be used for His glory and there will be everlasting peace.

Friends, we need to get our priorities straight. God sent Haggai to His people to urge them to be about His business instead of focusing on their own. The same applies to us. We know our focus should be on fulfilling Jesus’s command to “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19-20). But many of us aren’t really focused on that. We have our own goals and our own dreams. We are concentrating so much on building our own lives that we are too distracted to build His church. Once we get back to His business, we should expect opposition from the world, but we shouldn’t let that deter us. We need to be strong and get to work, because He is still with us.

Pray

Lord, I confess that often, I get so distracted with my own business that I don’t focus on the work that You have for me. And when I do work to make disciples, the opposition and hostility that I face from the world is intimidating and discouraging. Help me to be strong and undeterred. Keep me focused on the main thing—the Gospel. Thank You for the promise of always being with me. Amen.

~ Pastor Nat Crawford

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