This morning, my personal Bible study was through the book of Haggai. It's a small book that one can breeze through pretty easily, but, as with all the word, it's got so much in it that hits hard, if you've got eyes to see and ears to hear! A the time of Haggai the Prophet, many of the exiles were returning to Jerusalem, and yet while they were rebuilding their own houses, the Temple of the Lord lay in ruins. They were so concerned in rebuilding their own lives, that they were neglecting the Spiritual House of God! Haggai then confronts the priests and asks: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.” Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean." (2:11-14) How many times to we work on building our own lives, trying to preserve ourselves, and yet neglect God in the process? And then we ask God's blessing over what we're doing while neglecting the Spiritual House He seeks to build within us? We touch "dead bodies" as it were, and then try to put our hands to Spiritual works hoping for results. How many things do we do or say, saying to ourselves "Well, God will understand," or "I'm forgiven for that, so I might as well keep going!" and hope that God will honor us as we live in sin, as we seek our way while playing church, or try and have God, but on our terms? None of it works! It's being impure spiritually while expecting a Heavenly Blessing! God will not honor what goes against His will! And so we must cast aside death, put on Christ, and walk in Newness of Life. Then we'll recieve the promises of God in full, along with persecution, in this life, that we may stand before Him radiantly in the next and hear "well done, my good and Faithful servant!" Haggai 2:10-19 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.” Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, how did you fare? When[b] one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”
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