Haggai

August 4

Haggai 1:1-11

The return to Jerusalem

After seventy years in Babylon, many Jews who had been slaves there began returning to Jerusalem. God was bringing His people back to their own land, just as He had promised.

Yet as the people settled back into their homeland, their main concern was building beautiful houses for themselves. No one paid attention to the Temple of the Lord, which still lay in ruins. “It is not the right time to start building the House of the Lord,” they said.

But the Lord spoke through Haggai the prophet, saying, “Think about what is happening. You have sown much, but harvested little. You have food, but not enough to satisfy you; you have clothes, but not enough to keep you warm. Can’t you see why this is happening?

Now go up to the hills and get wood to rebuild the Temple, and I will be pleased.”

Can one become too busy?

The Bible has quite a lot to say about laziness (see Hebrews 6:12 and Ecclesiastes 10:18). God does not want us to be lazy people who never try anything, do anything, or achieve anything.

Yet God also doesn’t want us rushing from one thing to the next and keeping ourselves busy all the time. Before the Israelites were taken to Babylon, they always seemed to want more money and more things. Now that they had returned to Jerusalem, they once again became so busy with their own lives that they started leaving God out. They must have looked like ants hurrying around—gathering, carrying, building, and working all day long.

So this is what God said to them: “Go and get building materials and start rebuilding the Temple so that I can meet with you again.”

In the same way, God does not want our lives to become so busy that we have no time left for Him. With everything going on in your life, it is important to set aside a special time each day to spend with the Lord, whether that works best for you in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

Verse for today

Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8