Spiritual Neglect

Title:
SPIRITUAL NEGLECT

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. 

HAGGAI 1:1-11

Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai 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.

HAGGAI 1:1-11

And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts: 
Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts.

HAGGAI 1:1-11

Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 
Therefore [causal] the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.

HAGGAI 1:1-11

I. The problem
II. The solution
III. The application

Historical context

586 Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians
destroy the temple

539 The Persian King Cyrus the Great captured Babylon

538 Cyrus releases the Israelites to go and
rebuild city/temple

537 The altar is rebuilt and sacrifices resume

536 foundation of the 2nd Temple laid

520 Haggai prophecies and the people resume
building of the temple

516 the work on the 2nd temple was completed

I. The problem

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:Thus says the 
Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Haggai 1:1-4

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. Haggai 1:5-6

You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore, the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.
 Haggai 1:9-11

II. The solution

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 
Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. Haggai 1:7-8

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the 
Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. Haggai 1:12

V1: the word of the Lord came by
the hand of Haggai
V2 Thus says the Lord of hosts
V3 Then the word of the Lord came by
the hand of Haggai
V5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord

Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message,I am with you, declares the Lord.
Haggai 1:13

III. The Application

1. We must consider our ways.
· What is my number one priority in life?
· Does my daily schedule support this? [does my checkbook support this?]
· Why have I allowed something/someone to have preeminence over God?
· What must I do to reprioritize my life so that Christ has first place?

2. We must repent the sin of spiritual neglect.

3. We must fear the Lord and obey His Word.

And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.

Haggai 1:14