God cared about Judah and the people Haggai addressed. Therefore, restoration was assured—about this, the people could be certain. But God’s intention went beyond the repair of a destroyed temple. God desired to bestow blessings and would not settle for less . . .

. . . Haggai’s principal foes were older folk, perhaps well-meaning at one level, who kept comparing the memory of a glorious past with their experience of a mediocre to poor present. The "good old days" seemed so much better (and perhaps actually were), but that was now immaterial.

The task of each generation is to take courage in God’s goodness and to work on behalf of the task. Discouragement and depression are contagious and need to be resisted. Haggai was certain that whatever the restored Temple was to be, it would be better than the heap of stones then standing in Jerusalem’s center. God wanted dedication to the task, not nostalgia for the past. [1]

 

connections

Bumping priorities is an easy thing to do. Here’s a remarkable admission by Robert B. Reich, Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Adminstration, who resigned to spend more time with his family . . .

I had a job that consumed me . . . My problem was that I loved my job and couldn’t get enough of it. Being a member of the President’s cabinet was better than any other job I’d ever had. In the morning, I couldn’t wait to get to the office. At night, I left it reluctantly. Even when I was at home, part of my mind remained at work . . .

Then one evening I phoned home to tell the boys I wouldn’t make it back in time to say good night. I’d already missed five bedtimes in a row. Sam, the younger of the two, said that was O.K., but asked me to wake him up whenever I got home. I explained that I’d be back so late that he would have gone to sleep long before; it was probably better if I saw him the next morning. But he insisted. I asked him why. He said he just wanted to know I was there, at home. To this day, I can’t explain precisely what happened to me at that moment. Yet I suddenly knew I had to leave my job. [2]

gambits

. . . ever had that problem of bumping some high priority over into the next day? It keeps getting bumped from day to day, week to week. Maybe you even have a signed copy of Julie Morganstern’s Organizing from the Inside Out. Or maybe you’ve already read through Time Management for Dummies several times and have succeeded in an organized life and office. Yet each morning we still have to ask ourselves, "What’s important?" That’s what Stephen Covey would ask himself. What’s important in my life? It almost takes an outside voice, an interruption to get our attention and to help us look objectively to where our life is pointed. Sometimes it takes a prophet to confront us and say, "Consider how things are going with you." Sometimes the prophet can come from your own family . . .

Response to the Word—The response is terrific! Inertia is overcome and the two leaders and people roll up their sleeves and get proactive. They "obeyed the message from the LORD their God" (1:12).

Take courage . . . Take courage . . . Take courage! (verse 4). In sequential order, God speaks courage to Zerubbabel the governor, Jeshua (Joshua) the high priest, and "all you people still left in the land." This is not simply emotional dribble here – God reminds them of why they can take courage, why they can go on in the work that God has called them to: . . . for I am with you . . . My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.

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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible VII (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), page 725.
[2] Robert B. Reich, The Future of Success (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001), page 3.