"From this day on I will bless you"

Haggai 2:15-19

25^th September 2020

Last time we looked at the first part of Haggai's fifth prophecy. Now we'll look at the rest of it:

Haggai 2v15-19
"Now give careful thought to this from this day on – consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me," declares the Lord.
"From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. From this day on I will bless you."

Finally, 19 years late, God's people had finished laying the foundation of God's house, the second temple in Jerusalem, to replace Solomon's temple which had been destroyed by the invading Babylonians. Now, having called His people to obey and to build, and having seen them achieve the first step in rebuilding the temple, God calls His people to consider.

Do we take time to consider? It's right to provide for our families, and it's right to commit time, energy and money to building God's house - the church. But it's also necessary to take time to stop, to pray and to think - to consider. I urge you not to be busy all the time, but to take time with God.

If God's people in Haggai's generation would stop to consider, they would realise that "before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple" - before they set to work for God, His temple, His kingdom - they were never happy, never satisfied, never blessed: "When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty."

And God was completely candid about why that was. His people never had enough because, He says, "I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail". We need to hear this message: When we neglect God's house, God will neglect us. More than that, He will cause our endeavours to fail. We will not prosper. Under the New Covenant, our lack may not be financial. We may have enough oil and grain, but we may lack peace, fulfilment, joy and fruitfulness in God's service. Our hearts and our lives may feel flat and empty.

And we need to hear a second message. God says, "yet you did not turn to me". Times when life is difficult and unfulfilling are sent by God to bring us back to him, yet so many Christians make the terribly destructive mistake of seeing such times as signs of God's disfavour, when really they're a Fatherly call to come back to Him.

If you feel like your life isn't really working out right now, if you're sick or unhappy, or just fed up, turn to God, and He will turn to you (James 4:8).

Now that His people were taking His call to build the temple - the church - seriously, God called them again to consider, saying: "From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid."

God says to them, and perhaps to you and me, "Give careful thought: is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. From this day on I will bless you."

Let us give careful thought. Is like difficult? Are our hearts empty? Do we struggle to bear fruit for our Lord Jesus? If we will re-lay the foundation of His temple - the church - then God promises us, "From this day on I will bless you."

God doesn't demand everything before He'll bless you, but He does call you to make a start, to put His kingdom before your own, to show some commitment and achieve something in His name. Is there something God is calling you to do? Then don't delay any longer. Work for His glory, today. You will experience His blessing.