City Church Seven Hills

Lucas Dutil

Youth Pastor

If you have not read Day 1, then I would encourage you to start there to gather the necessary context before moving forward. We left off in verse 7, and the Lord has just rebuked the Israelites with this message: You have misplaced your priorities, and my house lies in ruins. Today we will see how this has affected the people, and tomorrow we will observe what their response was to this rebuke.

First, it is important to understand the nature and heart of the Lord towards His people.  If it is of God, then it is for the good of His people. Period.  If it still looks broken, then He isn’t finished yet (See Hebrews 12:5-11 for further study).  We must take this mindset into today’s reading.

Picking up at 1:7-8, 

“‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house.  Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored’, says the Lord.” (NLT)

I noticed first that the Lord gives specific directions to begin.  He tells them to go to the hills, cut down the trees, and begin the work.  I believe this is because the Lord knows that a vision without a system to support it is rendered useless.  The people must have steps to take in faith for the journey to begin.  Knowing that the temple would not be built in a day produced the necessity of a closeness to the Lord to trust His prescription for the work.  Just like the people of Israel, we must seek the Lord to find out our steps, and we believe He has given us the first initiatives for our church family.  

The first is simple: pray for revival. I’ve recently begun to pray these three things every day and I would encourage you to do the same: 

1. Lord, stretch me so I can believe for great things; 
2. ruin me so I care deeply for the lost; 
3. heal me, so that from the overflow of your work in my life, others may come seeking. 

The second step we have been given is to be welcoming.  Hospitality is not receiving your friends well; it is receiving those whom you don’t know well, even your enemies.  We must focus on and emphasize, even at the cost of our comfort, those behaviors which will make us a place that gives grace and space to newcomers.  They must feel at home during their time with us, and this practice must also extend into our personal lives outside of church.   As our church enters this new season, we believe that as we step by faith into the directives He has given, He will take pleasure in it and be honored (verse 7).

Verses 9-11, 

“‘You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins,’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, ‘while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. I have called for a drought on your fields and hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.’”  

The Lord’s removal of blessing was His kindness towards the people.  You may have to read that again.  He, as our creator, understands what we need more than we understand.  We must not be content to play our own paltry version of god for our lives because, frankly, we don’t know what is best for us without His help. And that’s okay.  Maybe take a deep breath; admit you need His help.  It has been said that if dependence on God is the goal then weakness may be our advantage.  In this passage we see, again, the Israelites have been working, but not receiving, and the Lord tells them why.  He has removed His blessing because He loves them – but it is His desire to bless them again.

“A car was made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself.  He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn or the food our spirits were designed to feed on.  There is no other.”  – CS Lewis

Today, Haggai asks us to evaluate our lives again. Are we working towards taking the steps the Lord has given us in order to bring His will for our city? Do we believe that we have a role to play? Do we know that He desires to bless us – first and foremost – with His presence? Perhaps you have experienced a season where the absence of terrestrial blessings was His gift and invitation for the thing you most need today – Himself. He is inviting you closer.