City Church Seven Hills

Lucas Dutil

Youth Pastor

As mentioned before, if you have not read the prior days, I would encourage you to return to those passages first before continuing to gather the proper context of what we are about to dive into.  In the first 11 verses, Haggai, a prophet of the Lord, has rebuked the Israelites due to their misprioritization: they have spent all of their effort and time building their houses, and not the house of the Lord. Because of this, the Lord, in His kindness, has removed His hand of blessing from them.

The rebuke came, and this provided the Israelites with a decision: will we change or will we continue in our ways?  It is important to stop and notice something here.  Everything that is of God is an invitation for us – including His rebukes. When the Lord removed His blessing and rebuked the people, it was not out of anger, but out of love, and every invitation requires a response.  To not answer is, essentially, to give a reply that places comfort higher than engagement, passivity over activity, and it is to take a step, by non-action, away from God.  The sin of passivity keeps many Christians in a life of apathy.  We see in verse 12 how the Israelites responded:

“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest began to obey the message from the Lord their God.  When they heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom the Lord their God had sent, the people feared the Lord.  Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord: ‘I am with you, says the Lord.’” (NLT)

The first thing to notice is the burden, blessing, and responsibility of leadership.  Those in charge of the city accepted the invitation and pursued it.  It is difficult to know how the people may have responded if they had not.  A Godly leader must always embody the vision and heart that he prescribes, or at the first sign of difficulty, the people may waver.  It is also imperative for the leader to remain close to the Lord for the people’s sake, or the people may follow the leader to a place that the Lord was not leading (See Matthew 15:13).  In this instance, the people accepted God’s invitation with their leaders.

The next thing I notice is this progression: 

1. the fear of the Lord came;
2. the Lord’s presence follows (His promise that He is with them);
3. the Lord gives enthusiasm.  

The fear of the Lord is one of the most common expressions in the Bible, and it is always in connection to an increased understanding, blessing, and strength in the Lord to those who have it and seek it.  Those who grow in the fear of the Lord learn to fear nothing else, for if God is with them than nothing can stand against – not pathology, poverty, pain, or passivity (Romans 8:31)  A mind that weighs the Lord properly – and reveres Him appropriately – does not have time for the idol and sad false-deity of comfort.  It begins the work that the Lord has called them to.  As if this were not enough, it is the fear of the Lord that causes the Lord to, by his grace, give enthusiasm to complete the work.  

As a church body, we must choose to hold our leaders to the vision that He is giving the church body. We must pray for them, prioritize relationship with them, and provide for them. They must not feel estranged from the body as many in church leadership do. Second, we must seek to grow in a holy fear of the Lord. We must ask the question often, and in every situation until it becomes habitual: “In this matter, whose opinion do I hold most valuable?” Finances, security, sexuality, raising children, hobbies, everything must come to a place where His opinion is held higher than our own. As we do this, our minds and lives will be conformed to His perfect will, and he will provide the enthusiasm to walk humbly with Him as we follow in obedience.