Haggai 1
Give Careful Thought to your Ways!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, October 5.
Have you ever been distracted by your circumstances? Whether for a moment or for fifteen years, it is easy to lose focus on what you set out to do. Israel returned from Babylonian captivity with a clear purpose in mind – to reestablish Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. But they got frustrated and discouraged by the constant opposition they faced, even though King Cyrus had authorized their return and work in 538 BC (Ezra 4:4-5). The historical situation of the prophet is clearly stated in Haggai 1:1-4:
In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” ’ ” Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?”
It was now 520 BC, the second year of King Darius, when the efforts to rebuild the temple began, encouraged by two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, as we learned from the post-exilic history book of Ezra (Ezra 4:24-5:2). There was a fifteen-year gap in construction efforts because of the discouragement caused by the opposition against the returned remnant of Israel, led by Zerubbabel, the governor of Jerusalem. They all needed redirection, so God sent them His prophets to say, “You are distracted; return to Me and My purposes.”
Seize the moment and give careful thought to your ways – “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). Are you distracted?
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.