February 1, 2024 

 Complete My House

Rev. Darryl Jackson

Haggai 1:1-8 1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this [a]temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!6 “You have sown much, and bring in little;You eat, but do not have enough;You drink, but you are not filled with drink;You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;And he who earns wages,Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the [b]temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

Haggai was a prophet who is called to motivate God’s people to complete the Temple of God.  This is the second temple that Zerubbabel will Complete.  Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah during the time that King Darius ruled the Persian Empire. So we find, Judah has returned, the temple has not been rebuilt and Haggai receives the word of the Lord and delivers it to Zerubbabel the now governor of Judah and to Joshua the high priest.  

In this verse, we find God displeased with His people because the Lord’s house should be built by now. Haggai tells us that the Lord asks this question, “Is it time for you to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” 

This makes me think of a  practical application in that we face this same scenario today.  We often still fail to build the temple of God.  I’m not referring to a brick-and-mortar building but rather, WE ARE HIS TEMPLE.  The place He resides, if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.  The place He entrusts us to grow and nurture in His Word and in His presence.

Many of us fail to beautify and adorn our souls with knowledge of His ways, watering and nurturing the fruits of His Spirit growing in the court, hanging the entranceway with love and kindness, keeping grace and mercy at the gates, and keeping Jesus as the light unto our pathways.

Just as God was not pleased that Judah made sure their own homes had nice paneling on the walls while His Temple continued to lay in ruins, He is not pleased with us when we leave His temple unattended. The Lord says, “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” 

In other words, nothing you do amounts to anything because you fail to give me glory by not building my Temple.  If we look further in at verse 9 the Lord says, “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.” The people of Judah could not find success in all their work because they failed to build the temple of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;” The Lord is looking for us to take care of His temple, physically and spiritually.  

The gift of salvation was given to us freely and He paid the cost but what are we doing with that gift.  It wasn’t meant for us to sit on and to leave as a framework but rather to build up and give Him the Glory.  This means we ought to find ourselves constantly seeking Him, drawing closer to Him, studying His word, setting aside prayer time, and intentionally walking after Christ.  When we do this, we build and sure up His Temple and He is glorified, and He finds delight and takes pleasure in us.  

We want so much out of life but fail to work on the very place where our Sustainer resides.  But if we seek Him first then all our needs will be added unto us.  So let us consider our ways, and build the temple of God that is within us. Amen.