Are we acting like the post-exile Israelites?
Before you dismiss this comparison, think about what the prophet Haggai said to the people. As you read, please note that “paneled houses” is a symbol of luxury. Some commentators believe that many people literally took from the temple’s building materials to furnish their own houses.
HAGGAI CHAPTER 1: 1-7 & 12-15
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 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. 9 “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. 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
The people had “nice” houses / “nice” lives while the temple of God lay in ruins. Haggai told the people that they were unfulfilled because they had neglected the most important aspect of their lives …………. the Lord.
Think about your home, your belongings and lifestyle. Then, think about the church …….. not in a physical sense, but from a spiritual perspective.
Many American Christians live in large homes, drive nice automobiles, wear fine clothing, take expensive vacations, etc. When compared to the rest of the world, we live in luxury. As you probably know, the Church in the United States has slowly decayed since the 1960’s and 1970’s. It continues to decline; but, more sharply in this millennia. In short, our apathy towards the things of God is destroying the church and our country.
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
Some (the remnant) listened to the prophet and took action. “They came and worked on the house of the Lord of Hosts, their God.”
Will you come? Are you part of the believing remnant?
Jesus told us …………. WE MUST MAKE DISCIPLES AND TEACH THEM TO OBSERVE HIS COMMANDMENTS.
The Prophet Hosea proclaimed a similar message to the unfaithful and distracted Israelites.
HOSEA CHAPTER 4: 1
1 Listen to the word of the LORD, you sons of Israel, Because the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty, nor knowledge of God in the land.
The Hebrew word for “knowledge” is YADA. The knowledge is more than intellectual (information or content). The knowledge is relational (relationship with the person). It is the difference between knowing about someone versus knowing someone. This type of knowledge transforms. (taken from Hosea - the Bible Project). Unfortunately, many young people in the United States don’t even know the information about God, much less the relational aspect.
Consider the percentage of young people in the United States that are Biblically illiterate.
May I respectfully submit that it is because “we” [Christian parents] have neglected our God given privilege and responsibility to teach our kids the Word?
In general, children are not tested and/or held accountable for what they learn in church.
What message does that communicate to our child with respect to the importance of the subject matter?
Think about this for a moment ……..
Try to get “behind the eyes” of your children.
These thoughts changed me …………….
You and I are soldiers in a war. It is an epic battle of cosmic proportions. Every day we see new evidence of the impact of this conflict: wars and disruptions among nations and families, broken homes, suicide, abusive relationships and immorality of every imaginable kind. But we’ll never really understand the nature of this battle on the physical level. We have to understand that this war is ultimately being waged in the invisible, spiritual realm. Everything physical is either influenced or caused by a spiritual source.
—Dr. Tony Evans
“Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American School is a school of humanism. What can a theistic Sunday School’s meeting for an hour once a week and teaching only a fraction of the children do to stem the tide of the five day program of humanistic teaching?”
— Charles F. Potter
“Our greatest fear shouldn’t be the fear of failure, it should be the fear of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
— Dwight L. Moody / Francis Chan
“All young people should be raised with the conviction that they are to be missionaries and that their primary goal is to use their gifts and resources to advance God’s Kingdom so that every tribe, nation and people group have the opportunity to respond to their rightful king.”
— Ken Hemphill and Richard Ross
Parenting with a Kingdom Purpose - “They [Christian children] are to be missionaries, not in the sense that it is the child’s vocation, but in the sense that we are all called to be about the business of sharing the gospel.“
Can your child “pass” a verbal assessment concerning Bible knowledge from a Pastor at your church?
Can your child defend their faith when questioned about the reliability of the scriptures?
How would you objectively assess their “battle readiness”?
What if you handled your child’s education (reading, writing, history, mathematics, science, social studies, etc.) in the same manner you approach the spiritual part? What sort of future would you expect for them?
