Zambia Hunt

A Reflection on Haggai 1

If you are like me, it is easy to get increasingly caught up in the demands of life and making a living. This can go so far that we begin slowly to make decisions that are not morally wrong, but that flow from misplaced priorities.

And that kind of drift is often subtle. We don’t wake up one morning and say, “I no longer care about God.” Instead, we begin saying things like, “Not yet… not now… later… when the season is less demanding… when things settle down…”

You and I have been entrusted with a glorious stewardship—the stewardship of the glory of God, revealed through the gospel of Jesus Christ! Haggai 1 is God’s loving reminder to pause often and to “Consider Your Ways.”

This is why stewardship matters. Stewardship is not merely about budgets, or buildings, or plans for the year—it is about whether our lives are ordered around the priorities of God.

The Background

The book of Haggai opens in the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month—estimated to be August 29, 520 BC. God’s people had returned from exile to Judah. The foundation of the temple had been laid back in 536 BC, and then the work stalled.

Rather than denying God’s command to rebuild, the people delayed, allowing postponement to become a habit. Haggai 1 highlights both their excuses and God’s perspective.

In light of this, Haggai confronts God’s people with three calls, each of which still applies today: Consider Your Decisions, Consider Your Situation, and Consider Your Obedience.

Consider Your Decisions

The people had procrastinated doing what God commanded them to do. They said it was not yet time to build the house of God. They were not denying that God had instructed them to build. They were not refusing to serve Him. They were simply saying that the time wasn’t right.

They had good intentions—for future obedience. They had other priorities in mind. There were other things they needed to do, things they needed to finish, work they needed to complete, things that needed to fall into place—THEN they would build.

But their delay revealed wrong values. They valued personal comfort above God’s glory. Now, there is nothing wrong with providing for your family—in fact, if you refuse to provide, you are worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8). Service to God does not provide an excuse to neglect your responsibilities, but too often it is the other way around—we use our responsibilities as an excuse to not serve God.

The question is simple but searching: Do you value sleep, work, or something else MORE than you value God’s commands and instructions?

Consider Your Situation

Neglected priorities don’t remain hidden forever. When God’s people delay obedience, it eventually shows up in the fruit of their lives. So God not only confronts their decisions—He shows them their situation.

The frustration of a life under discipline is evident in verse 6. They sowed much seed but harvested little. They ate but did not have enough. They clothed their family but could not get warm. They earned wages, but it was like putting money into a bag with holes in it.

Despite all their effort and skill, they never had enough. God was not blessing these efforts—His hand of discipline was upon them. As Hebrews 12:6 reminds us, “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Let’s be clear: Scripture teaches that we suffer in this world for many reasons—because we live in a fallen world, because of trials, because of spiritual warfare, and because of human sin. But in Haggai 1, God explicitly tells them that their hardship is connected to their neglected priorities.

Without God’s blessing, prosperity often eludes us. We may work hard and earn well, and yet somehow the money disappears. The Lord is able to oppose our efforts—not because He hates His children, but because He loves them too much to let them go their own way.

The heartbreak of unmet hopes appears in verse 9. They had dreams and aspirations and worked hard to achieve them. They had high hopes, always expecting the “breakthrough,” yet it never came. Whatever they managed to bring home became like dust—and God blew it away.

The natural order turned against them in verses 10-11. The heavens withheld the dew, and the earth withheld its produce. God called for a drought on the land—affecting the grain, the oil, and the wine. It affected man and his labors—it even affected the animals.

Notice the widening circle of discipline: God describes their hardship in widening circles—from the inside of the home (v.6), to the hopes of the heart (v.9), and outward into the pressures on the land itself (v.10-11).

Consider Your Obedience

Once God exposes the root of the problem and the consequences of misplaced priorities, He does not leave them in guilt. He calls them back—not tomorrow, but immediately.

The call to action in verse 8 was a call to immediate action. The time for excuses had ended. Now was the time to move! “Go up to the hills, bring wood down, build my house!”

This is the turning point of the chapter. God does not merely diagnose the problem—He gives them a clear path of return. Why? So that God would take pleasure in them. When God smiles upon you with delight, the world and everything in it is beautiful! It all works together for good to those who love God faithfully. And so that God would receive the glory, our lives are to be all about the glory of God. This speaks of God’s manifest presence among His people in the temple. Not since the glory of God had departed in Ezekiel’s day had this happened.

Their response in verse 12 was exemplary. The leaders obeyed the word of the Lord and did ALL that the Lord commanded. The Lord had spoken clearly by His prophet Haggai; the people could not claim ignorance—they had God’s word on the matter. And the people worshipped God with covenant reverence. As Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

God’s promise in verses 13-14 is remarkable. God’s first response to their obedience is not a lecture—it is a promise. Haggai comforted and assured the people that God Himself was with them: “I am with you!” This is the covenant promise, and He promises this under the New Covenant as well. Those who are temples of the Holy Spirit are to shine the glory of God to those who are in darkness—and He will be with us “to the end of the age.”

This promise was evidenced by the stirring of the heart of the political leadership, the religious leadership, and all the people—they came and worked on the house of the Lord!

The Point

How we use our time, energy, and resources reveals our true priorities. Our time, money, and energy are never neutral. They always reveal what kingdom we are building.

Getting the priorities right brings the blessings. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.” When God’s people put His kingdom first, He ensures their needs are met!

So, how must you respond??

Consider your ways, and be like these people of Haggai’s day! From the time this message reached them, it was only 23 days before they began building. They did not delay their obedience—so don’t delay yours!

Make God and His priorities your priority, and the work will get done and your needs will be provided for.

The question is not whether you have priorities—it is whether God’s priorities have you.

Preached at Kitwe Church Annual General Meeting, January 25, 2026