Haggai 1:3-6 - You have sown much, but harvested little

1:3,4

“Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” The previous verse says “Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet”. He has just talked about the people saying the time is not right to build the house of the Lord, a very human reaction. We are now going to get a stinging rebuke from the Lord. This response did not come from the cleverness of Haggai, but from the mind of God. When it says “paneled houses” this can mean, and probably does mean, “roofed-in”. Ie they had repaired the roof, rather than that they had decorated their houses with some elaborate decor. So God’s question is “is it right that we patch up our own lives while God’s house is left a ruin?”

1:5,6

Now why is it essential to get God’s house in order when our lives need putting together? Or to put it another way, why should I give to God when my own finances need attention or are in such a mess? Indeed, not only why should I give to God, how can I possibly give to God when my own needs are so great? We are going to get part of the answer here, and part later on. The part given here is “consider your ways”. They had devoted efforts to getting their lives in order but they weren’t working! So why must we give proper attention to God? Because our lives are completely dependent upon Him. He created us in the first place, He created the universe in which we live, and we are completely and utterly dependent upon Him for every moment of our being. So it is foolish not to give proper attention to Him!