Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.” Haggai 1:3-7
“Haggai is subtly calling the people to share the priorities of David and Solomon. If David felt guilty about living in a “house” before God’s “house” was completed and if Solomon provided a “paneled” house for God before himself, how can they live in paneled homes before the temple was rebuilt? With this rhetorical question still ringing in their ears, the people are now called to consider deeply another issue. The phrase “give careful thought to your ways” is unique to Haggai (1:5, 7, 2:15, 18) and calls for deep reflection over past behavior and experience. This identical phrase is repeated in 1:7 and creates and envelope around the exposure of past experiences.
Verse 6 outlines what the prophet calls the people to consider deeply. The cadence of this verse in the Hebrew text produces a powerful effect beginning with the main verb “you have planted much” and then followed by staccato bursts of infinitives that are captured by the translation, “eaten, but there is no satiety; drunk, but there is no quenching; dressed, but there is no warmth.” the initial scenario refers to the foundation of the economy, which then has an impact on all else in life materially: hunger, thirst, clothing, and wages.”
Mark J. Boda in Haggai, Zechariah (NIVAC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004) 90.
I have decided to turn our attention to Haggai for a while. His name means festive or festival. Think Holy day. He wants God’s people to get to work at rebuilding God’s house and opens his oracle with this charge.
My word for the year is “share” and Boda keenly notes that Haggai wants the people to “share the priorities” of David and Solomon. They appear only to care about their own homes while God’s house is a shambles.
Thought this took place around 520 B.C. or over 2,500 years ago, the proclivity or patterns of people remain the same. We tend not to squander money on stuff rather than allocated it toward God’s priorities.
So rather than you tell me what to do or me tell you what to do, let’s sit and soak for five minutes in the charge that bookends the message: “Give careful thought to your ways.”
What needs to change in how you allocate your time, energy, and how you spend money? These decisions impact all of life for you and for those around you: “Give careful thought to your ways.”
Those who choose to share the priorities of David and Solomon and give careful thought to their ways will undoubtedly grow in Christian generosity.