{"id":78969,"date":"2020-08-18T17:03:58","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T14:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78969"},"modified":"2020-08-18T17:03:58","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T14:03:58","slug":"reflect-refocus-rebuild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/reflect-refocus-rebuild\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflect, Refocus, Rebuild"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"78969","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":73524,"related_cahpter":"549","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A shift in spiritual priorities changes the course of history\r\n\r\n","content":"

With Haggai, we begin a new period in Jewish history \u2013 the return to the land of Israel following the replacement of the Babylonian Empire with the more benign Persians. His prophecy is one of the few where every speech is given an explicit date, all in the latter half of 520 BCE. At the time, the nascent community of returnees had been in Judah for eighteen years, since Cyrus originally decreed that the Jewish people had permission to return to their land. The original returnees were optimistic and hopeful, and began laying the foundation for the building of the second Temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, they faced growing opposition from the Samaritan community, who were rebuffed in their attempt to join in the rebuilding \u2013 first by attempting to infiltrate the ranks of the builders, and when that didn\u2019t work, resorting to scare tactics, and slandering the Jewish community to the Persian authorities, who abruptly withdrew their consent, leaving the small and fledgling community defenseless and unable to proceed. Sixteen years, we find them discouraged and vulnerable, having quit the rebuilding and waiting passively for an uncertain future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter Haggai. He remains largely unique among the prophets for one key reason: the people of Judah listened to him! His message is simple yet passionate – rebuild the Temple! He begins his prophecy acknowledging their opposition: “This people has said, \u2018The time has not come-the time for the house of the Lord to be built.\u2019” They suffer from a lack of food, clothing, and shelter, and there were plenty of external factors that they could blame their suffering and difficulties on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is\u00a0 where Haggai’s message is so powerful. It wasn’t enough for him to play the role of enthusiastic cheerleader, encouraging them to finish building the Temple and to have hope in God for the promise of blessings in the future. Instead, he changes their focus. He completely ignores the external factors described in Ezra (ch. 4 and 5). Instead, he focuses on the internal issues \u2013 specifically, their egocentric behavior and mistaken priorities. They placed their own interests before the Lord\u2019s interests, looking after their own safety and security without giving consideration to the status of the Lord\u2019s house, and then bewailing their personal difficulties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Haggai challenges them to first reflect:<\/span><\/p>\n

Now thus said the LORD of Hosts: Consider how you have been faring! You have sowed much and brought in little; you eat without being satisfied; you drink without getting your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one gets warm…Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Consider how you have fared: Go up to the hills and get timber, and rebuild the House; then I will look on it with favor\u2026 (1:5-8)<\/span><\/p>\n

Haggai’s genius was helping the people refocus. Through the physical act of rebuilding the Temple, the people demonstrated a shift in their spiritual priorities: from devotion to self toward devotion to God. 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