Haggai 1:3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, One of the most palpable effects of the Fall is that it has led man to live for himself. Sin is essentially selfish, and one of the first effects of redemption is to make man live for others. Real Christianity always takes a man out of himself. Yet the Christian carries about with him a sinful body, which is always craving for indulgence. The Christian's constant danger is lest his Saviour's glory should cease to be paramount to every other consideration. Christ must be first, or the soul will find a want in everything. Observe the name God takes here — "Lord of hosts." When God is about to ask His people for anything, or to supply His people with anything, this is the name by which He generally addresses them in the Old Testament. Observe the sin of the people here. "The time is not come that the Lord's house should be built." It was not a denial of God's claim upon them, it was a putting God off. Is not this the sin of the present day?, God asks for His place in the heart of the sinner, and the answer is, "Not yet." The sin of all, converted and unconverted, is that of putting God off. We have not the courage, the straightforwardness, to disallow His claim altogether. We add mockery to our sin by acknowledging the justice of a claim which we have inwardly determined shall never be met. While we are dwelling in our ceiled houses, and the Lord's house is lying in ruins, what is the consequence even in this life? The end of everything they did, these people missed. Christ is the end, the satisfying thing in all. Toil without Him must end in vanity, it God, reminds them of their disappointment in everything, and the cause of . Because of Mine house that is waste." What is this breath wherewith the Lord blows upon everything? The breath of His Spirit withering everything we do, because His house is in ruins. What is the Divine remedy? "Consider your ways." Pass in review your heart, your life, your daily history. Set about the duty of the hour, and put your heart into the doing of it. (F. Whitfield, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,WEB: Then the Word of Yahweh came by Haggai, the prophet, saying, |
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