Between the months of August and December four sermons were preached. The first and third of the sermons were about disobedience and the second and third sermons were about the coming time when God will shake the nations and set up his kingdom. Do you remember those sermons? I don’t either. These messages were preached by the Old Testament prophet Haggai in the year 520 B.C. We know the exact time because of the very first verse in this little book. Haggai only has two chapters, and these four sermons all start, “The word of the Lord came unto Haggai.” His name means the “Festal One.” What does festal mean? The best guess is he was born during a time that was festive. A happy and exciting time. The book of Haggai can be placed historically alongside Ezra. It can actually be placed between Ezra 4 and Ezra 5. That makes the book after the exile, post-exilic. What made the time happy and why would they have a festival? After seven long decades of Babylonian captivity, Cyrus, the Persian, had told the Jews to go home if you wish. It is estimated that about 50,000 accepted the offer and returned to Israel. Another possibility is when named, his parents anticipated the glorious time in the future when Messiah would come. Upon returning, the job at hand was to rebuild the Temple Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, had destroyed. The belief among the Jewish people was if there was a Temple, the Messiah would come. This belief came from II Samuel 7. With this thought etched in their minds the work began. They began by repairing the altar for sacrificing and laying the foundation for the Temple. But God’s people, including God’s people today, easily get distracted and discouraged. That’s what happened to Israel when they returned to start the work. Let me share three thoughts from Haggai 1.
1.    Haggai Admonishes (1:1-11). The preacher begins to lay out God’s message to the people. It is very interesting to me the description Haggi gives referencing God. He calls God the “Lord of the hosts.” This phrase is used fourteen times in both chapters. It simply means “the Lord of the armies.” Israel had no army, so no doubt this is speaking of the angelic armies and even the pagan armies which also do God’s bidding, even when they don’t recognize that truth. Why the admonition? They lost their focus, and the foundation of the Temple lay undisturbed for 16 years. The first two years back in the Land things were going well. But then the priorities changed. It was probably gradual but soon they were now building their own homes instead of the main focus of the Temple, the reason for the return in the first place. 1:4 speaks about their “ceiled” houses. Their homes were decked out with paneling while the house of the Lord lay waste. “Consider your ways” is a key phrase used five times in this little book. That admonition is still true today. How often do we speak about our love for God and His church only to allow other things to become the priority. Seeking first the kingdom of God is a command that hasn’t been revoked. The house of God should be a great priority. I can hear the argument now from segments of Christendom. “In the NT age, we are the Temple. We don’t go to a temple that is earthly.” I agree. So why aren’t you and I doing in those temples the things we know are God’s priorities? Neglect of the Word, neglect of prayer, neglect of witnessing, neglect of giving and neglect of _______. Fill in the blank. The prophet rebuked them with his message from the Lord of hosts. They had become selfish. Never enough material things personally to the detriment of God’s house and work. Consider this a call to honestly examine our hearts and set things right.
2.    The People Answered (1:12-15). We see the response of the people. First through their leaders Zerubbabel and Joshua, then all the remnant that had returned. Obedience was the word of the day. The people responded in a positive way. It is a beautiful thing when God’s people respond with a right attitude when called out by the Bible. Verse 12 tells us the people also “did fear the Lord.” God was reverenced.
3.    The Lord Anointed (1:13-15). How did the Lord respond when the people listened to the prophet, heard the message, and made a change in their behavior? The Lord told them “He was with them” (1:13). He stirred the spirits of Zerubbabel and Joshua, their leaders, as well as the people. The enthusiasm for the work of God returned and the atmosphere was once again festive because their relationship had been mended. When the fulness of God is on us, there’s nothing like it in the whole world. Yesterday, I was out visiting. One of my visits was with a man battling cancer. He is a man that loves God and has a long time, yet he has cancer. I sat and listened to him describe the horrific pain he was in while in the hospital. The pain medicine would help for only a few minutes, and the horrible pain would return with vengeance. He cried out to God and said, “You don’t know how much pain I’m in.” In his mind, the Lord spoke to him and said, “I know the pain.” “No, you don’t” was his reply. He told me how guilty he felt just having this conversation in his soul. Then suddenly he saw in his mind the Lord Jesus strapped down and being scourged with a cat-of-nine-tails. He started to weep and confess to the Lord. Immediately in his body he felt a warmth come over him and the pain lessen. He related to me he’d never felt the presence of God as much as that. It happened again the next day. His heart was overflowing with the love of God as he told me about those long nights in the hospital. I thought about my own life and the times the fulness of God was so real. I think that is what happened when these Israelites began focusing on the Lord and His work again instead of on themselves. When God is with us, we can be “festal ones” just as Haggai.