Haggai 1:1—In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:

Have you ever found yourself driving through a neighborhood when out the corner of your eye you see Christmas decorations in someone’s yard? And it’s June? And you think to yourself, why are they still up? What are they waiting for? Or it’s 10pm and you’re working diligently on a 10-page paper for a class, except it’s due the next morning. When we are talking about blinking lights or big essays, what do we call this kind of behavior? Procrastination. The lingerer’s slogan is, “Why undertake today, what I can put off and do tomorrow.” Perhaps some of us struggle with putting things off.

On a more serious level, this was a problem in the book of Haggai. People were waiting to obey the Lord. Their submission was not prompt. They were dallying to do what God had commanded. Sometimes we can find ourselves delaying our duty to God. We forget today is the time to obey. Haggai helps us to consider this point.

The book of Haggai begins by giving us a time reference, In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month. It’s the year 520 BC and Darius I is reigning over the most powerful empire in the world, which included the Promised Land. A previous monarch, Cyrus the Great, had already allowed the Jews to return there from Babylon, if they chose, and as early as 538 BC, thousands did. When they entered Jerusalem, they had high hopes Israel would be fully restored with a new king, from David’s line on the throne. Instead, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel was governor. He was the grandson of Jehoiachin, former king in Judah, who had been exiled by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:15). Zerubbabel was of royal ancestry, but he did not lead the nation. The people were still under the power of Persia.

In addition, there had been hopes that the Temple would be rebuilt. After all, there was a high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak. His father served in that position when the Temple was destroyed in the 580s. Yet now, there was no Holy Sanctuary. The returnees had been commanded to rebuild it and had started about sixteen years prior to this book being written, but the Temple was still a pile of rubble, because they had grown lazy.

It was into these circumstances; God raised up a prophet—Haggai. We don’t know much about him. He was a contemporary with the prophet Zechariah, and he is mentioned in the book of Ezra a couple of times (Ez. 5:1, 6:14); but that’s it, nothing else. No birthplace is given. No genealogical information is provided, and no description of future ministry. We get zilch on Haggai, except for the four or so months that he prophesied. What we do know is that Haggai was called, he served, he obeyed, and he didn’t wait.

In some ways, Haggai was like Evelyn Holt. She was a godly lady, who lost her daughter, while she was young, and had to help raise her grandson, and she pointed him to Christ. She did it without a thousand eyes watching and without any recognition. She did what God called her to do. She was a faithful Granny ‘to me.’ What are we called to do? Where do we need to be faithful?

How about in our marriages, with husbands and wives encouraging, forgiving, and helping each other? Parents consistently do family worship with their kids and bring them to church. Singles, using their time not to serve themselves but to serve others. Employees, doing their job as unto the Lord, with joy and thankfulness in the heart. Christians, ministering in the church, witnessing to the lost, and pursuing holiness. Elders and deacons, spending and being spent for Christ and his flock. God has placed upon us various callings. Faithfulness is key.

It could be that we are struggling to do so, and that at times, we have failed miserably. Here’s some Good News. God knew that we would struggle with his call. And yet, he still called us anyway—to himself and to action. He did it knowing, “weak is the effort of our hearts.” You need to remember, great is the measure of his grace, especially shown in Christ. Find refresh strength and help in Jesus. He is grace embodied for you. Let that grace now stir you to heed his call and pursue faithfulness anew.

—Pastor Clif