Haggai 1:7-11
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.
You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of My house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.
Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.
And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” (ESV)
Key Idea:
God sovereignly withholds blessing, in love and wisdom, to restore His covenant people.
Introduction
• God remains actively involved in the lives of His redeemed people
• The danger of welcoming God as Savior while resisting Him as Lord
• Post-exilic Israel: outward religion restored, inward priorities disordered
• Temple neglected, personal comfort prioritized
• God reveals that their frustration is covenantal, not accidental
Key truth:
Covenant neglect is costly, but covenant discipline is gracious
1. God Commands Reflection (v7)
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.”
1.1 The Call to Self-Examination
• A repeated command stressing urgency and seriousness
• Not suggestion, but divine summons
• Call to interpret life covenantally and theologically
1.2 The Authority Behind the Command
• “The LORD of hosts” is sovereign ruler over all things
• God governs circumstances, prosperity, and discipline
• Providence is purposeful, not random
1.3 Reflection as a Means of Grace
• Biblical self-examination leads to repentance and restoration
• God’s warning is protective, not punitive
• Loving correction meant to prevent greater harm
Application:
• Evaluate spiritual dryness, frustration, and weariness through the lens of priorities
• Ask not merely what is wrong with circumstances, but with devotion.
2. God Explains His Discipline (vv 9-11)
“You looked for much, and behold, it came to little…”
2.1 Frustration is Intentional
• God interprets their experience for them
• Their labor is real, but God frustrates the outcome
• Discipline is covenantal, not circumstantialMerciful frustration, not destructive judgment
2.2 Misplaced Priorities Expose the Heart
• God’s house neglected, personal houses prioritized
• Issue is worship, not architecture
• Delayed obedience equals disobedience
• Respectable neglect is still neglect
Application:
• Beware of religious activity without spiritual priority
• God may withhold satisfaction as an act of mercy
3. God Acts Powerfully and Purposefully (vv 10–11)
“I have called for a drought…”
3.1 God Governs Nature for Redemptive Ends
• Drought is theological, not merely meteorological
• God sovereign over rain, harvest, labor, and outcomes
• Affirms divine control over secondary causes
3.2 Discipline is Designed to Awaken, not Destroy
• God touches every false refuge
• Purpose is restoration, not annihilation
• Covenant discipline aims at repentance and return
Application:
• Hardship may be a call to realignment
• God disrupts comfort to restore devotion
4. The Christ Connection: Discipline Without Condemnation
Haggai speaks under the Old Covenant
• Christ bears the covenant curse fully
• No condemnation for those in Christ
• New Covenant discipline is fatherly, not punitive
• Affliction as evidence of God’s love and care
Conclusion: A Loving Cost
• Covenant neglect brings emptiness and frustration
• Covenant discipline aims at repentance and restoration
• God disciplines to draw His people back, not drive them away
• Call to humble self-examination and renewed obedience
• Hope grounded in God’s promise: “I am with you.” (Haggai 1:13)