Has it ever occurred to you how easy it is to prioritize everything else over the work of the Lord? You tidy up your life, fix your leaking kitchen sink, pay your bills, save for your children’s education, invest your money, expand your career portfolio, and yet, when it comes to God’s work, you tell yourself, “Maybe next year. Maybe when the children are older. Maybe when I am more financially stable. Maybe when life slows down. Maybe.” And so, the work of the Kingdom is left to “the few who have time,” while the majority settle in their “paneled houses”. Sound familiar?
Welcome to the Book of Haggai. It is a short prophetic book with a loud, thunderous voice. In the past few months, I preached 6 sermons on this book, 5 of which are available online on the UGCC YouTube channel. The book of Haggai is only two chapters long, yet as rich and weighty as any Pauline epistle. Haggai speaks not just to post-exilic Jews but to 21st-century Christians. This book exposes excuses, demolishes spiritual laziness, and revives the heart of God’s people to work, worship, and wait.
Its historical context is set in the year 520 B.C. The book of Ezra helps with this historical information. The Babylonian exile had ended. Cyrus, king of Persia, had allowed the Jews to return. About 50,000 Jews returned to a Jerusalem claimed by hostile foreigners – the Samaritans. They, however, set up an altar to Yahweh, and laid the foundation to the temple until opposition struck and they stopped the work. For 16 years, the temple lay in ruins. It was unattended, avoided, and forgotten. Life went on. Priorities shifted. Apathy set in. And then came the voice of God through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah in both rebuke and encouragement. A voice that still speaks today. I wrote two hymns (available on the Grace and Truth Hymns app) on this to help Christians understand this message more.
We know almost nothing about Haggai’s personal life. He appears suddenly in 520 B.C., delivers four heavy sermons over four months, and then disappears. Haggai was a prophet of Yahweh, and his words were not suggestions. They were God’s word. Repeatedly, we hear the refrain: “…declares the LORD of hosts.” Why would any of the Jews listen? Because when Haggai spoke, Yahweh Sabaoth spoke. The Lord of hosts is the Commander of angel armies. And His powerful word still stands. His rebuke still pierces. His promises still encourage. His priorities remain the same.
Haggai’s prophecy is structured around four precise messages, each dated to the day:
1st Message (1:1–15) – A call to rebuild the Temple
Date: 1st day of the 6th month (29 August 520 B.C.)
2nd Message (2:1–9) – Encouragement to the discouraged
Date: 21st day of the 7th month (17 October 520 B.C.)
3rd Message (2:10–19) – A call to holiness and divine blessing
Date: 24th day of the 9th month (18 December 520 B.C.)
4th Message (2:20–23) – A messianic promise to Zerubbabel
Date: Same day as above.
These prophetic messages alternate between rebuke and reassurance, correction and comfort, command and covenant. They address both the leadership (Zerubbabel the governor, and Joshua the high priest) and the people. In short, Haggai spoke to every person of the covenant community. Today, Haggai speaks to everyone in the church. Every person needs to obey Haggai’s message. So, here are 8 lessons I helped members of Upendo Gospel Community Church draw from Haggai:
- God’s Work Must Be a Priority
“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” (1:4)
The central rebuke of the book is clear: God’s people were prioritizing their comfort over God’s glory. They claimed it wasn’t “yet time” (1:2), but they had time for themselves. Paneled houses in Haggai’s day were luxurious mansions, not basic shelter. The people were not outright rejecting God’s Temple; they were simply delaying its rebuilding. They had convinced themselves that the time was not right. Perhaps they had said: “We will build the Temple when we are more financially stable. We will serve the Lord when the political situation improves. We will get serious about God’s work when our families are secure. We will return to worship when life is less difficult.” This is the deception of complacency: it does not deny the importance of God’s work—it denies its urgency. Spiritual laziness postpones God’s work indefinitely. God’s indictment was not against shelter but their lack of spiritual life, their spiritual laziness. Is this not relevant to us today? The Lord is not against homes, but He is jealous for His own glory. We, too, can become Christians who have priorities on earthly things: building careers, planning weddings, decorating homes, etc., but when it comes to matters of the Kingdom, growing as a holy people, evangelizing the lost, and such things, we delay. Have we neglected prayer, convincing ourselves that we are too busy? Have we neglected evangelism, thinking that we need to wait for the “right moment”? Have we neglected personal holiness, telling ourselves that we will deal with sin “later”? - God Sends Bitter Providences to Awaken Slothful Christians
“You have sown much, and harvested little… you eat, but you never have enough… you earn wages to put them into a bag with holes.” (1:6)
God purposely withheld blessings from the Jews to expose their misaligned hearts (1:9–11). Many times our frustrations and failures are not merely circumstantial. They are providential. They are ordained by God to wean us off the world. Are your efforts unfruitful? Does your money disappear mysteriously? Does joy seem elusive even when your life appears ‘settled’? Perhaps God is kindly calling you to consider your ways. This is not prosperity theology. This is discipline theology. The Lord disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:6). The spiritual and physical are connected under God’s providence. - True Repentance Leads to Immediate Obedience
“And the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God… and the people feared the Lord.” (1:12)
In verses 12-15, we witness the first signs of true obedience, as the people repent and heed the voice of the Lord and begin the work they had long neglected. The rebuke had done its work. The call to action had been heard. The response? Obedience, reverence, and the stirring of the Spirit. The people returned to the work of rebuilding the ruins. No delay. No debate. No committees. No “let us pray about it.” Just obedience. The people resumed the temple work within twenty-four days. Imagine if every sermon at your church ended in such obedience! What transformation we’d see. Faithfulness to God is rarely about “feeling ready”; it’s about fearing God rightly and obeying Him urgently. - God Is with Those Who Obey Him
“I am with you, declares the Lord.” (1:13)
God’s presence is not an abstract idea. It is real, active, and transformative. There is a sequence in Haggai: God’s Word → Fear → Obedience → Presence. When the people obeyed, God stirred their spirits, and His covenantal presence was reaffirmed. The church today often wants the experience of God’s nearness without the yoke of God’s will. But God walks closely with those who walk obediently. Christian, do you want heart-revival? Do you yearn for communion with God? Start with contrite repentance and faithful obedience. - Ministry Work Is Often Discouraging But God Strengthens
“Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now?” (2:3)
The older generation remembered Solomon’s temple. The current temple looked, well, pathetic. But God said: Be strong… work… fear not (2:4–5). Why? “My Spirit remains in your midst.” How easily they despised small beginnings. Yet, isn’t this us? How quickly we get discouraged when progress is slow or unimpressive. Haggai reminds us that we do not measure our ministry by the size of our church structure or the number of our converts but by the size of our Saviour. Christians today must take courage: God builds through mustard seeds, small flocks, and fragile men. - God’s Covenant Promises Sustain Our Efforts
“According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt…” (2:5)
This is the heart of covenantal theology. God tied His comfort to these discouraged and spiritually deficient Jews to His ancient promises to their forefathers. The same God who walked with them through the Red Sea was with them through the construction. He had not changed. His covenant love remained steadfast. We live post-Cross, post-Resurrection. Calvary seems as far away from us as the Red Sea seemed to these Jews of Haggai’s time. But the principle remains: God’s covenant faithfulness is the anchor of ministry perseverance. His Covenant to us is through Christ who has united us forever to Himself! We have the greatest assurance that God will sustain us, every Christian who is in Christ. - Holiness Is Not Transferred by Contact, but Defilement Is
“If someone carries holy meat…does it become holy? No… If someone… touches a dead body… does it become unclean? Yes.” (2:12–13)
This stunning lesson revealed a truth we all forget: Holiness is not contagious, but sin is. These Jews were building God’s temple, engaging in holy work, using sacred materials, and following divine instructions. Yet, their spiritual condition was defiled, and that defilement was contaminating everything they touched. God was deeply concerned about the state of their hearts. He sent Haggai to remind them that their worship, their offerings, and even their work on the temple were defiled because of their sin. Many churches today are full of religious activity but lack true holiness. Righteousness is not automatically transmitted. You can be around holy people, in a holy place, doing holy things and still be defiled. If we allow sin to remain unchecked in our lives and in our churches, it spreads like a disease, corrupting everything it touches. God wants a pure heart, not just clean hands. The implication? Religious activity is not the same as spiritual vitality. Examine yourself. Be clean. Serve the Lord with integrity. - God Does Reverse the Curse and Restore the Blessing
“From this day on I will bless you.” (2:19)
After addressing the heart issue, God gives a stunning promise: “Mark this day. Your famine ends. Your frustration lifts. Your barns will fill.” Not because of superstition. But because of renewed covenant obedience. God’s blessings are connected to obedience. We cannot expect God to bless us while we continue in unrepentant sin. He does not bless empty ritualism, but He does delight to bless faithful and obedient response. This is not a promise of earthly riches. It is the promise of Divine favour, providential supply, and covenant joy. Can our churches and homes echo this promise? They can, if our hearts are aligned with God’s word. Many people in the world are seeking peace and assurance but looking in the wrong places. Some find temporary comfort in alcohol, entertainment, or social media. Others put their hope in politicians, friends, or relationships. Many think peace will come if they achieve a certain level of success. But true peace does not come from the world, it comes only from Christ: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” This is the promise of Jesus amidst a shaking world, an uncertain age, a terrifying generation.
This book is a trumpet blast to a distracted church. It is God’s mirror to every Christian who has delayed obedience in the name of convenience. And it is a comforting promise of a greater Temple and a greater King. So let me ask: What are you building with your life? Are you laying stones in God’s house or paneling your own? Is your worship merely just Sunday worship or rooted in knowing the covenant God who changes not? Is your ministry discouraged by its appearance, or emboldened by God’s promises in Scripture? Is your heart holy or are you too busy for sanctification? Let us repent where we are distracted and have deprioritized God. Let us return where we have been distant from God. Let us finally rejoice in our salvation as we await the glory to come. “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former…and in this place I will give peace.” (Haggai 2:8–9).
May the peace of the true Temple – our Lord Jesus Christ – fill us, stir us, and lead us to build that which will endure forever.
