Haggai 1:6: “You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you have not enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourself but there is none warm; and he that earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes.”
Throughout my life I have heard the book of Haggai quoted during church building programs where the building of a church is likened to the rebuilding of the temple and if one does not tithe the result is seen in verse 1:6. However, let us just take a look at Haggai from an historical context and see if an application can be made today.
Haggai and Zechariah were among the first to return to the land of Israel after the captivity. The Jews usually date the captivity from the destruction of the temple in 586 BC to the rebuilding of the temple in 515 BC. Actually, the first deportation of the Jews started in 605 BC almost 19 years before the temple was destroyed and the first returned of the Jews under the Persian King Cyrus led by Shesbazzar and later Zerubbabel was in 538 BC. Here we find a very interesting footnote, Christian scholars date the captivity from the first captive to the return but Jewish scholars date the captivity from the date of the destruction of the temple to the rebuilding of the temple. You see, to the Jews, captivity meant being separated from the presence of God which dwelled in the temple.
The temple was the central place of worship. Without the temple and the altar true Levitical worship could not take place. The real captivity was when the Jews could not properly worship God or stand in His presence. In captivity the Jews established synagogues to discuss the law and would pray every day toward Jerusalem, as a substitute for worship, but not true worship. The presence of God in the temple was far away. Actually, life in captivity was not so bad. Jews became literate during their captivity, held trusted positions and were even allowed to own their own businesses. Yet, they longed to return to their land and rebuild their temple because that was where the presence of God resided and they could resume their worship. To compare our local church building to the temple would not be accurate because the Apostle Paul made a statement in I Corinthians 3:16 that shows the distinction between the temple in Jerusalem and our local church buildings. “Know ye not that you are the temple of God and the Spirit dwells in you.” Hence if there is any building program to compare to the temple it is in us. We no longer build a building for God to dwell in as that building exist in us. As long as you are alive, the temple is there, but that does not mean it is well maintained.
So since this verse speaks of the Jewish people neglecting to rebuild the temple, can this verse apply to us today since the temple of God dwells within us and we cannot be separated from our temple like the Jews taken into captivity.
I had an elderly woman board my bus using a walker. She barely made it on and was moaning the whole trip. In fact she was gasping for breath the whole time. I was not too alarmed as this has been her condition for over a year but on this occasion I could not help but wonder what kind of temple this is for a woman. She is a Godly woman who spent her life loving Jesus. Then I thought of another elder person I once met who was much older than her. But first let me give you some background to this story. You see I paid my way through college working as a ventriloquist and I was quite successful at it. I had more speaking gigs than I could handle. I was doing well, making a lot of money and receiving many compliments on what a great minister I was to use my talents for the Lord.
I recalled a day that I was to perform before a very large audience and receive a nice check at the end. I was a student at Moody Bible Institute at this time and I remember going to the little chapel in the boys dormitory to have a time of prayer before going to my speaking gig. I did this to say I always had a time of prayer before a speaking gig. People were really impressed with that. I knew full well why I was doing this. I liked the honor and praise I received, I liked the little financial gifts I received. But I knew if my body was the temple of God it was meant to honor God not myself. I found that I could not pray, I could not think of anything but what a hypocrite I was. I finally wept and said: “God, I am not going tonight unless you give me a reason to go.” I was serious, I was going to call up the host of this meeting and tell him I was going to be a no-show, which of course would burn a lot of bridges. But I knew Ralphie’s voice came from God, my skits came from God, my timing came from God all of this came from the temple of God and I was using it to show off, bring attention to myself, bask in my glory. Ever wonder why Solomon’s Temple is called Solomon’s Temple and not God’s. The sages teach that he did not build the temple exactly as God commanded, he built it as a monument to himself but pretended it was a monument to God. I was doing the same with my so called ministry.
As I wept in that little chapel my hand fell on a hymn book. Someone left it there as there were no hymn books in that chapel, but one was there right next to me that day. I absent mindedly flipped it open to a song written by a former professor at Moody. I met him once during Founder’s Week at Moody. He was elder man in his nineties whose face just shown with the love and joy of the Lord. His body was truly a temple of God. I was so impressed I said out loud after he walked away, “That man is someone special.” Someone overheard me and said, “Sort of like a blessing just being around him?” I said: “That is it exactly, who is he?” I was told it was a former music teacher and song writer. He wrote a song called, Make Me a Blessing.
Out in the highways and by ways of life
Many are weary and sad,
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rift
Making the sorrowing glad.
Make me a blessing, Make me a blessing
Out of my life may Jesus shine
Make me a blessing Oh Savior I pray
Make me a blessing to someone today.
I knew God had answered my prayer that night and I went to that gig with this temple bringing honor and glory to God. In a few weeks I am launching a couple new books. I spent some time this evening reflecting on this old song writer and my motives for writing these books, books written by hands which are the temple of God, a mind which is the temple of God and I wondered if this is my temple or God’s temple. I found I prayed, Out of these books may Jesus shine, make them a blessing Oh Savior I pray, make them a blessing to someone every day.
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