1In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came by Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2“This is what Yahweh of Armies says: These people say, ‘The time hasn’t yet come, the time for Yahweh’s house to be built.’”
3Then Yahweh’s word came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies waste? 5Now therefore this is what Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Consider your ways. 6You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.’
7“This is what Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Consider your ways. 8Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says Yahweh. 9“You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says Yahweh of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. 10Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.”
12Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed Yahweh their God’s voice, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him; and the people feared Yahweh.
13Then Haggai, Yahweh’s messenger, spoke Yahweh’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you,” says Yahweh.
14Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of Armies, their God, 15in the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
We see the picture starting to come together, the people had abandoned the call God placed on their lives but now they are returning to the task in hand. How will they get ready to build the temple? Haggai gives them a clear answer, go up into the mountains, get the timber and start the work and God himself will be with you.
These are 3 very significant commands,
- Go to the mountain
- Get the timber
- Start the work.
On the mountain top they would find the timber that they needed to carry out the work. In the bible the mountain top is often equated to the place to meet with God, like Moses receiving the 10 commandments etc. It is in the presence of God that we find what we need to carry out the work that he has called us to. It is in his presence that he equips us and refreshes us, restores and strengthens us. If we are not spending time with God we are not equipped for his work. We begin to do things in our own strength and that’s when we get into trouble.
When it comes to fulfilling the call of God on our lives, we need to repeat the actions of the temple builders in the days of Haggai. Go to the mountain and spend time with God, draw on his resources and become equipped for the task ahead. When we have done that we are ready to start, restart or continue his work in building the Kingdom of God.