Haggai 1:6 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Haggai 1:6

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Now comes a second line of argument. They were hungry, the land was not yielding its fulness; their animals did not do well; all their efforts to prosper themselves seem to be going nowhere. They should know what they to do – they are an instructed people – yet they served themselves first, and so God had called for a drought on all their labour. He knew what they had set their hearts on, and because it was the wrong thing, he had actively obstructed them. This was the discipline of the Lord and showed that he had not yet abandoned them as a nation. ‘Haven’t you ever wondered why this is?’ the Lord seems to be saying to them. ‘Thus saith the LORD of hosts’, and it is repeated, ‘Consider your ways’, examine your ways and your conduct, search your own hearts. ‘You haven’t got enough of anything’, says the Lord, ‘but it doesn’t seem to concern you that you have little blessing.’ Judah was what remained of ancient Israel, and the Lord was their God, but he was actively resisting what they were doing and taking away their blessings.

Application

God’s people should expect his blessing on their lives. If they see no blessing, they ought to ask why. Blessing seldom comes in the way that the Prosperity teachers say, but it should come in some form. There should be joy in our lives and usefulness in the Lord’s vineyard; there should be a sense of spiritual achievement and building for eternity. God deals with us according to our labour. Christ deals constantly with his churches. If there is no labour for him then no blessing will follow. Yet we can fail to connect the two things. Believers can become so cast down that they feel that their labours are going to make little difference, that although they have a duty to work, no real blessing is going to come from it. We can limp along with little blessing as if this is the norm, and get used to focusing attention elsewhere in life. If we lack assurance and blessing, it may be because we are doing little for the Lord.

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Haggai 1:6 Commentary and Bible Study