This past Wednesday at Oakland we concluded a wonderful year and a half study of the book of Genesis. From creation to the death of Joseph, Genesis revealed itself to be a book of tremendous application for the world we live in today, as many of the things the people of Genesis struggled with are still the things we battle today. God's word is gloriously relevant whether it's the Old Testament or the New Testament. People are still people, and vulnerable to the same things today as we were then.
The next book we'll begin study in, at our night service on Sunday 7/11/10, is a short Old Testament prophetic book. It's message is to a people who have been miraculously freed to worship God, yet after a short time, the people are far more focused upon themselves and the things they desire instead of what God desires. They fall into self satisfaction and the desire for comfort, and become apathetic to the ways of God. They are intimidated by the enemies of God and convince themselves that the time for God's work has not yet come. They are full of excuses. Sound like any nation you know of today? God's message from the prophet is a short one. A warning and exhortation to turn from their selfish pursuits and return to serving God as He has freed them to do. The prophet simply says to the people, "Consider your ways."
The prophet and book is Haggai, a 2 chapter book with great application to the world we live in today, and in particular to the United States. Haggai is what is known as a "post captivity" book. It is written after a decree from Cyrus, king of the Median-Persian empire who conquered Babylon, allowed any Jew who wished to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and city to do so. But only a small remnant of Jews take advantage of this miracle from God and choose to return to Jerusalem. The rest, after years of captivity in a pagan nation, had become comfortable separated from their land and their God, and chose to stay in a foreign land.
Historically, the book of Ezra gives the account of this return. It is here we first read of Haggai. The book of Nehemiah records the return of another small group of Jews who are instrumental in rebuilding the city walls. Esther gives us the record of the Jews who remain in the foreign land. The prophetic books of Haggai and Zechariah reveal the hand of God to stir His people who have returned. Malachi, written a generation later, shows how quickly the people fall back in to a useless faith.
As we survey the landscape of our nation today, can we hear a plea from God to "consider" our "ways?" We live in a nation that has more freedom to worship God than any ever on God's earth, yet many of us choose to ignore that opportunity, just as those who remained in the foreign land, or approach it with a half-hearted attitude like those who did return.
As we approach July 4th and the celebration of the founding of our nation, we'll be examining the message of Haggai, to "consider" our "ways," and see how God is calling His people to repentance and a return to Him, even today. We are so blessed to call this nation home and have more opportunity to serve God than any people on earth. Are we responding as God who have us too? Haggai, written nearly 2500 years ago, asks a question relevant to God's people at any time in history. Are we more focused upon Him, or ourselves? And if the answer is ourselves, what are we going to do about it? The fate of our nation I believe squarely rests upon how we respond.
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