The Prophet Haggai Exhorts the Jews to Commence Rebuilding the Temple
Haggai 1:1–8
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,
2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.
3 Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
Elder L. Tom Perry wrote:
“In the first chapter of Haggai, we read:
“‘Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
“‘Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
“‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways’ (Haggai 1:5–7).
“The context of these verses of scripture is interesting. The people of Israel were delaying the construction of the temple of Zerubbabel. The Lord spoke through His prophet, Haggai, and warned the people to reorder their priorities and build the temple. When He told the people to consider their ways, He reminded them that blessings are not entitlements but rather are contingent on obedience to His word.”
(Living with Enthusiasm [1996], 39–40.)
