Haggai 2:18-19 18 ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. “ ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ ”
Mindless wandering through life has its appeal. Suppose you didn’t have any external pressures placed on you. No bills to pay, no food to prepare, no clothes to wash, no deadlines to keep, pressing engagements. For some this would be the perfect life. They can just cruise through life with no real connections to anyone or anything. No one to disappoint or impress. “Just go with the flow.”
But for some of us that would be torture. We enjoy the interactions and interconnectedness of life. We want to depend on others and have others depend on us. Life on our own terms would not e appealing, because that would mean others get to do life on their own terms and you feel chaos would ensue.
If we lived without those vital connects to people, places, ideas and ideals, then life would loose its meaning. We need moments to anchor our souls and help define who we have become. We print pictures of particularly important moments. We hang degree’s on the wall and collected mementos on the shelves.
There are some watershed moments that are especially worthwhile remembering. We need to be able to frame the before and after moments. They become hinges that change the course of our life and change the definition of who we are as people.
The prophet Haggai is spoken to by the LORD. The LORD wants to help cement a moment in the mind of these exiles who have returned to the Promised Land and the city of Jerusalem. And the LORD wants to make His point very clear to them, so He offers them a concrete measure by which they can judge the effect of that moment.
The LORD has them look at their storehouses of their crops, take a measurement of their reserves and slow down and think about it. Crops don’t last, storehouses don’t seem to retain what was placed in them and the ravages of nature seems to take their toll regularly from the profit of the land.
He wants them to make careful notes. I remember growing up and having my mom mark on the doorframe my growth over the years. Periodically she would call me over to the door and have me stand with my back against the door. Then she would take the pencil and make a short line that matched my height. Then the date would be inscribed. I could look back and confirm that I had grown.
The LORD wants them to make careful notes so that when the LORD blesses them, the abundance will be evident. He wants them to “give careful thought.”
So the date on the doorpost is the day the builders lay the foundation of the Temple in Jerusalem. From that day forward blessing will come. There will be a reversal of the misfortune that was caused by their rebellion and sin. Blessing will come instead.
You see, the LORD wants to bless us. He provides two ways, one where blessing abounds and one where blessing is withheld. And we get to choose which way we want to walk. The Sovereign LORD of the Universe carves out space for us to make real choices that have real consequences. And then He puts His stamp on those choices by the way blessing flows or doesn’t flow.
The Israelites have a choice to make and the LORD gives them a way to mark it so that they will know for certain that the LORD has intervened. He doesn’t want them doubting the results. He takes away the wiggle room so that they will have to acknowledge the presence and blessing of the LORD in their lives.
What moments of decision have you taken time to mark, to give careful thought to? Maybe today is the day to begin that process of noting these moments so that we can look back and see the blessing of the LORD in our lives.
The Arnold Journey 