THE first thing we need to take to heart is that God is speaking to his people, the people of Israel. The people he had chosen, and the people he had led from their inception in God's choice through Abraham, then through the journey through the desert to the promised land and the entering the promised land, and right through their history, and in the judgement he brought on them through their exile in Babylon. God had been faithful to his word and had brought his people out of exile back into the promised land. Now back in Jerusalem God speaks to them again. God is not speaking in a general way to the world, but directly to the people he has chosen to be his people. Translating this into the present we can see that the lessons from this word of God to his people in the days of the restoration in Haggai's day can be addressed to the church of God today.

Having made this deduction there is still a further question that needs to be answered. Is the application of the command to God through Haggai, when translated to the present, addressed to the whole visible church, or is it simply addressed to the true believing people, often spoken of as God's invisible church, within the bounds of the outward visible church. The answer to this is surely that its application is to the whole visible church in the present. God spoke to the outward and visible representation of his people which showed much that was falling short of the will and glory of God. However those who are the true church through faith in Jesus alone for their acceptance with God should take this word of God specially to heart and work to make it real and obeyed in the church at large.

God had already called the people to 'give careful thought to their ways' in verse 5. We saw then that God was searching the hearts of his people to consider the way they lived and its consequences; now in this repeat of God's call to 'give careful thought to their ways' God is issuing a command. God is calling his people to consider whether they were living according to the will of God. God was calling them to give careful thought to their actions, whether they were obeying God's commands and acting according to the will of God.

In giving this command, the Lord was again reminding the people of who he was. He reveals himself again as the Lord Almighty who speaks to them. God was reminding his people concerning his true person and nature. He was their Lord to be obeyed, and the almighty Lord to show he can't be trifled with. God was not simply someone in the background of life to be called upon in time of need, and expected to come to the aid of people when they wanted help, who could be disregarded at all other times. In other words by addressing the Israelites as 'the Lord Almighty' he was making known that he was not just another person who could be disregarded until there was a need for help, but God who created all things, and the Lord to be given full attention and obedience, and God who could assert his will, and therefore should not be trifled with. God is indeed loving, gracious and merciful, but this should be realised with praise and thankfulness, and not with selfish disregard of his presence or our human obligation to him, specially in regard to the people of God whom God had chosen to bless, though they were totally undeserving of his blessing.

It is continually an expression of sin in the human heart, and indeed in God's people, that we do not consider the glory and majesty of the Lord, and that he is Lord of heaven and earth, on whom we are entirely dependent for life, and breath, and all the blessings of life. We need to remind ourselves of this all the time, and realise he is the Lord Almighty, and in control of all things in heaven and earth, and so demands our total allegiance and service.

So we see that God's call to give careful thought to our ways is a call to us to examine our attitude to him, and to examine whether we are living according to his commands in total obedience and service. As we consider this there is so many avenues of application. The bottom line is the call of God to give careful thought to our ways with regard to our life as Christians, and whether we are living as God's servants, not simply receiving his blessings, but living in obedience to his word and will. It is true that all of us have a life to live in the world. We have to provide for our families, and relate to the society in which we live, but the question concerning God's word to 'give careful thought to our ways' relates to how we relate to the Lord, and whether we consider his will and word as paramount and first in our lives, and whether we are subject to his word, and submit our wills to his. Together with this the question is as to whether we are living our lives first and foremost for him, or whether we place God in second place in our lives.

The test of this with regard to the Israelites in the time of Haggai turned on whether they were obedient to God's call to them to build his house, that is the temple, which had been destroyed when God had judged his people at the time when he caused them to be carried off into exile in Babylon. The temple symbolised the presence of God amongst his people, and that God was placed in the centre of the lives of his people. The question was whether God was placed first in their lives, and that the people wanted to honour and obey God as the first thing in their lives.

Considering carefully our ways before God is not simply to consider and then forget, but to consider our ways and act. Considering carefully our ways demands that all procrastination must cease. There is no room to say that we will obey tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes, to say again tomorrow will be time enough. Israel were told to immediately start work on the temple. They were told to get timber and build. The Christian life is not being fulfilled if there is thought without action. When God speaks to us in his Word, as God spoke to Israel through Haggai, it is not sufficient just to listen. The Word must be translated into our living. In church life committees are good and necessary, but just to talk is of no use. Action must follow in obedience to the leading of God.

There is one area of which there is no need for committees. This is in the area of God's truth made clear and made known in the Bible. Here we must always be building in living and preserving the truth as it is in Jesus, and must speak out when that truth is not being lived and obeyed. Further all commands for life laid out by God in his Word must be obeyed. When the church fails here, we become like Israel to whom Haggai spoke, and living in disregard to God and his word.

What is the purpose of the obedience to the command to give careful though to our ways in action of obedience to all God's Word and ways. We are given it by God in his word through Haggai. The Israelites were to build the temple so that God may take pleasure in it, and be honoured.

In all our living and doing in life and in the church, what is our supreme aim and goal in all our actions and thought? This something to consider always and diligently. When we work in the church, and when we witness to our faith, and when we plan activities in the church, what is our aim first and foremost.

Often our aim is to be successful, and achieve a successful church. We want to see our church building full of worshippers every Sunday. There is nothing wrong in this of itself, but we need to ask ourselves whether this the end of our activity and the goal we are working towards. Then, although we may not outwardly confess it, or be willing to to recognise it in ourself, our aim may be our own glory, and to gain the praise of others, and be considered highly by others, and so gain in importance in the church. Human success is a disease in the church which is difficult to detect, and difficult to cure. We can seek humility and to mortify the flesh, but in subtle ways self and the flesh seems always and continually to raise its ugly head. Self glorification can mar all our efforts in witness and service, however good they may be in themselves. We can be giving of our time; and we can be faithful in standing for the truth. Our work may be of high quality in service for Christ. We can be caring in love for others, and much more; but if our goal at its basic is our own glory and to gain the praise of human beings, then all our effort will be in vain.

The aim of all our living and labour for the Gospel and our work in the church should be just one thing chiefly, and that is the glory of God. Israel were to build the temple so that God may take pleasure in it and be honoured. Here is the purpose and goal of all Christian living and effort, and all activity in the church. When the people of God meet together for worship and fellowship all must be done for the glory of God and to show forth the glory of God, and make known his glory in all his wondrous grace, mercy and love in Christ.

What will be our life and living in the heavenly glory? Surely it will be to give honour, praise and glory to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, Jesus our Saviour. When we see the vision of heaven in Revelation chapter 4, we see the throne of God in the centre of all things. All creatures surround the throne to give honour and praise to the throne. The church of Christ, represented by the twenty four elders, the twelve patriarchs of the Old Testament representing the redeemed from the Old Testament, and the twelve apostles representing the church of the New Testament, give glory to God on the throne.

We read concerning this activity in heaven in Revelation 4: 10-11. “The twenty four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and for ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.'”

Here is a conception of God which the church seems to have lost in our generation. Our God is glorious in holiness, power, love and mercy. He is to be worshipped, and given all the glory in our lives. We do not know what this praise and giving glory to God in heaven will be like and what action and activity this worship of the elders describes, but it does show us that our whole existence is for the purpose of giving glory to God in thought, affection, and action. The order is always the same. God first, others next, and ourselves last.

The Israelites in the days of Haggai gave glory to God when they gave themselves to the service of the Lord in the way God had shown them. In their case it was at that time to be active in the building of the temple to the glory of God. Our temple to build is not so much a physical building, but work for the building of the true church of God, that is the redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. We bring glory to God when we are faithful to God's word, the Bible. We bring glory to God when we faithfully and truly build Christ's church on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, that is the truth of the Bible. We bring glory to God when we defend the truth of the Word of God against all attempts of the evil one to pervert the truth. We give glory to God when the church is living the gospel and showing forth its blessing and exalting Christ as the one all-sufficient redeemer and Saviour. It is the evidence of the Spirit amongst us in the church when Christ is owned as Lord. (1 Corinthians 12: 3) Where Christ is owned and witnessed to as our God, Lord and Saviour, and as our sin-bearer.