Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Kings 24, Haggai 1, and John 14. This devotional is about Haggai 1. In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating that this is what the Lord of hosts says. These people say, the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? Now this is what the Lord of hosts says. Consider carefully your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through. This is what the Lord of Hosts says. Consider carefully your ways. Go up into the hills. Bring down lumber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the Lord. You expected much, but behold, it amounted to little, and what you brought home I blew away. Why, declares the Lord of hosts? Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, on account of you, the heavens have withheld their dew, and the earth has withheld its crops. I have summoned a drought on the fields and on the mountains, on the grain, new wine and oil, and on whatever the ground yields, on man and beast, and on all the labor of your hands. then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Joshua son of Jehozadak the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord. Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, delivered the message of the Lord to the people. I am with you, declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, son of Jehozadak the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius. This is God's word. Most of the prophets we've read prophesied that judgment was coming for Israel or Judah or both. Haggai was one of the prophets who spoke the Lord's word after his people had returned from exile. Here in Haggai 1, the Lord challenged the people through Haggai for returning to the land and building their own houses, according to verse 4, but doing nothing to rebuild the temple. We saw that in verse 2 and verse 4. The people's reasoning for not rebuilding the Lord's Temple was, the time has not yet come, as we saw in verse 2. Undoubtedly, there was still a lot of work to be done in Jerusalem. A city that had been destroyed by the Babylonians would take a long time to rebuild. Their plan to leave the temple until the time comes, however, suggested wrong priorities. Instead of understanding that their security and prosperity were consequences of faith in and obedience to God, they believed that taking care of business was most important, and then we'll get to the Lord's work when things are humming along nicely again. Verses 5 through 11 explained the outcome of their misplaced priorities. Though they had worked hard, the Bible says they planted much, they were struggling to make ends meet. Scripture says they harvested little, that they earned wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it, in verse 6. And this was all the Lord's doing, as he explained in verses 9 and 10. He said in those verses, What you brought home I blew away. Why? declares the Lord Almighty. Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you, the heavens have withheld their dew, and the earth its crops. Through Haggai, then, the Lord taught his people to change their priorities and see worship as far more important than they saw it previously. And to show that by rebuilding the temple, as we saw in verse 8. Unlike the past, God's people then received the message of the Lord's prophet, as we saw in verse 12. Their resolve to rebuild the temple and their obedience to that intention, as we saw in verse 14, was met with the Lord's favor. God said in verse 13b, I am with you. What struggles are you facing now? You have work problems or business struggles, rebellious children, strained relationships, too tight a budget at home? Maybe you're struggling as part of the Lord's will for you now to teach you patience and to strengthen your faith. That's one reason why we go through trials. But have you considered that maybe the Lord is just too low a priority in your life, and God's trying to get your attention about that? You may be working harder than ever, but that leaves less time for prayer and Bible reading. Maybe you're trying to spend more time with your kids, but that means you're choosing recreation over regular church attendance. Consider the possibility that the frustrations you face in your life might be the Lord's discipline in your life, and that maybe this passage is calling you to reassess your priorities and put more attention into your walk with God. Then do what it takes to give the Lord his proper place. It might seem tough to find time to rebuild your walk with God, but remember the Lord's encouraging promise, I am with you, declares the Lord. So think about where your priorities are, and most importantly, where the Lord is in your stack of priorities. and take some time to reassess and change the way that you operate and make the Lord and your walk with him and his work a higher priority in your life. If you found this devotional helpful, go to my website, dailypbj.com slash subscribe, enter your email address there, and every day from now on, you'll receive an email from me containing a link to these devotionals, and more importantly, a link to the daily scripture readings, so you can be reading God's word and develop a Bible reading habit cued by the daily devotional. This is completely free, and you can always unsubscribe. So give it a try. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe. And please support me on a monthly basis financially if you're able to do so, so I can continue to make content like this for your own spiritual growth. Go to dailypbj.com slash support to find out more and to sign up. And please share this with someone else who might be helped in their Christian life by it. And I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.