What does God mean when He says, "Consider your ways" in this passage?

When God says, "Consider your ways," He is telling the people to stop and honestly look at how they are living. They had put their own homes and comfort first while leaving His house in ruins. At the same time, their hard work in the fields and in earning money was not paying off. God wants them to connect these two things: their spiritual neglect and their constant frustration. The call is to think deeply, admit where their priorities are wrong, and turn back to putting Him first.

Why were the people’s crops failing and their efforts feeling empty in this passage?

The people had sown much seed but harvested little. They ate and drank but were never really satisfied. It was like putting wages into a bag with holes. God explains that He Himself had withheld dew and called for a drought on the land, grain, wine, oil, people, and animals. This was not random bad luck. It was His response to their neglect of His house. By letting their efforts feel empty, God was warning them and leading them to see that life does not work right when He is pushed aside.

What is the meaning of the "bag with holes" image in this passage?

The picture of putting wages into a bag with holes is a simple way to show how empty their work had become. They were busy and earning money, but it slipped away and did not bring the security or comfort they hoped for. It is like working hard but never getting ahead. In the passage, this happens because they cared more about their own houses than about rebuilding God’s house. The image teaches that without God’s blessing, even our best efforts leak away and do not truly satisfy.

Why did the people say, "The time is not come" to build the LORD’s house?

The people did not openly reject building the temple. Instead, they kept saying, "The time is not come." They used past troubles and present hardships as reasons to delay. Meanwhile, they finished and decorated their own houses. This shows a heart that is willing to put God’s work off to later while taking care of personal comfort now. The passage exposes this excuse and shows that their delay was really a sign of coldness toward God and His honor, not wise planning.

Who are Zerubbabel and Joshua in this passage, and why are they important?

Zerubbabel is the governor of Judah, from the line of David, and Joshua (also called Jeshua) is the high priest. Together they represent civil and spiritual leadership among the returned exiles. God addresses them first through Haggai because leaders are meant to guide the people in obeying God. At first, they also need to be shaken out of comfort. But when God speaks, their spirits are stirred. They listen, fear the LORD, and lead the people to restart work on the temple, showing how leadership and community obedience go together.

What does this passage teach about God’s character and His response to neglect?

This passage shows that God cares about how His people honor Him, and He does not ignore spiritual neglect. He patiently sends His word through Haggai and explains why things are going wrong. He uses hardship, like drought and poor harvests, not to crush them but to wake them up. At the same time, God is very kind: once they obey, He gives them a clear promise, "I am with you." He even stirs their hearts so they are willing to do the work. He is both holy and patient, both correcting and near.

How did the people respond when Haggai brought God’s message about the temple?

At first, the people had spent years putting their own homes first, but when Haggai speaks, something changes. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the remnant “obeyed the voice of the LORD their God.” They took the message as coming from God, not just from a man. They began to fear the LORD, meaning they took Him seriously and respected His word. Then God encouraged them, “I am with you,” and stirred their spirits. Within that same month, they gathered and began to work again on the house of the LORD.

What does this passage say to people today about priorities and daily life?

This passage gently asks us what comes first in our lives. The people were not doing evil things; they were building houses and working. The problem was that God’s worship and His honor had slipped to the bottom of the list. The result was constant frustration and a sense that nothing was enough. Today, it invites us to ask if we give our best time, energy, and resources to God and His work, or only what is left over. It encourages us to put God first and trust Him with the rest.

Hag.1.1

Haggai 1:1

KJV

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,

A Call to Rebuild the Temple

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 cieled 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.

9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

The People Obey

12 ¶ Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.

13 Then spake Haggai the Lord’S messenger in the Lord’S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.

14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.