Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
It rebukes people for dwelling in finished and paneled houses made comfortable and beautiful for themselves while the house of the Lord is left neglected, waste and in ruins. It was spoken to the exiles restored to Judea to restore the temple and its worship, who after opposition and disappointment let the work lie neglected for over a year while they gave themselves to sowing and reaping and building for their own temporal prosperity. Their plea that the time had not come to rebuild was no excuse, for the care and expense they gave to beautifying their own homes exposed that they had put personal interests first and looked with apathy and unconcern on God's building. By seeking to escape poverty through serving self and using His bountiful gifts of field and garden for themselves, they brought upon themselves the very want they feared, for the Lord withdrew blessing and sent wasting drought on crops and cattle so that nothing prospered however hard they worked. It therefore requires making a suitable house for God and meeting with Him the first work without delay and not the last, for had they honored Him first they would have invited His presence and blessing to prosper their labor.
Words and Historical Setting
The question exposes a sharp contrast between dwelling in finished, paneled, comfortable and beautified houses of one's own and leaving the Lord's house to lie waste, neglected and in ruins. To live at ease in one's own completed home while God's house remains neglected is to make self first and His building last. The comfort, finishing and beautifying bestowed on private dwellings stand as the measure of the neglect shown to His house.
It was addressed to the returned exiles restored to Judea for the express purpose of restoring the temple and its services. It met them in the early part of the reign of Darius Hystaspes, after the temple had been neglected and well-nigh forsaken for over a year. During that year they had given themselves to sowing and reaping and to building for temporal prosperity, dwelling in their own houses and striving for temporal gain while the Lord's house lay waste in ruins.
Their plea that the time had not come to rebuild did not excuse them. That claim was contradicted by the care, building and beautifying they gave to their own homes. They had lost heart through opposition and through disappointment over the seeming inferiority of the second temple, questioned whether the time had come to rebuild, left the work, and turned to beautifying houses for themselves.
Selfish Neglect and Judgment
The question exposes putting personal interests first while looking with apathy and spiritual dullness on God's house lying in waste. It is concern for one's own buildings joined with unconcern for the Lord's building, passivity that does little for Him after the burning zeal for restoring His house is lost. That loss of zeal is serving self at the sacrifice of the best interests of His cause.
His bountiful gifts of field and garden, corn and wine and oil, were given to the restored remnant as a token of favor, but were used selfishly for themselves. In so doing they lost sight of His purpose in restoring them to Judea to restore the temple and its services, and their delay hindered the work He had commanded. This slothful disobedience stands in striking contrast to the prompt obedience of nature, which obeys His call to bring blessing or judgment.
Their neglect sprang from a desire to escape poverty by laboring for temporal prosperity, yet by that very neglect they brought upon themselves what they feared. Lack of temporal prosperity resulted from failing to put God's interests first, so that however hard they worked nothing prospered. Work as they might they did not prosper, and their claim that the time to rebuild had not come was contradicted by the care given to their own homes.
Because they let God's house lie waste the Lord removed the blessings bestowed as a token of favor and sent a wasting drought upon their substance. The drought fell upon all the fruits of the ground with meager harvests, and upon the living creatures as well, so that even the cattle suffered for the sins of men. The very elements of nature seemed to conspire against them, leaving their condition deplorable both temporally and spiritually.
Had they honored Him with due respect by making the building of His house their first work, they would have invited His presence and blessing to cooperate with them. When one of His instrumentalities is languishing or in peril, those who realize the nearness of His coming act their faith by unitedly taking His own substance to lift the burdens resting on His institutions.
Honoring God with Priority
Building a house for God must be made the first consideration and not left until last, proceeding without delay to provide a suitable place of worship and meeting with God rather than living in finished, paneled homes while His house lies neglected and in ruins. Remaining in quarters too small for worship is not according to His will, so when there is no suitable place to secure and the present place of assembly has become too small, the house of the Lord is to be built without delay, a course whose neglect is to be regretted as avoidable by faith and whose fulfillment honors God and witnesses to the truth. Applied to the school grounds, making a place for worship and meeting with God the first work honors God, shows reverence for Him, makes Him the first consideration, and brings His approval.
Churches are to examine their priorities and faith when they spend freely improving their own premises yet accept an unsuitable place for worship, for providing comfortably for their own homes while leaving the Lord's house neglected calls for practical attention to building rather than delay. At Cooranbong this meant proceeding with the meeting house instead of delaying the work, and on the school grounds it meant making worship facilities the first work.
When humble or inconvenient places of worship are the best people can provide, worship in spirit and truth is not rejected nor His presence withheld, but when means to honor Him are spent on pleasing and glorifying self while accepting for worship a poorer place than would be accepted for self, God and His worship are made secondary and His blessing is forfeited. The care, expense, and willingness given to a place of worship reflect how highly sacred things are valued, so willing and generous gifts and the best offering bring blessing in proportion, while grudging, meager, lame, or inferior offerings dishonor divine privileges and are not acceptable. Those entrusted by the Master with the greatest capital as stewards to advance His work rob God and dishonor the Redeemer when they forget their stewardship and use means extravagantly in embellishing their own dwelling houses while thinking any place is good enough for worship and leaving His house neglected. Gratitude for the truth is shown by using entrusted means to prepare a suitable, comfortable place of worship and offering the best rather than as little as possible, for spending means on a house for God is not a loss.
It is dishonoring for churches to be burdened with debt through wrong management from beginning to end, either by neglecting to arise and build or by building on hired, borrowed money without donations and year-by-year sacrifice to free buildings from debt, so that selfish interests and poor management leave interest swallowing means that should reduce the principal. All who realize the nearness of the Lord's coming must act their faith when one of His instrumentalities is languishing or in peril, unitedly taking the Lord's own substance to lift the burdens resting on His institutions and to relieve and restore them rather than leave His work to languish, with His cooperation assured. Dearth of means in the treasury is the sure result of work He cannot sanction, as when human preferences and prejudices sway those confederating to sustain methods contrary to His Word and selfishly grasp all available means for the advantage of one office, such as the Review and Herald office, while claiming to do it for His cause and robbing brethren of their rights, with selfishness leading those who ought to be true to principle to make crooked paths for their feet.
It rebukes people for dwelling in finished and paneled houses made comfortable and beautiful for themselves while the house of the Lord is left neglected, waste and in ruins. It was spoken to the exiles restored to Judea to restore the temple and its worship, who after opposition and disappointment let the work lie neglected for over a year while they gave themselves to sowing and reaping and building for their own temporal prosperity. Their plea that the time had not come to rebuild was no excuse, for the care and expense they gave to beautifying their own homes exposed that they had put personal interests first and looked with apathy and unconcern on God's building. By seeking to escape poverty through serving self and using His bountiful gifts of field and garden for themselves, they brought upon themselves the very want they feared, for the Lord withdrew blessing and sent wasting drought on crops and cattle so that nothing prospered however hard they worked. It therefore requires making a suitable house for God and meeting with Him the first work without delay and not the last, for had they honored Him first they would have invited His presence and blessing to prosper their labor.
Words and Historical Setting
The question exposes a sharp contrast between dwelling in finished, paneled, comfortable and beautified houses of one's own and leaving the Lord's house to lie waste, neglected and in ruins. To live at ease in one's own completed home while God's house remains neglected is to make self first and His building last. The comfort, finishing and beautifying bestowed on private dwellings stand as the measure of the neglect shown to His house.
It was addressed to the returned exiles restored to Judea for the express purpose of restoring the temple and its services. It met them in the early part of the reign of Darius Hystaspes, after the temple had been neglected and well-nigh forsaken for over a year. During that year they had given themselves to sowing and reaping and to building for temporal prosperity, dwelling in their own houses and striving for temporal gain while the Lord's house lay waste in ruins.
Their plea that the time had not come to rebuild did not excuse them. That claim was contradicted by the care, building and beautifying they gave to their own homes. They had lost heart through opposition and through disappointment over the seeming inferiority of the second temple, questioned whether the time had come to rebuild, left the work, and turned to beautifying houses for themselves.
Selfish Neglect and Judgment
The question exposes putting personal interests first while looking with apathy and spiritual dullness on God's house lying in waste. It is concern for one's own buildings joined with unconcern for the Lord's building, passivity that does little for Him after the burning zeal for restoring His house is lost. That loss of zeal is serving self at the sacrifice of the best interests of His cause.
His bountiful gifts of field and garden, corn and wine and oil, were given to the restored remnant as a token of favor, but were used selfishly for themselves. In so doing they lost sight of His purpose in restoring them to Judea to restore the temple and its services, and their delay hindered the work He had commanded. This slothful disobedience stands in striking contrast to the prompt obedience of nature, which obeys His call to bring blessing or judgment.
Their neglect sprang from a desire to escape poverty by laboring for temporal prosperity, yet by that very neglect they brought upon themselves what they feared. Lack of temporal prosperity resulted from failing to put God's interests first, so that however hard they worked nothing prospered. Work as they might they did not prosper, and their claim that the time to rebuild had not come was contradicted by the care given to their own homes.
Because they let God's house lie waste the Lord removed the blessings bestowed as a token of favor and sent a wasting drought upon their substance. The drought fell upon all the fruits of the ground with meager harvests, and upon the living creatures as well, so that even the cattle suffered for the sins of men. The very elements of nature seemed to conspire against them, leaving their condition deplorable both temporally and spiritually.
Had they honored Him with due respect by making the building of His house their first work, they would have invited His presence and blessing to cooperate with them. When one of His instrumentalities is languishing or in peril, those who realize the nearness of His coming act their faith by unitedly taking His own substance to lift the burdens resting on His institutions.
Honoring God with Priority
Building a house for God must be made the first consideration and not left until last, proceeding without delay to provide a suitable place of worship and meeting with God rather than living in finished, paneled homes while His house lies neglected and in ruins. Remaining in quarters too small for worship is not according to His will, so when there is no suitable place to secure and the present place of assembly has become too small, the house of the Lord is to be built without delay, a course whose neglect is to be regretted as avoidable by faith and whose fulfillment honors God and witnesses to the truth. Applied to the school grounds, making a place for worship and meeting with God the first work honors God, shows reverence for Him, makes Him the first consideration, and brings His approval.
Churches are to examine their priorities and faith when they spend freely improving their own premises yet accept an unsuitable place for worship, for providing comfortably for their own homes while leaving the Lord's house neglected calls for practical attention to building rather than delay. At Cooranbong this meant proceeding with the meeting house instead of delaying the work, and on the school grounds it meant making worship facilities the first work.
When humble or inconvenient places of worship are the best people can provide, worship in spirit and truth is not rejected nor His presence withheld, but when means to honor Him are spent on pleasing and glorifying self while accepting for worship a poorer place than would be accepted for self, God and His worship are made secondary and His blessing is forfeited. The care, expense, and willingness given to a place of worship reflect how highly sacred things are valued, so willing and generous gifts and the best offering bring blessing in proportion, while grudging, meager, lame, or inferior offerings dishonor divine privileges and are not acceptable. Those entrusted by the Master with the greatest capital as stewards to advance His work rob God and dishonor the Redeemer when they forget their stewardship and use means extravagantly in embellishing their own dwelling houses while thinking any place is good enough for worship and leaving His house neglected. Gratitude for the truth is shown by using entrusted means to prepare a suitable, comfortable place of worship and offering the best rather than as little as possible, for spending means on a house for God is not a loss.
It is dishonoring for churches to be burdened with debt through wrong management from beginning to end, either by neglecting to arise and build or by building on hired, borrowed money without donations and year-by-year sacrifice to free buildings from debt, so that selfish interests and poor management leave interest swallowing means that should reduce the principal. All who realize the nearness of the Lord's coming must act their faith when one of His instrumentalities is languishing or in peril, unitedly taking the Lord's own substance to lift the burdens resting on His institutions and to relieve and restore them rather than leave His work to languish, with His cooperation assured. Dearth of means in the treasury is the sure result of work He cannot sanction, as when human preferences and prejudices sway those confederating to sustain methods contrary to His Word and selfishly grasp all available means for the advantage of one office, such as the Review and Herald office, while claiming to do it for His cause and robbing brethren of their rights, with selfishness leading those who ought to be true to principle to make crooked paths for their feet.