Reading: Haggai
My Verse: "Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways.
You have sown much but harvested little.
You eat, but you never have enough;
you drink, but you never have your fill.
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm.
And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes" (Haggai 1:5,6).
In this book You, LORD God, point out how the people are busy about their own personal enrichment while totally neglecting You. They have let Your house of worship lie in ruins.
"Consider your ways." The ESV clarifies this phrase as - ponder your actions and the resulting experiences.
My dictionary defines "consider" in this way: to think carefully about, especially in order to make a decision; contemplate; reflect on.
Oh, LORD God, You constantly remind us to live intentionally, to live for the purpose you created us for - to live a rich and fulfilling life. But we squander the gift You give us.
Why was it that the people here sowed but "harvested little?" Because they were striving for their own enrichment. They were striving for #1 - themselves!
Why did they eat and drink but "never have enough?" Literally, we are doing this, today! It is said the overweight population has grown tremendously. The National Institute of Kidney and Diabetes Association states that over 70 percent of American adults are either overweight or obese. More that a third are extremely obese. And it is growing with children. How sad is this? Do we eat to fill that void in our souls?
Why do we clothe ourselves, "but no one is warm?"
Why does one who earns wages, put those wages into a "bag with holes?" There are many myths that speak to this. The Greek myth "The Daughters of Danaids" is about these daughters who were forced to marry and killed their husbands, all but one did this. Those daughters were condemned to fill a tub with jars that had holes in them. Then there is the "Myth of Sisyphus" where a god is condemned to roll a rock up a mountain but the rock keeps rolling back down and is compelled to redo the same thing over and over. He was condemned to this because he defied the gods by chaining up death so humans wouldn't die.
It really is so very fascinating how we as humans know in our heart of hearts how to get out of these repetitive behaviorial cycles that only spiral downwards; but we choose to continue in this awful state because we don't want to "give in." We don't want to admit we need You, LORD God!
Thank You for this. Thank You for reminding me of how we need to "consider our ways." Help me, LORD God, to be constant in prayer for loved ones who continue in this kind of cycle. Thank You for the Hope you are!
Crowder's - All My Hope
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways.
You have sown much but harvested little.
You eat, but you never have enough;
you drink, but you never have your fill.
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm.
And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes" (Haggai 1:5,6).
In this book You, LORD God, point out how the people are busy about their own personal enrichment while totally neglecting You. They have let Your house of worship lie in ruins.
"Consider your ways." The ESV clarifies this phrase as - ponder your actions and the resulting experiences.
My dictionary defines "consider" in this way: to think carefully about, especially in order to make a decision; contemplate; reflect on.
Oh, LORD God, You constantly remind us to live intentionally, to live for the purpose you created us for - to live a rich and fulfilling life. But we squander the gift You give us.
Why was it that the people here sowed but "harvested little?" Because they were striving for their own enrichment. They were striving for #1 - themselves!
Why did they eat and drink but "never have enough?" Literally, we are doing this, today! It is said the overweight population has grown tremendously. The National Institute of Kidney and Diabetes Association states that over 70 percent of American adults are either overweight or obese. More that a third are extremely obese. And it is growing with children. How sad is this? Do we eat to fill that void in our souls?
Why do we clothe ourselves, "but no one is warm?"
Why does one who earns wages, put those wages into a "bag with holes?" There are many myths that speak to this. The Greek myth "The Daughters of Danaids" is about these daughters who were forced to marry and killed their husbands, all but one did this. Those daughters were condemned to fill a tub with jars that had holes in them. Then there is the "Myth of Sisyphus" where a god is condemned to roll a rock up a mountain but the rock keeps rolling back down and is compelled to redo the same thing over and over. He was condemned to this because he defied the gods by chaining up death so humans wouldn't die.
It really is so very fascinating how we as humans know in our heart of hearts how to get out of these repetitive behaviorial cycles that only spiral downwards; but we choose to continue in this awful state because we don't want to "give in." We don't want to admit we need You, LORD God!
Thank You for this. Thank You for reminding me of how we need to "consider our ways." Help me, LORD God, to be constant in prayer for loved ones who continue in this kind of cycle. Thank You for the Hope you are!
Crowder's - All My Hope
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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