Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
CONSIDER YOUR WAYS
1. Ye have sown much,
and bring in little;
2. Ye eat,
but ye have not enough;
3. Ye drink,
but ye are not filled with drink;
4. Ye clothe
you,
but there is none warm;
5. And he that
earneth wages,
earneth wages ...into a bag with holes.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
CONSIDER YOUR WAYS
The people of Judah had returned to Jerusalem from the long captivity. They
had built houses and finished them. But they had not rebuilt the house of
the Lord. So these things were happening.
They did not build the house of the Lord for two reasons, for fear it might
not be as glorious as that of Solomon, and that the Persians might not allow
them to do it. We question these as reasons, and wonder if they might only
be excuses.
Can it be that we might learn a lesson from this today? Can the members of
the body who have a heavenly citizenship take heed?
1. Many have sown much and brought in little. They have been very
active in church work and all the sidelines that go with it. But probably
never a convert because of any testimony they might have had. Maybe they
had none. Activity that is not properly directed cannot prosper.
2. Many eat, that is, read the Word of God as a duty, a ritual, because
it is the right thing to do. But they are still hungry. It does not satisfy
because they are trying to feed the old nature instead of the new. The old
nature could starve on the Word of God. In fact that is a good way to control
it. The Word must be taken in by the new nature and taught by the Spirit
if it is going to nourish and sustain. All too many have leanness of soul.
3. Many try to drink at the one spiritual fountain, but the water
of life cannot satisfy those who are in the flesh and not in the spirit.
So they go to the fountain as a matter of ritual, and because it is the respectable
thing to do. But they do not enjoy it, nor are they revived thereby.
4. Many clothe themselves with their own garment of righteousness
and find that it is quite inadequate to warm them from the coldness of their
empty profession. Only the robe of righteousness provided by the Captain
of our salvation can keep us warm. Any garment that is the work of our own
hands will shrink and become full of holes and leave us naked when the time
of judgment comes.
5. And finally all the merits we may accumulate, all the good works
we boast in, all our respectability we may have in the eyes of the world,
and our own self-esteem will leak out of the bag of our religious practices
and we have nothing left.
So yet today, Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
CONSIDER YOUR WAYS
