Is There a Hole in Your Pocket?

Haggai 1:6

The Old Testament revolves around the nation of Israel. There is a department in the study of Scripture called by the technological term, Hermeneutics. It is the discipline of getting the text from where it was written to where we are living. We believe in the inerrancy of the Scriptures in their original form. It does little good, however, to have an infallible original if the interpretation is flawed. When reading the Bible, we must always remember that we are reading someone else’s mail. The original documents were written to a specific people in a specific setting with specific needs and with specific solutions offered.

All of the Old Testament is written to a Jewish audience who is driven by an anticipation of a coming Savior. The book of Hebrews, in the New Testament, is the single masterpiece in the Bible that explains the difference between the Old Testament and the New. For example, in the Old Testament, they are looking for dirt … real real estate. In the New Testament, the dirt is swept away by a higher hope. We sing a new song: “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” We must take extra special care when looking at the Old Testament, because its sights are set lower than ours.

Some men would like to take the book of Haggai and use it to stimulate a church building program. This is not the intent of this book’s message for us. Church buildings are not the same as the Old Testament temple. There is much to be said about the temple building in Jerusalem that does not apply to a church built on Old Clifton, or anywhere else for that matter. This prophecy is not about building. The building of the Temple is merely a springboard that the Spirit of God uses for greater lessons.

The lesson is not about prosperity either. We are facing days in which there has been a serious twisting of God’s truth to imply that material prosperity is a sign of God’s blessing. Men are being sold a bill of goods through the improper use of the Bible’s truth. Men are being sold a “vending machine” style of theology, which teaches that if you put in three quarters of faithfulness, you will receive a candy bar of success.

Job certainly found no connection between faithfulness and prosperity, as he lost all of his possessions in a single afternoon. God certainly missed an opportunity to teach prosperity when He incarnated Himself into a poverty-stricken Jewish family that could provide nothing better than a stable behind an inn as a birthing center for the Son of God.

Our first message in this ancient book asks the questions: What’s in your wallet? Where do you get fulfillment? How do you measure your accomplishments? Are you sure that your life investments are secure? Contentment, security, purpose, meaning and happiness are all wrapped up in the question: Is there a hole in your pocket? Haggai suggests, “Consider your ways!”

Is There a Hole in Your Pocket?

Haggai 1:6

Things to remember when studying the Old Testament

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Things to remember in the study of Haggai

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Priorities

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Success

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Solution

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