Restoring the Centrality of Worship

 

Sixteen years were wasted.

The people had started well. They began rebuilding the temple, and the foundation was laid. But then the opposition came. The people of the land offered to help rebuild, and when they were rebuffed, they turned hostile. Fear followed. Discouragement set in. Threats were made.

The final blow came with a decree from Artaxerxes. After searching the records, it was determined that Jerusalem was a rebellious city, and the work was ordered to stop. The opposition came “with haste,” and “by force and power made them cease.”

That was sixteen years ago.

The temple project was never resumed. Opposition had led to distraction. The people told themselves the work would continue someday—but now was not the time. Other matters demanded attention: building their own homes, caring for their families, stabilizing their finances. And who could blame them? With pressure and resistance all around, shifting priorities felt reasonable.

It was at that moment that God sent a prophet.

Haggai confronted their misplaced priorities with piercing clarity. Twice he tells them to “consider your ways.” Why had they worked so hard and yet failed to prosper? Why did satisfaction elude them? The problem was not a lack of effort, but a lack of worship. God called them back to what had once been central—to the restoration of His house and the renewal of their first love.

The Word of God moved them to repentance.

Then Haggai calls them to “consider” two more times—but now with hope: “Consider from this day onward.” Repentance led to renewed obedience. The people began to build again. What sixteen years of delay could not accomplish, faithful obedience soon completed. Worship and sacrifice were restored in Israel.

The lesson is not hard to see.

It is easy for our priorities to shift. Distractions creep in, often under the guise of responsibility. Our affections become disordered. While our primary pleasure is meant to be found in God alone, secondary goods—work, money, family, comfort, even ministry—can quietly become idols.

And without noticing, time passes.

Do not let sixteen years slip by. Consider your ways. Restore the priority of worship. Place God again at the center, and let everything else find its proper place around Him.