ESOCS Devotional 11 August 2025 – Never Neglect God’s House
MEMORY VERSE: “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled house, and this house lie waste?” Haggai 1:4
TEXT: HAGGAI 1:1–15
In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ”
3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this [a]temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
6 “You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
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In the wake of several prevalent circumstances, tight personal schedules, economic challenges, family commitment and leadership disposition, we easily tend to neglect God’s house and leave it unattended to. Our text reveals God’s disappointment over the attitude of the people towards His house. Unfortunately, they give the best of the best to their individual houses but never have any consideration for His house.
We therefore ask today, how much are you concerned about the state of God’s house? Yes! In that house where you are fully planted, how much attention do you give to it? What is your commitment to ensuring that God’s house remains permanently neat and presentable? It is regrettable to note that some of the places of worship are absolutely nothing to write home about. But more worrisome is the calibre of persons who worship there. People whose personal houses depict heaven on earth; yet, the passion for God’s house is zero. What about those who will comfortably dispose and allow waste in the house of God. Meanwhile, such can never be tolerated in their personal houses; but anything goes in God’s house.
Beloved, what is the level of your passion for growth in God’s house? Are you comfortable with a stagnant growth or you are committed to ensuring that God’s house grow from glory to glory. How much passion do you put in for soul winning and membership drive? Are you satisfied with only few members? How committed are you to increasing membership in God’s kingdom? We must come to the point where we make the growth of the Church our priority. Yes! See that the church grows numerically, structurally and financially under your watch and membership.
We must also not neglect the spiritual health of the Church. How spiritually healthy is God’s house with your membership. There are several places that have no trace of spirituality because of the abundant negative characters of the worshippers. Ensure that you live your life in such a way that promotes the spiritual health of God’s house.
CHALLENGES
- No matter your busy schedule give attention to the state of God’s house.
- Be financially committed to growth and development of the Church
- Give your best at all times to place God’s house in the best state.
PRAYER POINT
- Father, thank you for providing us with your house; forgive our days of negligence and grant us the grace to value your house henceforth, in Jesus name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Haggai 2:1-9; Romans 4:1-25
ESOCS Devotional 11 August 2025
