SUNDAY June 26, 2022
From this Day Forward
“ ‘And now, carefully consider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the LORD—since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty. I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the LORD. ”
Haggai 2:15-17
God had a great work to be done among His people, but they needed to have clean hands and a clean heart. They could not worship Him by lifting up their hands to Him when they were in sin. God is holy, and their hearts needed to be right before Him. God told His people, “You have refused to repent for such a long time.” How could they please God and worship Him without repentance? It just does not work that way.
As a result of years of disobedience, the Jews suffered. God took away any financial gain, and mildew and hail destroyed the produce in the land. Everything was decreasing––not increasing. In the book of Deuteronomy, God’s people were warned about the terrible consequences they would face because of their disobedience:
“You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off” (Deuteronomy 28:38-40).
It was only when they repented that God would bless them. In His mercy, He began a new day––from this day forward, blessing came. What happens when a person refuses to repent of sin? They suffer terrible consequences. Yet the very moment they make things right with God, from that day forward, He can begin to bless them in every way.
God will never plant the seed of his life upon the soil of a hard, unbroken spirit. He will only plant that seed where the conviction of his spirit has brought brokenness, where the soil has been watered with the tears of repentance as well as the tears of joy.
~Alan Redpath~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
