Way back in 520 BC, hidden within the tiny book of Haggai (only 2 chapters long) in the Old Testament of the Bible, is guidance for our time during the coronavirus. 2500 years ago God prepared a story for such a time as this: to show us an important truth about ‘building our houses.’

After being exiled and not allowed to leave (sound familiar) their home in Babylon, a period of time passed and then 50,000 people were finally allowed to return to Judah and begin to rebuild their lives. But, not so fast. This time, God said, you will rebuild my temple as your first priority.

Absolutely, they said. But then as they entered back into the land and started getting settled, they became consumed with self-preservation and slowly focused more on building up their own houses again. The rebuilding of the temple became a project that was moved to the back-burner. Yes, they had said, they would honor what God asked of them (since after all He told them how much He loved them, and even proved it by bringing them back out of exile) but – the true priority in their hearts was to build up their own houses. This showed itself not in their words, but in their actions.

Because God couldn’t get their attention, He sent a drought. The Bible says in Haggai 1:6 that “though they planted much, they harvested little.” The people thought they had stored up a lot of crops and provisions for themselves, but because of their disobedience, it was all taken away faster than it was planted.

“You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1:6

In patience and in love, God sent Haggai to give the people a message that “I am with you; be strong; do not fear; my Spirit remains among you” (Haggai 2:4-5). He even went so far as to promise that “the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, and in this place I will grant peace.” So, the people unified, and together they made the work of building up the house of God their #1 priority.

In times of drought the first thing our human nature tells us to do is pull back, conserve, hoard, and isolate ourselves in self-preservation. But these things are not from God, which we know because, they are rooted in fear. The Bible says in the New Testament, that:

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

What if the drought is not to punish us, but to get our attention? And to make the work of building up the house of God our #1 priority.

2500 years have passed since these 50,000 people learned their lesson. Let’s allow their experience to be our shortcut, and to focus on sharing the good news of God (building up his house) rather than building up our own houses. When this is all over we will have a thin window of opportunity to rebuild our lives around God not comfort, helping not hoarding, and on the solid foundation of his house not our houses. There may be droughts and there may be floods, but our houses will stand if they aren’t our #1 priority.

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).

If we allow this exile to teach us, and this drought to humble us, then the Bible says in Hebrews 12:11 that it “will produce a harvest of righteousness and of peace” in our lives.

The harvest to focus on is not our finances, the stock market, or ‘providing’ for ourselves – but the harvest of righteousness and peace which is ours to live (and share), and as we do so, we are building up God’s house.

As we stay in our own houses during this season of exile, and persevere through this drought with humility and faith, let’s also remember those lessons learned by the 50,000 when it comes time to rebuild. Because, the Provider is offering a Harvest of Hope (forever) and a place without any floods and droughts, but there’s a catch – we have to value his house more than ours to receive it.