Think About Your Ways

One family sit down to eat dinner inside one house wey get fine smooth wood for di walls. Di bowls full only half. For outside, di farms don dry. And few streets from there, grass dey grow through di stones of God house.

E don reach about eighteen years since di first exiles come back from Babylon to Jerusalem. When dem reach, dem heart full with hope. Dem lay di foundation of one new temple, and di old people wey remember di first temple cry, while di young ones shout for joy. But then di neighbours begin cause trouble, di work stop, and di years just dey pass. Now Darius na king of Persia. For di second year of im reign, for di first day of di sixth month, one man wey im name na Haggai stand up with word from Di Lord. E talk to Zerubbabel, di governor of Judah, and to Joshua, di high priest. And through dem, e talk to everybody.

God first repeat wetin di people don dey talk. Dis people talk say: di time never reach, di time wey dem suppose build Di Lord house. No be now. Maybe next year. Then di question wey dey pain come. Na time for una to dey live inside una fine houses wey una cover with wood, while dis house lie down for ruins? Di houses wey dem finish with fine wood. God dey talk say: una find time to make una own houses fine. But my own house still be ruin. Then Haggai talk di words wey give dis story im name. Think about your ways. Stop. Think. Look your life with honesty.

And wetin dem go see if dem look? Haggai count am. Una plant plenty, but una harvest small. Una dey eat, but e no dey ever satisfy una. Una dey drink, but thirst still dey catch una. Una wear clothes, but cold still dey catch everybody. And di person wey dey collect salary put am inside bag wey get hole. Every coin be like say e dey fall comot straight. God tell dem why. Dem look for plenty, but e come small. Dem dey run go dem own houses while im own house lie down for ruins. So e call for dry season for di farms, for di hills, for di grain, for di new wine and for di oil. Then di instruction, simple and clear. Go up di hills. Bring down wood. Build di house, and I go happy with am, and I go get glory.

Dis na di surprise. Dem listen. Zerubbabel listen. Joshua di high priest listen. And all di remaining people listen too. Dem obey di voice of Di Lord and di words of Haggai, and di Bible talk say di people fear Di Lord. Then Haggai bring second message, di shortest one for di book, and maybe di sweetest. I dey with una, na so Di Lord talk. Na only dat one. Just one short line. And God stir up di spirit of di governor, and di spirit of di high priest, and di spirit of everybody wey remain for di land. Twenty-three days after Haggai first talk, dem come and begin work for di house of Di Lord of hosts, dem God.

Haggai write di dates of im messages with care, reach di very day of di month. Dis one make im book one of di books wey get di most correct dates for di whole Bible. With di records of di Babylonian and Persian calendars, historians fit match im first message to di end of August, for di year five hundred and twenty BC. Di book of Ezra confirm di story from another side: e tell us say di prophets Haggai and Zechariah talk to di people, and say Zerubbabel and Joshua stand up and begin build di house of God for Jerusalem.

Think about your ways. You go find dis one for di book of Haggai, chapter one. People wey dey busy, wey keep dey talk say no be now, until one prophet ask dem make dem stop and look. And when dem turn back, God answer simple: I dey with una. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Something dey wey God don ask you to do, wey you still dey push for later?