First Commandment

First Things First (Haggai 1:1-15)

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There is so much more to life than surviving in the ranks of the world, so why is it often so hard to break past the daily needs into the fulfilling and exciting parts of life?

The book of Haggai shows us that we can’t break through the surface level survival needs until we have our priorities straight.  God must be our foundation because nothing else is great enough to fulfill us.

Haggai was written after the exile (in the second year of King Darius)–there is peace among the nations and the Jews have returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.  It was really a sacrifice for the Jews to return to Jerusalem because they were making so much money in Babylon.  So not too many returned, and those who did lost their nice houses and nice jobs, and fertile land and all that Babylon had given them.  (Hag 1:1)

When the book begins the Jews have stopped trying to rebuild the temple because they are frustrated and are instead just struggling to survive.  They say to themselves, “The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt” because since ceasing the construction of the temple they’ve experienced even worse poverty.  But through the prophet Haggai, the Lord rebukes them saying, “Consider your ways!”  He shows them they are focusing on rebuilding their own houses before focusing on building the temple, and that is why the Lord Himself has caused them to suffer (agriculturally, economically, and so forth).  He says it’s like they’re putting money into a purse with holes, and exhorts them to get their priorities in order–to first rebuild the temple that He may be glorified.  (Hag 1:2-11)

We too, must have our priorities in order.  I don’t think it’s uncommon to find ourselves caught up in trying to make a better life for ourselves.  Perhaps, some of us have even experienced a similar move toward worse and worse situations in the attempt to pull together the basic pieces of our lives (or ministries).  Why?  The Lord answers here that it’s because we run to our own houses as His lies desolate–we turn to our own needs before we consider Him who has provided everything.

Fortunately, when Haggai gave this rebuke, the people listened, “obeyed the Lord” and “showed reverence for the Lord.”  And as a result, the Lord promised He would be with them and stirred up their spirits so that they would be productive in building the temple!  (Hag 1:12-15)

Notice, the promises the Lord gave the Jews were not physical, but of spiritual strengthening.  This is so simple: when God’s people demonstrate they love Him more than anything else, He provides them with all the tools to carry out their calling–above all, giving the Holy Spirit: God with us.  When the first things come first, the rest are easily carried out.

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Emphasis on the First Commandment

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There are two commandments that stand out within the entire Bible and are particularly emphasized by Jesus in the New Testament.  The first commandment is to love God and the second is to love other people.  The first is first and the second is second–they aren’t equal.  If we forget to love God, it really doesn’t matter how much we love people (1 Cor 13).  The first commandment is a requirement for the second, and it is greater (Mat 22:37-38).

I’ve mentioned these commandments before, but it’s very important to recognize the difference between them.  They wouldn’t be highlighted separately if they were the same; thus, we do not love God BY loving other people, we love God THEN we love other people.  This is not a subtle difference.

So how do we love God?  Scripture says we love God by keeping His commandments–we completely submit ourselves to God in obedience of whatever He has for us (John 15:1-11).

This is why loving God has to happen before the loving of people: God has a specific design for how we should individually love those in our spheres of influence.  We aren’t called to random acts of kindness; we’re called to specific works which He prepared beforehand for us to do (Eph 2:10)!

If we neglect to focus on a relationship with the Lord foremost (on truly and wholeheartedly loving Him), then instead of being led by His voice to pour out His love, we become recklessly attempting to earn or prove our salvation to God, ourselves and the world.  We may help people to feel good in the now, but aren’t able to offer them insight toward a stable relationship with the Lord because we don’t have it for ourselves; what is Christianity unless Christians can offer both?  This ‘being good’ wears us out, makes us feel constantly inadequate or in competition with others, and most importantly, it doesn’t work–God knows our heart.

The ‘goodness’ has to come from the inside out.  As we spend time with Him, we know Him and love Him.  He gives us a heart to love Him–more and more as we seek Him–because He knows how small we are.  And as we completely submit to Him in love, we can’t help but be stirred in our spirits to help His other loves.  It really does happen naturally.  And it brings with it a confidence of being a true heir and son or daughter to the Most High God.

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Ignorance and Responsibility

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I work occasionally as a parking enforcement officer–a job I started to get myself through college, and have enjoyed so much I probably will never fully quit.

As I write parking tickets, I’ve often encountered angry people and have had to share with them what they’ve done, while still executing justice.  I’ve heard every excuse, and one time was nearly killed by a man who had parked over an hour in a 30 minute parking zone and, in rage, attempted to run me over with his truck before the police got involved.

One of the most common excuses is not knowing the rules of the road: “I didn’t know that wasn’t a parking space.”, “I didn’t know I needed a permit in that area.”, “No one told me I couldn’t drive through the bus center.”, and so forth.  Some of the people I meet are really nice people who really didn’t know they were in the wrong; more of them are lying (evidenced by the computerized system I carry of every ticket and warning they’ve had in the past).  Regardless, it’s the responsibility of those who drive to know the rules of the road (and of parking).  It’s my responsibility as parking enforcement officer to judge rightly and execute judgment according to the law.

I say this because many Christians neglect to actively pursue the Lord–even though it’s clear that love (demonstrated through obedience) is the first and foremost commandment.  We don’t, in the new covenant, have a rule book to follow as the Jews did; instead, the Holy Spirit writes the law on our hearts and connects us to God so that we can know and walk out His will.  Without the pursuit of God through the Holy Spirit (by reading the Bible, dialoguing with the Lord in prayer, connecting with other Christians in fellowship,…) we miss knowing Him.  And if we don’t know Him, well, He’ll still have to execute perfect judgment.

The season of God’s mercy is NOW.  Right now we’re alive and have the choice whether to learn God’s heart and choose His ways, or whether to drive our lives by our own rules.  And while I can give ‘warnings’ to those parked in the wrong spot (the gift of surprise mercy), God’s mercy is only available until we die, after that His judgment can be nothing but Just because He can’t go back on His word.

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God will never ask us to do anything He hasn’t done first!

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The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul and mind.  This is absolutely the MOST important thing. (Deut 6:4-5, Ex 20:1-3, Mark 12:28-30)

The second commandment, while not equal, is also important.  We are to love our neighbors–to love EVERYONE with the love He’s shown us.  This is the second most important thing, and is catalyzed by our love for the Lord.  (Mat 22:36-49, Luke 10:25-37)

When Jesus commands us to love other people, it’s not arbitrary, it’s because HE LOVES them.  It’s Jesus giving us His heart for the people of the world–whether they will choose Him or not.  We can love the lovable and unlovable only through Him.  This is why the first commandment is first and the second is second!  Without a firm love of the Lord, we really can’t make ourselves love–we can go through the actions (even with enthusiasm), but that’s all it is: working out the expression of love rather than actually loving from that deep place in our spirits.  (1 John 4:7-21)

We connect to Jesus solely to experience Him, know Him, and love Him.  And as we enter into that relationship, He begins to give us His heart.  Our heart begins to break for the people we never thought we could like, let alone love; and it’s such a deep love that we are stirred to outwardly demonstrate that love through evangelism, giving, service, and many of the other spiritual gifts.  We can’t help but love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

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We can’t make our own love…

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Jeremiah is probably my favorite prophet.  As I was reading his words, I got caught on this verse: Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart” (emphasis mine).

The most important word here is that second ‘for’; it means ‘because’.  The Lord promises that IF the people return to Him with their whole hearts, then He will GIVE them a heart to know Him.  This is huge.  Only the Lord can give us the perfect Love to love Him with, and yet loving Him is the first commandment (Deut 6:4-5; Mark 12:28-29)!  We must absolutely return to the Lord with all our hearts!

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