MOSES, THE DELIVERER OF ISRAEL , God’s chosen leader to emancipate them from slavery and take them to the Promised Land, warned the people not to turn away from the Lord. “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deut. 8:11-14)
Yet the history of ancient Israel shows that they turned away, time and time again. One of the deepest lows the nation experienced was during the Babylonian exile, when the majority of the peoples were exiled to Babylon after being conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century B.C. That exile lasted seventy years, after which, as prophesied by Jeremiah, the people returned to Israel. The land had been untended, the city of Jerusalem had suffered destruction, and the Temple was in ruins.
At that time, the Lord—and particularly obedience to the Lord—was not the priority for the remnant of the southern kingdom of Judah upon their return from exile. Instead, they were focused on their own individual needs for housing and for raising crops. Then the Lord spoke to them through the prophet Haggai. “Is it a time for you to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin? Give careful thought to your ways. 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.” (Hag. 1:4-6)
And the Lord tells them why this is. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.” (Hag. 1:9-10) Scripture records, “Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God.” (Hag. 1:12, 14)
The Lord is pleased, and tells them, “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house. And in this place I will grant peace.” (Hag. 2:9) The work of restoration would continue and be completed under first Ezra and then Nehemiah. And the nation would have peace again, until the next time of disobedience.
As a people go, so goes the nation. And as the nation goes, so go the people. At a time when Israel has once again turned away from God, and finds themselves under Roman rule—and will soon find themselves once again exiled from the Promised Land—Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who had such a harvest that he decided to build bigger barns to hold it all. (cf. Luke 12:16-21) “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (Luke 12:20) And Jesus says, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21) Jesus refers to the antithesis of this in the Sermon on the Mount. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:33)
There is an underlying principle in these warnings from Moses, Haggai, and Jesus. This is a fundamental truth that has ready application in the twenty-first century A.D. church and the people of the church. Those who call God “Father” are in a covenantal and conditional relationship with him. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.” (Psa. 103:11) While he desires to bless us, not curse us (cf. Deut. 28:1-68). his blessings are conditional upon our obedience. “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, these blessings will come on you and accompany you.” (Deut. 28:1-2)
It is clear from this pervasive theme throughout scripture that God demands we place him as our first priority. The first commandment stresses this: “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex. 20:2-3) Jesus inferred and referred to this when he said quoted the Schema, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30, Deut. 6:4-5)
It seems that our world is at this same crossroads again—it is a familiar and repetitive place when we view history through the long view. It is our fate as Christians to live in a time of apostasy in the church and in our nations. It is cold comfort to understand how these issues cycle through cultures and histories. Nations rise, and nations fall. And the same fate awaits us all, in one sense, but not at all in another. As we witness the desultory disintegration of culture at the end of an epoch, we who are of God must continue to place him first in our lives. He must be first in our heart, first in our soul, first in our mind, and first in our strength. Let us not forget, however, that the priority of our allegiance to God is also a responsibility we bear to others.
Q. Do I put God first?