Stayed from Dew and Fruit Haggai 1:10

Haggai the prophet declared, “Because” the LORD's “house” was “waste”, “and” the Israelites ran “every man unto his own house”, they would “look for much”, but when they brought things home, the LORD would “blow upon” those things and they would be gone. Rather than regarding the temple of the LORD, the people of Israel were devoting their time and attention to their own houses. In chapter one and verse ten of his prophecy, Haggai shared the results of their neglect which affected not only the “dew” from “heaven” but also the “fruit” from the “earth” where we read:

Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

The verse begins, “Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew,...” Haggai began with the words, “Therefore the heaven” which is one Hebrew word “shamayim” and means “the sky, atmosphere and visible universe” “over you” which refers to the Israelites “is stayed” or “restricted, restrained, withheld, shut up, kept back and forbidden” “from dew” which means “night mist or light rain”. Even the rain and watering source was restricted from the Israelites because they neglected the temple of the LORD.

The verse goes on to say, “... and the earth is stayed from her fruit.” Haggai continued, “and the earth” or “land, country, district, region and territory” “is stayed” or “restricted, restrained, withheld, shut up, kept back and forbidden” “from her fruit” which refers to “produce, crop and wealth ”. Not only was “the heaven” shut up before the Israelites, but the crops from their fields were affected as well.

When we think about the LORD's words through Haggai, we get a strong sense of His desire for them to alter their ways. It isn't as though the LORD was sitting upon high and causing the lack in heaven and on earth, but rather their behavior caused this effect. We can almost hear the plea of the LORD for them to change their ways so the heaven would be open and the crops would be in abundance. In other words, the LORD's plea for them is “put His things first”, and everything else will be added to them. “The heavens” and “the earth” around us are waiting for us to prioritize the temple of the LORD and have everything else secondary to that. May the LORD Jesus help us know where we attend to our own things rather than His, and may we see the “heaven” and “the earth” in it's full abundance toward us when we do.

Next time Haggai tells the Israelites the LORD caused a “drought” against them, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.