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Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”. 

Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:

 I can't get no satisfaction;

I can't get no satisfaction;

Gonna try and I try and I try and I try;

I can't get no - I can't get no –

 

Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “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.”

It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of satisfaction.  The lyrics of that Rolling Stone song might have resonated with them had the lyrics been around.  But some context might be helpful in order to bring to light what was going and what led to their dissatisfaction in Haggai’s time.

Haggai was a prophet speaking to the people of Judah who had returned from the Babylonian Exile.  The people had found life in Judah difficult after returning from exile.  They ended up putting the temple reconstruction on hold, believing it was not the right time.  That might normally have made sense but what was really going on was that they were spending a lot of their time and resources rebuilding their own fancy houses while the temple remained in ruins.

So chapter one of Haggai contains an accusation that the people had misplaced priorities.  Haggai asks, “Are your own houses really more important than your allegiance to God?” (v. 4).   And, as a result of their misplaced priorities, God had withdrawn his blessings and as they went about life, it just wasn’t working for them.

But God didn’t just leave them in those circumstances without any idea of how to get out of them.  God had Haggai deliver a message that they should essentially reconsider their ways, eliminate their excuses and prioritize the things of the Lord.  Hmmm, sounds like a message for today.

And, while the writer of the song “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” may not have ever read the book of Haggai, it appears he stumbled upon some of the truths contained in the book.  When we disobey God and do not prioritize the things of the Lord, a lot of what we do that might possibly bring us some kind of satisfaction just seems empty and meaningless! 

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