Imagine a husband who every Friday night brought home a bouquet of flowers and a card expressing his love to his wife. The rest of the week, however, he was inattentive, rude, and uncaring. It would not take long before the flowers and card would feel empty and hollow.

Haggai 2:10–19 provides us with the third message the Lord gave the prophet to deliver to the people. Here God asks the priest a question that may seem a bit strange to us. The question is: If someone took a piece of meat that had been made holy by sacrifice and then touched some bread or stew with it, would those items also become holy? The answer is quite clear according to the Law, “No” (v. 12). But what if someone was ceremonially unclean because they touched a dead body. If they touched something, does it become defiled? The answer is equally clear, “Yes” (v. 13). The Law treats ceremonial holiness and uncleanness like health and sickness. You can catch sickness by being around a sick person, but you can’t catch health by being around a healthy person.

God then makes His point. In the same way that uncleanness is contagious, the people’s worship had been corrupted. They had been going through the motions of worship and sacrifice, but their hearts were far from God (v. 14). Their spiritual condition was manifested in their neglect of the Temple (v. 15).

God cares deeply about our motives in worship. Our praise and worship does not mean much if it comes from a heart full of greed, selfish ambition, or pride. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Rom. 12:1).

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