The Book of Haggai
We do not know a lot about Haggai except that he served as a prophet together with Zechariah during the post-exilic period. Although God has miraculously brought some of the exiles back from captivity through the decree of King Cyrus of Persia (538 B.C., Ezr. 1:1ff.), because of opposition from hostile neighbors, the work of rebuilding the temple had come to a halt for almost 2 decades. However, as another king, Darius came into power, he revived the former decree of Cyrus and gave permission to the Jews to resume their work and “so the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching Haggai the prophet and Zechariah” (Ezr. 6:14; 520/519). The temple was completed in 516 B.C.
(1) One of the features of the book of Haggai is that his messages are precisely dated:
a. What is the date of his first message? (v. 1)
b. What insight might it provide concerning the background of his message? (see Ezr. 5:1-2; 6:13-14)
(2) The first message is addressed to:
a. Zerubbabel: Who is he? (v. 1b; see Ezr. 2:2; Zech. 4:6-9)
b. Joshua: Who is he? (v. 1b; see Ezr. 2:2; 3:2 and Zech. 3:1.
(Note that Jeshua is a variant of Joshua.)
(3) The charge of spiritual apathy (vv. 2-4)
a. The halting of the rebuilding of the temple
- What was the cause for the stoppage of this work? (see Ezr. 4:23)
- How do the people respond to the decree? (v. 2)
- Are they not correct in so saying? Why or why not?
b. How does the Lord rebuke them of such an attitude? (v. 4)
c. What’s wrong with their attitude?
(4) The judgment of their spiritual apathy (vv. 5-11)
a. What are the signs that speak to their sin? (vv. 5-6)
b. What reason is given for their futile labor? (vv. 9-11)
c. How might you learn from this rebuke?
d. How should they repent? (vv. 7-8)
(5) Immediate obedience (vv. 12-15)
a. How do Zerubbabel, Joshua and the people respond to the words of the prophet? (v. 12)
b. According to Ezra 5:2, has the decree of prohibition been lifted at the time?
c. How do their hostile neighbors respond to their action? (Ezr. 5:3ff)
d. Why do they have the courage to disobey the king’s decree? (v. 12b)
e. In spite of opposition, what promise does the Lord make to them? (v. 13)
f. How long does it take for the people to respond to the message of the prophet and put it into action? (vv. 1, 15)
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.” (Hag. 1:14b-15)
We have often bashed the Israelites for their stubborn rebellion to the Lord throughout their history, and rightfully so. However, we also often overlook that, at times, they exemplified obedience that should put us, NT believers, to shame. Their immediate response to the words of the prophet Haggai is a case in point.
After the stoppage of the rebuilding work of the temple as decreed by the king, they have focused on the rebuilding of their homes and vineyards. Given the abject poverty that had plagued Jerusalem after their captivity, one can appreciate that the re-cultivation of the land was not going to be easy; it would take a lot of effort and time. Just the same, the prophet rebukes them for using it more as an excuse in totally forgetting their main mission of coming back to Jerusalem which is the rebuilding of the Lord’s temple.
As the prophet reminds them of the futility of their effort, (basically seeing very little result from their labor and toil done for themselves) and points out that it is, in fact, God’s judgment of their negligence of their primary mission (1:6-11), amazingly they repent and resume the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord.
The most amazing part is the fact that they resume this sacred project even when the royal decree has not been lifted. That speaks volumes of their obedience, which is not only immediate—taking only 23 days for them to resume the project (1:1; 15), but one that is certainly risky.
However, as is always the case with our obedience to God, when they step out in faith and obedience, the Lord honors His promise to be with them (1:13) and causes a new king, Darius to lift the royal decree (Ezr. 6:13).