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?