BOOK OF HAGGAI - OVERVIEW
About Haggai
Haggai's name means "One who celebrates" or "My Holidays" or "Festive" because he was born on the day of the major Feast of Tabernacles.
Haggai was born in Babylon and was included in the first group who returned home.
He is considered a successful prophet.
Haggai was a Hebrew prophet active during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem for all nations to visit and honor it above the one Solomon had built.
He is known for his prophecy commanding the Jews to rebuild the Temple.
He was the first of three post-exilic prophets from the Neo-Babylonian Exile: Zechariah, his contemporary, and Malachi, who lived about one hundred years later. Haggai and Zechariah exhorted the people to rebuild the Temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians.
The Temple needed to be rebuilt to remind the Israelites of God's abiding presence.
Haggai supported the officials of his time:
--- Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah
--- Joshua the High Priest
Haggai's message: directed to the nobles and Zerubbabel, as he would be the first Davidic monarch restored.
Haggai's message is filled with an urgency for the people to proceed with the rebuilding of the second Jerusalem temple. Haggai attributes a recent drought to the people's refusal to rebuild the temple, which he sees as key to Jerusalem’s glory. The book ends with the prediction of the downfall of kingdoms, with one Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, as the Lord's chosen leader.
Theme of Haggai: Rebuilding the Temple
The Jews has returned from being in exile in Babylon, but 16 years later they had made little progress beyond the laying of the foundation for the Second Temple.
Chapter 1
--- Haggai's first prophecy (Verses 2–11): The Command to Rebuild the Temple
--- Effects of Haggai's first address (Verses 12-15)
Chapter 2
--- the second prophecy (Verses 1–9): The Coming Glory of the Temple
--- the third prophecy (Verses 10–19): Blessings for a Defiled People
--- the fourth prophecy (Verses 20–23) delivered on the same day as the third: Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet
These prophesies are referred to in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14.
Purpose of the Book of Haggai
---1. Haggai sought to challenge the people of God concerning their priorities.
---2. He called them to reverence and glorify God by building the Temple in spite of local and official opposition.
---3. Haggai called them not to be discouraged because this Temple would not be quite as richly decorated as Solomon’s.
---4. He exhorted them to turn from the uncleanness of their ways and to trust in God’s sovereign power.
The Book of Haggai is a reminder of the problems the people of God faced at this time, how the people courageously trusted in God, and how God provided for their needs.
Key Verses
Haggai 1:4, "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
Haggai 1:5-6, "Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have 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.'"
Haggai 1:8, "Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the temple that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified.'
Haggai 2:9, "'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
God's Warnings and Promises
---1. God sought to warn the people to heed His words.
---2. Not only did God warn them, but He also offered promises through His servant Haggai to motivate them to follow Him.
Because the people of God reversed their priorities and failed to put God in first place in their lives, Judah was sent into Babylonian exile. In response to Daniel’s prayer and in fulfillment of God’s promises, God directed Cyrus the Persian king to allow the Jews in exile to go back to Jerusalem.
A group of Jews returned to their land with great joy, put God first in their lives, worshiped Him, and began to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem without the aid of the local people who lived in Israel. Their courageous faith was met with opposition from the local people as well as the Persian government for approximately 16 years.
Through Haggai, God promises to make him like a signet ring, which was a symbol of honor, authority, and power, somewhat like a king’s scepter used to seal letters and decrees. Zerubbabel, as God’s signet ring, represents the house of David and the resumption of the messianic line interrupted by the Exile.
Zerubbabel appears in the line of Christ on both Joseph’s side (Matthew 1:12) and Mary’s side (Luke 3:27).
Practical Life Application
The Book of Haggai draws attention to common problems most people face today.
Haggai asks us:
--- 1. to examine our priorities to see if we are more interested in our own pleasures than doing the work of God;
--- 2. to reject a defeatist attitude when we run into opposition or discouraging circumstances
--- 3. to confess our failures and seek to live pure lives before God
----4. to act courageously for God because we have the assurance that He is with us always and is in full control of our circumstances
---6. to rest secure in God’s hands, knowing that He will abundantly bless us as we faithfully serve Him.
READ 2:6-9 for some startling prophecies.
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