Introduction to Haggai

A Study on Haggai and Zechariah

Renewing our Spiritual Heritage

Introduction to Haggai

Haggai 1:1-2

Introduction: Perhaps the most overlooked portions in the Bible is what is called the Minor Prophets. The truth of the matter is that the Minor Prophets are anything but minor. They are called minor because of Their length. There is a wealth of practical and relevant information in these books.

When we come to a study many Christians do not even know there is a book called Haggai. It is the smallest book in the Old Testament next to Obadiah which has only one chapter. Haggai has only two chapters with 38 verses. Even though there is a close connection to Deuteronomy, 2:6 is also quoted in the New Testament in Hebrews 12:26“Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” (Hebrews 12:26).

Haggai is mentioned in only one other biblical book Ezra. The date of the book is clearly dated as taking place during the second year of the reign of King Darius Hystaspes (His stas pees) of Babylon.

There is no mention of his parents or any ancestors. He came on the scene with no prior announcement, gave his message from God, and four months later, disappeared out of history. One wonders what happened to him but there is no need to speculate.

There is almost nothing about him personally: young, old, short, fat, farmer, or priest. Names were normally given to describe the baby and express a wish for the child’s future. His name is derived from that which means festival.

It seems likely he was born on a feast day and named my feast. When you “ai” or “I” at the end of a Jewish name, it almost always means my, as in his case “my feast.”

Haggai and Zechariah were contemporaries who urged the Jews, Zerubbabel and Joshua, to resume the work of rebuilding the temple. Their concern was the rebuilding of the temple and restoring the worship of God’s house. The message is to awake out of spiritual lethargy and rebuild the house of God. Together with Zechariah they were two prophets who saw the fulfillment of their words.

It is difficult to understand these two prophets without realizing what was happening in the world at the time. In 722 BC, the one northern kingdom (Israel) had been taken captive by the Assyrians. They were cruelly treated and never returned to their homeland. For the next 136 years the southern kingdom of Judah went through a few good times under Hezekiah and Josiah and very many bad years under Manasseh, Jehoahoz, Jehoiakim, and Jehoiachin. Then in 536 BC Jerusalem was invaded by Nebuchadnezzar who took them as prisoners back to Babylon. Only the poorest of the land was left behind to work the vineyards and fields. II Kings 24 and Jeremiah record the horrifying details of the destruction of Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the buildings of Jerusalem. He burned every important building in Jerusalem. The captives remained prisoners for about 50 years.

Some settled down in Babylon to make a living and adjust to a new norm but there were some still longing for their homeland (Psalm 137). (turn)

God intervened in the situation and a Persian leader, Cyrus, captured Babylon and would allow the exiles to return to rebuild.

For many years after they settled back in the land, the ark of the covenant rested in a tent. David had longed to build a house for God’s glory but God said no. God told him no but he collected the materials and treasure to build the temple. Solomon spent 7 years building this house for God. It was glorious and very lavish.

In the temple was the holy of holies and it was the most sacred place where the ark of the covenant stood.

During the exile in Babylon the Jews longed to worship in this temple. They had heard it was completely destroyed by the enemies of God and have been cut off from God. According to Ezekiel God made a covenant of peace and it became imperative for the Jews to rebuild the Jerusalem temple as soon as they returned to their homeland.

Under the work of Zerubbabel the temple is what Haggai prophesied about which stood for nearly 500 years. King Herod enlarged in effort to impress the Jews and make his rule more acceptable to them. It was barely finished when it was utterly destroyed in AD 70.

Since then the site has been empty of any building dedicated to God of the Bible. In 691 AD the Muslims claimed the sight and they built the Dome of the Rock. It dominates the skyline of the Israeli capital and its protected as the third most holy spot in Islam.

There is another reason why there is not temple on the sight. Because we don’t need an earthly temple. The veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was rent from top to bottom. Mankind now comes directly to God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He made a way for all of mankind to go directly to Him.

Haggai during his four months of ministry sought to stir the people’s heart to build the temple and revive their spiritual heritage.

In verses 1-2 we find the builders were reluctant to do what they should have done.

How many of you have projects you have on the back burner that you have never gotten to? It might be a garden that you were going to get started and never got around to it. It might be that broken fence or the wall that needs painting you have not gotten around to it. We have many good intentions, yet it seems we never find the time. The Jews had intended to rebuilt the temple but it had to be when the time was right and they were saying the time had not yet arrived.

The first message he gives here is very direct. Time has been wasted and it was quickly passing and the worship of God was being neglected. Time was quickly passing and nothing is being done to build the house of God. Their spiritual lives were eroding over time. Everyone has the same amount of time in a week. There are demands on some people’s time because of responsibility but equal time.

This is not so much a question of time but of priority. He was concerned because their priorities were not towards the Lord’s House.

Tonight in 2024, that is still a major concern for preachers today. The priority of worship has fallen drastically in the last few years. Attendance is measured by months rather than by weeks. In the book of Ezra we learned that 18 years earlier, they were allowed to return to their land and build their temple to God,; their priorities have not been right.

We need to Renew our Spiritual Heritage.

The take away tonight is to live by Biblical priorities. We may not be able to do “everything” so we make our choices based on the important things. Let’s keep our priorities right.