HAGGAI.StudentNotes

HAGGAI

THEME: 

DATE (AND HISTORICAL SETTING):  520 BC (2nd year of                                                )

In 539/538 BC, Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, permitted the Jews in Babylon to return to Judah, their homeland.  One of his instructions to them was to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:3-5).  The exiles began to rebuild the Temple (that had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586) about 536 BC.  The foundation was re-laid, but the work of reconstruction ceased shortly afterwards.  About fifteen years pass.  Still the Temple has not been rebuilt (Ezra 4:24).  However, in the 2nd year of Darius (520 BC), king of Persia, God raised up two men, Haggai and Zechariah, to preach to the Jews and exhort them to finish rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 5:1).  Note the dates of the key events and prophecies in the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah in the chart below.

| Prophecies and events in the days of Haggai and Zechariah  | ! Chronological Framework

| ! Modern Equivalent

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STRUCTURE:  Four messages all dated to the 2nd year of Darius (520 B.C.)

I.        Judah’s                                          hardships are due to their failure to rebuild God’s house (1:1-15).

A.       Haggai’s message (1:1-11):  Your current hardship is a result of                                                             .

Judah’s                                           were wrong.  They had time for their own activities, but no time to build God’s house.  They needed to learn to seek first the kingdom of God.  Prioritize the things of God!

                                                         your ways!  Do we recognize when God is endeavoring to get our attention?  Sometimes, God sends us hardships to let us know that our priorities are not right!

B.       The people’s response (1:12-15)

Twenty-three days after Haggai preached his first sermon, the people began to rebuild the Temple.

II.      The latter glory of the Temple will be greater than its former glory (2:1-9).

A.      The reason for discouragement (2:1-4)

Some of the exiles had seen the previous Temple, the Temple of                                                     .  Their Temple was far inferior to the magnificent Temple of Solomon.  This was a cause of discouragement.

B.       The word of encouragement (2:5-9)

1.       The abiding presence of the                                       of God (2:5)

2.       The latter glory of the Temple would be greater than any previous glory it enjoyed (2:6-9).

Many have debated the phrase “the                                                of all nations shall come” (2:7).  Traditionally, it has been understood as a Messianic prophecy.  However, it could also refer to the nations bringing their desired things (their wealth) to Jerusalem and to the Lord, as Isaiah 60:4-9 describes. 

The KJV says, “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former” (2:9; emphasis mine).  Grammatically, it is possible that latter and former refer to glory not house.  Thus, the focus is not on this latter house (the Temple they are building) but on the latter glory of this house (the Temple of God in any age).  Although this prophecy may have been partially fulfilled in the First Coming of Christ,[1] the complete fulfillment of this prophecy awaits the Millennial Temple.[2]  The rebuilding of the post-exilic Temple, despite its insignificant appearance, was important because it was a part of God’s Kingdom purpose of making Jerusalem the place where He has placed His Name.  The glory of the Temple will reach its height when the Messiah will reign from the Temple in the Millennial Kingdom.

III.   Uncleanness in one area invalidates spiritual or religious activities in other areas (2:10-19).

A.       Uncleanness is                                                      (2:10-13), affecting everything it touches.

B.       The people’s failure to honor God in                               area (the rebuilding of the Temple) had made all their other works and sacrifices unacceptable to God (2:14).

Uncleanness annuls any possible benefit from sacrifice or service.  Disobedience in one area of Christian life renders void Christian service in other areas.  You cannot live for the Lord if you neglect to take care of any area in which He has dealt with you.

C.      Because of their recent effort to rebuild the Temple, God could and would now bless them (2:15-19).

Haggai 2:18 indicates that this prophecy was delivered on the day that the foundation of the Temple was re-laid—the 24th day of the ninth month (Kislev).  From now on, God would bless them and restore their agricultural prosperity.  God honored this “Foundation Day” by sending two prophecies to Haggai.

IV.    Zerubbabel becomes a type of the future                                             Son of David (2:20-23).

The context is eschatological and Millennial (2:21-22), describing the downfall of the kingdoms of men and the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom.  Zerubbabel, as a descendant of David, pictures or typifies Jesus Christ, the Son of David.  In fact, Zerubbabel occurs in the genealogies of Christ in the New Testament (Matt. 1:12-13; Luke 3:27).  Reference to the “signet ring”[3] reminds us of Jeremiah 22:24-25, where Jehoiachin is like a castaway signet ring.  The future Messiah will bring to an end God’s seeming rejection of the house of David.

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[1] See Bible Knowledge Commentary:  Old Testament (SP Publications, 1985), 1542.

[2] Even the phrase “to shake the heavens and the earth” (2:6) suggests a Millennial focus.  Haggai uses the expression again in 2:21.  This expression refers to the Messianic Age or the Millennial Kingdom, when God will tear down the kingdoms of men and put in place the Kingdom of His Son.

[3] In the ancient world, kings often used signet rings to seal or stamp documents with their official royal approval.  (The giving of the “ring” to another person signifies giving that person the king’s authority—see Gen. 41:42; Est. 3:10; 8:2).  Haggai 2:23, then, ultimately pictures the divine authority of the future Messiah.