Introduction to Haggai
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August 12, 2021
August 12, 2021
Background
Israel returns from exile in Babylon as predicted by Jeremiah
10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
They start to rebuild the city and the temple but are stopped early on by a decree of the Persian king.
24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
The temple sits unbuilt for over 16 years and God raises the prophet Haggai to call the people back to rebuilding the temple.
Main Characters
Darius—King of the Persian Empire
Zerubbabel—leader of the returning exiles from Babylon and civil governor of Judah.
Joshua—The High Priest—responsible for spiritual life and shared leadership with the Governor.
Introduction
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.
Why is Hebrews 11 significant?
What does Hebrews 11 teach us about how God works?
Haggai is a man who God raised up strategically for a particular time and place.
Haggai shows up 16 years after the foundation was laid for the temple. (Ezra 3:7-13)
Haggai’s job was to reignite a vision to rebuild the temple. He had to convince both the leaders and the rest of the people.
Where in our lives do we need a greater passion for the things of God?
Has God ever used one of us to get other people excited about and motivated to do something that God wanted to happen?
The problem we will see in Haggai is a problem of people de-priortizing the things of God and Haggai trying to get them to move God back to the top of their list.
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
The word of the Lord comes to Haggai.....
What does the Psalmist show us about the Word of the Lord?
2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
Why is it so hard for us to stop and listen to the Word of the Lord?
Why does so much of the world ignore the words of the Lord?
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
When God sent His word to Haggai the prophet responded in obedience sharing and preaching.
Remember when Peter preached on Pentecost?
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Later on that day 3000 people were added to the church. Were they responding to Peter’s eloquence or the work the Holy Spirit did in affirming and working through Peter’s speech?
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Those who heard the word to Haggai
What is our responsibility when we hear the Word of God preached?
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
Have you had an experience of God speaking to you personally whether in a sermon, Bible reading, conversation with someone or something else?
What’s a real life example you’ve seen of God raising up a special person for a specific task?
Next week we will cover Haggai 1:2-11.