Introduction to Haggai

Haggai was written to Israel after they had been permitted to return to Jerusalem by their Persian rulers.  They had been taken captive by the Babylonians who were later defeated by the Persians.  About 50 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple and the deportation of the vast majority of the nation; the Persian King Cyrus authorizes them to return and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  Only a small group of about 50,000 people choose to return and they begin to rebuild the temple but become discouraged and distracted because of opposition as well as their own discomfort.  A decade and a half passed and the temple construction had been abandoned.  God raised up Haggai to call the people back to the task they had so quickly abandoned.  It seems very likely that Haggai was one of only a few people who survived the entire captivity and had seen the original temple.  This means that he was likely very old when he writes this book.  He was most certainly in his 70s and quite likely in his 80s when he writes.  His purpose is quite simply to call the people to get to work and the task God had given them.  We must always beware of discouragement, disappointment and most of all distractions from God’s calling in our lives.  Just like Israel, it is easy for us to get our priorities messed up and start being more concerned about our own comfort than we are about the mission God has given us to accomplish.  Haggai confronts the nation in a series of four prophecies in which he condemns Israel for its disobedience and calls the nation to repent and become obedient to the call of God.

POVERTY THROUGH NEGLIGENCE: Haggai begins his message by pointing out the many difficulties the returned exiles were facing in their lives.  Their food was scarce because the fields and fruit trees were not producing as well as they should have been.  Their just never seemed to be enough for the people to eat and drink.  Haggai makes it clear to the people that the reason they were lacking was simply due to the fact that they had neglected their mission of building the temple.  Instead, they were more concerned about their own comfort.  They built their own houses that were paneled and comfortable but never seemed to have the time, energy or resources to build the temple.  This is a sign of spiritual indifference.  God has never been limited to a building.  God does not require a temple in which to live.  However, the lack of building a temple was clearly a sign of mixed up priorities for the people.  It indicated that they were not interested in worship and indifferent towards God as a whole.  This spiritual deadness is what brought about the lack of blessing from God in their lives.  The people would rather try to trust in themselves more than trust in the Lord.  Self-confidence couple with the negligence of God is a recipe for disaster.  If we want God’s blessing in our lives and expect Him to honor our efforts; we must make His mission and our relationship with Him our number one priority.  We all have a choice to make every day and in every circumstance we face.  Either we will trust in ourselves and follow our own wisdom and try to resolve the situations we face in our own strength or we will trust God.  They first choice will leave us spinning our wheels.  The second choice will allow us to rejoice in His provision and protection.

PROSPERITY THROUGH DILIGENCE: The solution to the problem was simple.  They simply needed to repent of their selfish ways, turn back to the Lord and demonstrate this reality by building the temple as they had set out to do.  Haggai promises them that they will be blessed beyond measure for walking in obedience.  It was true that the temple they were building was not nearly as large or as lavish as the temple Solomon had built.  However, Haggai assures them that this temple will in many ways be more glorious then the previous temple.  Jesus would minister in the temple that these people were building.  There could be no greater glory for a structure than to have the presence of Messiah.  Haggai gives them a promise and a hope.  A promise that they will enjoy God’s blessing if they will diligently demonstrate their desire to worship God by building the temple; and a promise that their work will be significant in light of eternity.  In many ways Haggai’s promise to the nation of Israel was fulfilled in Christ’s first coming.  However, there is a sense in which the completion of this prophecy will be realized in its fullness and the second coming of Christ.  God has a mission for us to accomplish.  If we will trust Him and make His mission of spreading the fame of Jesus to all the nations of the world our first priority; we too can live with the promise of His blessing and provision as well as with the hope of living eternally significant lives.  When we make our own comfort our priority and trust in our own strength; we will live in a state of depression do to disobedience and discouragement because we will feel like our lives are pointless.  Obedience to God’s call is the secret to success and eternal significance.