Haggai 1
God’s People Must Prioritize God’s Work
Haggai’s challenge was to call the post-exilic community of Jews living in Jerusalem not simply to focus on their own creature comforts but to honor God. This commitment would be reflected in their work on the temple. - Gregory W. Parsons
The Prophet’s Setting
Vs. 1 - In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai
In the historical books of the Old Testament, the writers usually dated the events in reference to a king of Judah or Israel, but the Jews had no king now. - Thomas Constable
Ezra 4:4-5 - Then the people who were already in the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build. They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
Ezra 4:24 - Now the construction of God’s house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.
The Prophet’s Message
Paneled Houses
Vs. 3-4 - The word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”
Construction on the temple had begun 16 years earlier but had ceased due to opposition from the Israelites’ neighbors who were mostly Samaritans (Ezra 3:8-13; Ezra 4:1-5, 24). When the Jews considered resuming construction, most of them said it was not yet the right time.
King Cyrus had provided the Jews with money to buy hardwood timber to rebuild the temple (Ezra 3:7). It appears that the restoration Jews had used this superior wood to build their own homes rather than to rebuild the temple. - Thomas Constable
There were some good reasons why they might say this, and why the work of rebuilding the temple was hard: (Guzik)
The land was still desolate after 70 years of neglect.
The work was hard.
They didn’t have a lot of money (Haggai 1:6) or manpower.
They suffered crop failures and drought (Haggai 1:10-11).
Hostile enemies resisted the work (Ezra 4:1-5).
They remembered easier times in Babylon.
I Ruined It
Vs. 9 - When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. “Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.
Haggai attributed a season of suffering and scarcity to God’s effort to arrest His people’s attention. They had become preoccupied with the matters in their own houses and had failed to prioritize those in God’s.
The People’s Response
Vs. 12 - Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people obeyed the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai
Haggai’s forthright preaching brought quick results. The people, realizing the truth of his accusations, responded to his appeal, and in little more than three weeks had restarted work on the temple. - Don Fleming
Ezra 5:1-2 - But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.
