INTRODUCTION TO HAGGAI

'Haggai' means 'festival.' Haggai must have been a young boy when he was taken as an exile to Babylon. He may have witnessed the destruction of the temple in 586 B.C. Now, he was an old man. He and Zechariah, a younger prophet, returned to Jerusalem to give encouragement and spiritual direction to the exiles who had returned to rebuild the temple (Ezra 5:1-2).

Seventy years after the exile to Babylon, Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon and gave permission for the exiles to return home. This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer 29:10-14). However, after 70 years in Babylon, many of the exiles had made new lives for themselves and they did not want to return to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem. Those who returned with Zerubbabel had a clear mission: To rebuild the temple of God. They worked hard and laid the foundations (Ezr 3:8-10). Then, the Samaritans living in the land persuaded the Persian government to make them stop. About 15 years later, Darius became king, and government policy changed. But the people hesitated to start again. Haggai and Zechariah strongly encouraged Zerubbabel to finish the temple. It was finished and dedicated in 516 B.C. (Ezr 6:15-18).

The messages of Haggai were delivered during a four month period in 520 B.C..

1. Give careful thought to your ways (1-11)

The exiles had returned to Jerusalem by God's grace. They came with the mission of rebuilding the temple. They worked hard and laid the foundations, but the people of the land had used political tactics to make them stop work. Nothing had been done for fifteen years. During that time, things did not go well. The people worked hard to survive, but nothing worked out. Haggai challenged them to 'give careful thought to your ways.' (5,7) Because they only worked for themselves and had not rebuilt God's house or done any work for him, they did not have God's blessing. So all their work was vain and useless. We need God's blessing.

2. The people obey (12-15)

The people, beginning with their leader Zerubbabel recognized the prophet as God's servant. They accepted his rebuke and repented and began to work on the house of the Lord again. The Lord was with them and they worked with spirit.

Application: Lord, help me to do your work first--with heart and spirit.
One Word: Do God's work first