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Notes The Book of Haggai
Haggai
1:1-4 - In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth
month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD
by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high
priest, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This
people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house
should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the
prophet, saying, [Is it] time for you, O ye, to dwell in your
cieled houses, and this house [lie] waste?
Haggai
2:5-9 - [According to] the word that I covenanted with you
when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you:
fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it [is]
a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and
the sea, and the dry [land]; And I will shake all nations, and
the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house
with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver [is] mine, and
the gold [is] mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this
latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD
of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of
hosts.
The Old Testament - A Brief Overview
Bible Survey - Haggai
Hebrew Name -
Chahggay
"Festive Joy"
Greek Name - Aggaeus (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Haggai (According to Tradition)
Date - 520 BC Approximately
Theme - The Rebuilding of the Temple
Types and Shadows - In Haggai Jesus is the Desire of all Nations
Summary of The Book of Haggai
Haggai prophesied to the
Jews who had returned from captivity. The time was 520 BC, 18
years after the king of Persia allow them to return to rebuild
the Temple. Samaritans from the north had caused all the work in
the Temple to come to a halt. 16 years had gone by and people
were more interested in working on their houses than rebuilding
the Temple. The prophet Haggai encouraged God's people to finish
rebuilding the Temple that Zerubbabel had started. Haggai also
said that the recent problems they were experiencing is because
of their laziness in the things of God. The prophet Zechariah
encouraged them as well and within four years the Temple was
completed. Haggai also told them to "be strong" and promised
them that because of their obedience the blessings of God would
come to them from that day forward, and "the glory of this
latter house shall be greater than of the former." Haggai made
the glorious promise that the people of the world will come to
the "Desire of All Nations", referring to the Messiah, and God
will fill the Temple with glory.
The prophet Haggai was the first of the three prophets during
the Persian period who prophesied to the Jews who had returned
from captivity, the other two prophets were Zechariah and
Malachi. Haggai was also mentioned by Ezra as a co-worker with
Zechariah in prophesying to the people and they prospered in
completing the construction of the Second Temple.
"And the elders of the Jews builded, and they
prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and
Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished [it],
according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according
to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of
Persia." Ezra 6:14
The prophecies in the book of Haggai were delivered in a four
month period in 520 BC, "the second year of Darius the King"
(Haggai 1:1).
In 536 BC, 70 years after the Babylonian captivity began, the
Persian ruler Cyrus gave permission for the Jews to return to
Judah and rebuild their temple. Zerubbabel was the governor, and
Jeshua what was the high priest. Soon after their return they
began to rebuild the Temple of Solomon which had been
demolished. The foundation stone was laid in the second month of
the second year after the return (Ezra 3:8-10). Those who
opposed the construction of the Temple were the Samaritans, they
were the descendants of the foreigners from around the Assyrian
Empire who had been placed in Samaria after the Assyrian
captivity in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:24-41). The Samaritans caused
all the work on the Temple to stop, people have become lazy
after this and focused more under houses. They allowed the Lords
Temple to go unfinished for 16 years, and this is when
Haggai began to prophesy. The focus of Haggai was to wake them
from their sleep, and realize who they were and the great
opportunity the Lord had given them to rebuild His Temple.
"For thus says the LORD of hosts: "Once more (it
is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and
dry land; 'and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to
the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with
glory,' says the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:6-7
The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows :
Outline of the Book of Haggai
The first of Haggai's four prophecies (Haggai 1:1-15) was delivered on the first day of
the sixth month of the second year of Darius - about August-September, 520 BC.
This was addressed to the leaders, rebuking them for the spiritual lethargy
which had allowed the temple to lie unfinished for such a long time. Haggai
cites this lethargy as a chief cause for God's having withheld His blessings
from the people (Haggai 1:6). Haggai's words were so effective that it was only
twenty-four days later that the work of rebuilding the temple was begun.
Haggai' second message (Haggai 2:1-9), was delivered about a month later (October),
which was
designed to encourage those who were despondent over the disparity in glory
between the former temple and the new one they were erecting. Haggai assured them
that a greater glory than that of the past temple was to come to the house of
Israel. In this connection, he speaks of the "desire of all nations" (Haggai 2:7),
referring to the Messiah.
Two months after the second message, Haggai spoke to the people for a third
time. In this section (Haggai 2:10-19), Haggai informs the people that their past
indifference had kept them from accomplishing the things which they set out to
do but that God would bless their future.
The last of the prophecies contained in the book was delivered the same day
as the third and is found in Haggai 2:20-23. In this, the prophet speaks of the
establishment of Zerubbabel, a symbol of the idea that God's people were to
stand, just as the power of the heathen nations was completely broken.
Haggai Resources
The Divided Kingdom
The
Northern Kingdom of Israel
The
Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah
The Book of Haggai
More About the Book of
Haggai
Haggai in the Picture
Study Bible
Chart
of the Prophets of Israel and Judah
Timeline of the Ancient
World
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