Haggai

Write one paragraph explaining the historical background and purpose of the prophet.

      According to 1:1 Haggai wrote this book. He originally gave the messages in the book to Zerubbabel, the governor or Judah and to Jeshua, the high priest. The original readers would have received this after the temple was built. Probably as a memorial and a remembrance of that time as God often did with His people. The problem is the people are living it up, but there is no house for God. Zerubbabel obeys God's command to build the temple and God blesses Him. A key verse for this book is 2:9. In this verse God says, “The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. And in this place I will bring peace...” To the original reader this verse would have been an incredible statement. The future glory will be greater than the past glory says that what God has in store is greater than all that He has done with them in the past.

What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

      In Haggai God desires to dwell with His people. Judah has pushed Him aside and neglected Him, but God desires to have relationship once again with His people. He initiates the relationship with Judah as He commands Zerubbabel to build Him a house (1:8). God loves His people and again wants to redeem them and bring them into greater glory than their ancestors (2:9). God is extremely patient with His people who have returned again from exile. He loves them enough to restore His relationship with them by the rebuilding of the temple. 

What does this book show about God's redemptive plan for mankind?

      We see God's redemptive plan being worked out in the rebuilding of is temple (2:18). When Babylon destroyed the temple is Jerusalem and the people were exiled the people of Judah must have been hopeless. But God brought them out of exile and in 2:9 said that the future glory of the temple would be greater than the past glory. He not only redeemed them, but lifted them up and in 2:19 Haggai says that God will bless them. In restoring the temple, God restores the physical representation of His relationship and covenant with them. It's a day that many probably never expected to see. But God's grace and mercy win out and He redeems His people once again, removing the curse of destruction because of their many sins.

Personal Application

What I got from Haggai's prophecy to Zerubbabel was more of a leadership application. The people were living in sin and had forgotten about why the Lord had brought them out of captivity. They were living luxuriously in houses, but had not built a house for God. They're focus was on themselves instead of on rebuilding the temple and getting back to worshiping God. I see Haggai's message as a re -casting of vision. He calls out what is going on and leads the people to building the temple, the thing they should have been doing much earlier. When it didn't turn out as some of them had expected they were disappointed but Haggai tells them God's message of hope and greater glory. Haggai, through the words of God leads His people from passivity to expectation and hope, into remembrance of where their sin got them. What I have learned from this is that we easily forget the things we are called to do and fall into passivity. Luxury is a dangerous trap that they fell into and we so easily fall into. Haggai called them out of passivity as I often need to be called out of. He also encouraged them and gave them expectation when they had been discouraged. It reminds me when I led a team to Egypt and faced these same things. I had to cast vision again and again to keep them focused and had to pick them up from discouragement and focused on the goal ahead. Haggai is a great example of how this can be done for when I fall into that trap and when I need to pull others out of it.