Haggai the prophet

Starting today, we begin our study of the book of Haggai. “In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,” (v 1). (1) Haggai was a prophet who ministered in Judah and Jerusalem. Since his genealogy is not recorded, the name of his father is unknown. The name “Haggai” comes from the Hebrew word for “festival (hag).” He was a contemporary of Zechariah (a post-exilic prophet) (ref. Ezra 5:1; 6:14; Zech. 8:9, etc.). (2) The word of the Lord came to him on the first day of the sixth month in the second year of king Darius. This corresponds to 520 BC. Although the period of Haggai’s ministry lasted only about three to four months from that time, he nevertheless faithfully fulfilled his mission. (3) One of the emphases of the book of Haggai is that “the Lord has spoken.” The word of God was given through the prophet Haggai to (a) Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, and (b) Joshua the high priest. (4) The main theme of the book of Haggai is “the danger of postponement.”

Historical background

(1) Cyrus king of Persia issued a decree in 538 BC, permitting all the people to return to their own land. By this decree, the Jews were also allowed to return from Babylon to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple there (Ezra 1:2-4; 6:3-5). (2) About 50,000 Jews, led by Governor Zerubbabel, returned to Jerusalem and immediately began rebuilding the temple. (3) The foundation of the temple was completed two years later, but due to opposition from the Samaritans and the surrounding peoples, the work was temporarily halted. This condition continued until the reign of King Darius (Ezra 4:1-5, 24). Haggai and Zechariah began their ministries as prophets in the second year of Darius (520 BC). The reason the rebuilding of the temple has halted was not because there were enemies on the outside, but because there was a problem within the Israelites themselves. They were apathetic, unbelieving, and were postponing their decisions. That was the greatest problem. This is very similar to the problem we face today. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine whether there is within us any tendency to avoid making decisions.