Haggai 1:1-5
Introduction
The name “Haggai” means “festal one or one born on a
festival.” He was one who returned
to Judah with Ezra.
Ezra 5:1 (KJV) Then the prophets, Haggai
the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were
in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. As
we can see from the above verse, he was contemporary with Ezra and Zechariah.
The date for the writing of Haggai is in 520 B.C and his prophetic span
was only four months long, from September to December.
He prophesied in the reign of Darius but this was not Darius the Mede but
was King Darius Hystaspes who was the predecessor to Cyrus.
The book of Haggai carries with it two basic themes and they are the
rebuilding of the temple and to put God first in their lives.
Not too much is known about Haggai but that he was a good preacher and
encourager.
Ezra 6:14 (KJV) 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.
The purpose of the book is basically to convey renewed dedication and
determination to work for the kingdom of God.
He tried to convey to them that working to advance the kingdom of God is
of the utmost importance for called people.
Haggai 1:1
(KJV)
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,
The sixth month would have been the month Elul which
would correspond to our late August or early September.
The first day of the month would have been a feast of the new moon.
The Lord had given a message by Haggai to Zerubbabel who was the governor
of Judah at the time and for Josedech the High Priest.
The divine message would have come to those two leaders who would have
been representatives of both the political and clerical leadership in Judah.
Zerubbabel was the grandson of Jehoiachin who was the last rightful king
in Judah in the Davidic line.
2 Kings 24:15 (KJV) And he carried away
Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his
officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from
Jerusalem to Babylon.
Haggai 1:2
(KJV)
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.
The Lord brings out a great problem plaguing Judah and
the same problem exists in modern Christianity and that is that those in Judah
who returned from exile had become lazy and lost their heavenly vision.
They had believed that the time was not yet at hand to build the temple
of God. Now that they had returned
and refused to build the temple, where would they worship since the temple was
the center of Israel’s worship. The
rebuilding did not seem to be a concern for them.
They cried when they were taken to Babylon and now they are back in the
land and have taken on a lazy, excuse ridden lifestyle.
No reason is given as to why they would not rebuild but we can see from
the way the verse is written that it was a previous command of God that they
were to rebuild the temple on their return but they did not consider rebuilding
and were now being prodded from above to begin to start the project and bring it
to completion. What about in our
day where many Christians are doing nothing to advance the Kingdom of God in
this world? How many are just
content to sit around and listen to music or stare at their phones for endless
hours? It does not matter if you
are 15 or 50, you have a responsibility to send forth the gospel.
Haggai 1:3
(KJV)
Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet,
saying,
No matter what the situation and even though Zechariah
was a contemporary of Haggai, yet the Lord brought the word through Haggai.
The Lord will always have a witness and direction for his people whether
it be for encouragement or for chastising.
In modern times after the completion of the Bible we no longer have
prophets where God speaks to them directly, now we have the completed Bible and
it does not matter what those in the charismatic movement teach, the Bible is
now our guide as there are no more prophets like Haggai.
Haggai 1:4
(KJV) Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this
house lie waste?
The Lord then poses a question through Haggai.
They allowed the temple to go into disrepair and did not even give heed
to the fact that the temple was still the place where God met with Israel.
Their main concern was that they live in comfortable houses.
The term “cieled” is from the Latin term which means “Heaven or sky.”
We can see in our modern homes that we have a “ceiling.”
The word that the King James translators used stood for the covering or
the lining of the interior with something and in this case it was cedar panels
which means it added a little luxury to their homes.
God places the question before them that is it time for them to live in
luxury and forget to rebuild the temple of God so it may once again be used as a
center of worship? God was placing
a serious question before them that we must ask ourselves.
The temple in the New Testament is the body of believers and not a
physical building.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (KJV) Know ye not that
ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Are we more concerned about supplying our creature comforts or are we
more concerned about the building of the body of Christ through giving and
personal involvement?
Basically God was asking them as He is asking us, what is your priority,
is it yourself or is it the kingdom of God?
Haggai 1:5
(KJV)
Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your
ways.