INTRODUCTION TO HAGGAI

Author: The authorship of the book is virtually uncontested given that Haggai’s name is mentioned nine times. Haggai is known only from this book and two other references to him in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14. Haggai returned from Babylon with the remnant and may well have been one of the few people who could remember the former temple before its destruction. Haggai was, therefore, instrumental in the rebuilding of the temple.

Theme: Haggai is the first of the postexilic prophets, addressing the immediate problem of the rebuilding of the temple. The people had returned to Jerusalem about twenty years earlier, but apathy and opposition were keeping the work from being completed. Haggai’s concern was that neglect of the temple had become a symptom of a bigger problem. God had dropped out of the Jews’ sight as a priority. The people were more concerned with building their materialistic lifestyles than they were their relationship with God.

Time: c. 520 BC

Key Verse(s): Haggai 1:7–8

As You Study Haggai: Notice the parallels between the culture of the community residing in and around Jerusalem during Haggai’s day and our culture in the modern world. The Book of Ezra describes how God’s people rebuilt the foundations for the temple after their return from exile (see Ezra 3:8–13). After that success, however, “life” got in the way. The residents of Jerusalem became more concerned with their own houses and needs than with rebuilding God’s house. Haggai wanted to spur those residents back into action—and back into a right relationship with God. As such, his prophecy is especially meaningful to those of us seeking to serve God and others while living in a deeply materialistic society.

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Copyright © 2023 by Thomas Nelson.