Page 78 - The Minor Prophets - Student textbook

Key Verses:

Haggai 1:4, "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house
remains a ruin?"

"Why were the Israelites not rebuilding the temple (Haggai 1:2)?"

After a brief introduction, Haggai begins his prophecy by declaring, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: These
people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD” (Haggai 1:2). Why were the
Israelites not rebuilding the temple?

During his first year as king of Persia, in 538 B.C., Cyrus issued an edict allowing the Jews to return from
Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). The altar was repaired, and the
foundation of the temple probably began sometime in 537 B.C. Then Samaritan opposition brought
construction to a halt in 536 B.C. Ezra 4:24 notes, “Then the work on the house of God that is in
Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.” The temple
project languished for 16 years, until 520 B.C.

Therefore, originally, the Jews stopped rebuilding the temple due to opposition from the neighboring
Samaritans. But other reasons crept in. At the time of Haggai’s prophecies, some Jews simply said that
the timing was not right (Haggai 1:2). Yet the time was right for them to build their own homes. In fact,
Haggai rebukes the people for their concern for their own houses while neglecting God’s house.

Haggai taught that God was sending His judgment because of the Jews’ neglect of the temple of the
Lord. Their harvest had failed, and their finances were not blessed: “He who earns wages does so to put
them into a bag with holes” (Haggai 1:6). No matter how hard the people worked, their food, drink, and
finances were not adequate. Haggai said that their needs would only be met when they obeyed God
and rebuilt the temple (Haggai 1:7-11).

Together with the prophet Zechariah (Ezra 5:1), Haggai prompted the restart of the temple building
project (Ezra 5:2). Once God’s people were back on track, the temple was soon completed, on March
12, 515 B.C. (Ezra 6:13-15). This fulfilled Jeremiah’s prediction of a 70-year captivity (Jeremiah 25:11-
12; 29:10) that lasted from Nebuchadnezzar’s burning of the temple in the fifth month of 586 B.C. (2
Kings 25:8-9) until the new temple’s reopening in the twelfth month of 515 B.C.

Haggai 1:5-6, "Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. You
have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never
have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse
with holes in it.'"

"Does God use frustrations in life to awaken and/or punish us (Haggai 1:6, 9)?"

Haggai 1 contains two verses that clearly state that the sinful lifestyles of the Jewish people resulted in
punishment or a lack of blessing from God. Verse 6 says, “You have planted much, but have harvested
little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not
warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

Verse 9 adds, “‘You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew

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