Haggai


The Book of Haggai takes place just after the Babylonian Exile. The wealthy people of Jerusalem had rebuilt their house with the finest materials, while the Temple lay in ruins.Haggai lived around 520 B.C. He was born in Chaldea, and returned to Jerusalem after the exile. As a Judean prophet, he had a very brief ministry. Because his ministry was so brief, some people believe that he was an angel.


Marble Statue of Haggai

Outline of the Book of Haggai

  1. The call to rebuild the Temple

- Jews neglect the Lord while they provide for themselves

- Haggai called to provoke the rebuilding of the Temple

  1. The future glory of the Temple

- New Temple is better than the old one

  1. Unworthiness of a people

- Samaritans try to offer sacrifice at the altar

  1. Promise of immediate blessings

- Follows upon the undertaking to rebuild the Temple

  1. A pledge to Zerubbabel

- Zerubbabel is a descendant of David

- Repository of the Messianic Hopes


“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled houses, while this house lieth waste?” -Haggai 1:4





Haggai was important to slavation history because he spread God's word about how a Temple should stand in comparison to the rest of the society's buildings. The big underlying message is that God is more important than material goods, and that we should give to charity because God is more important than material goods.


Quiz

  1. Why is this book important to the meaning of Salvation History?

  2. What is the meaning behind this story?

  3. What do some people believe Haggai might have been?


Click here to see the answers.


Three online sources to find out more about Haggai:


The Minor Prophets


About Bible Prophecy


Bible.org

References


Haggai, Haggai. "Book of Haggai." The New American Bible.

Wichita: Freeside Catholic Publishing, 2006.


"Haggai."The Jewish Encyclopedia. 1st. 1904.


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