SUMMARY
The prophet HaggaiProphet who urged rebuilding the Temple after the exile. More spoke to ZerubbabelThe governor of Judah who helped rebuild the Temple after the exile. More, the governor, and JoshuaThe successor of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. More, the high priestThe high priest was the most powerful priest in the temple in Jerusalem. The high priest Caiaphas held the office during the trial of Jesus. Later, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the role of merciful high priest is ascribed to the resurrected Jesus. More, to tell them that national failures to thrive were happening because God’s templeThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... More was not completed.
ANALYSIS
The prophet seeks to explain lackluster harvests caused by a lack of rain. The sixth month, the setting for Haggai’s first words, was around the end of August/early September. The grape, fig, and pomegranate harvests would be ending, and apparently, the yield was disappointing. The people have sown much, but harvested little, and the sky seems to withhold moisture. The prophet argues that this agricultural failure is due to the people’s failure to consider the state of God’s abode among them. The people live in fine houses, but the temple is still in ruins from the Babylonian siege decades earlier.
CyrusPersian leader who allowed Jewish exiles to return home. More the Great allowed for the return of Jewish exiles in approximately 538 BCE, who began work on the temple immediately. However, according to EzraScribe who helped establish Jewish practices in Jerusalem after the exile. More 3-4, work stopped a couple years later. For Haggai, it has been about 16 years that the temple had been neglected while the returned exiles have built up their own holdings. This neglect has been intentional, rather than an oversight, according to Haggai. The people say that it is not time yet to rebuild the LORD’s house (v2). They seem to be waiting for some kind of sign, command from Persian overlords, or permission from neighbors. The prophet argues that God has given them a sign in the futility of their efforts to grow crops. Too much time and effort has been spent on themselves, and not enough has been done to enable the resumption of national worship at the Jerusalem temple.
