HAGGAI means FESTIVE

This is the only Haggai mentioned in the Old Testament. His prophecy is clearly to be
dated in 520 B.C. during the second year of king Daruis reign.

One of the twelve minor prophets. He was the first of the three (Zechariah, his
contemporary, and Malachi, who was about one hundred years later, being the other two)
whose ministry belonged to the period of Jewish history which began after the return
from captivity in Babylon. Scarcely anything is known of his personal history. He may
have been one of the captives taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar or born in captivity.
He began his ministry about sixteen years after the Return. The work of rebuilding the
temple had been put a stop to through the intrigues of the Samaritans.

The prophets before the Exile, 586 B.C., foretold the fall of the Kingdom of Judea
falling to the Babylonian kindgom. After seventy years the Lord would let the people
would return to their homeland (Jer. 25:11-12, Dan 9:2). When the Babylonian empire
was destroyed by Cyrus, he was willing to let the Jews go back to the Land of Promise
for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The work was started, soon the hostile
neighbors used their devices to bring the work to a stop. That wasn't the only problem,
the fifty thousand exiles who had returned to Jerusalem with resolve to do the
rebuilding so became indifferent so the Temple hadn't been touched in sixteen years,
until Darius Hystaspes came to the Persian throne.

After having been suspended for fifteen years, the work was resumed through the efforts
of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 6:14), who by their exhortations roused the people from
their lethargy, and induced them to take advantage of the favourable opportunity that
had arisen in a change in the policy of the Persian government. Haggai's prophecies
have thus been characterized:, "There is a ponderous and simple dignity in the emphatic
reiteration addressed alike to every class of the community, prince, priest, and people,
'Be strong, be strong, be strong' (Haggai 2:4). 'Cleave, stick fast, to the work you
have to do;' or again, 'Consider your ways, consider, consider, consider' (Haggai 1:5,7;
2:15,18). It is the Hebrew phrase for the endeavour, characteristic of the gifted seers
of all times, to compel their hearers to turn the inside of their hearts outwards to
their own view, to take the mask from off their consciences, to 'see life steadily, and
to see it wholly.

It is not fair to Haggai to think or accuse him of only being concerned with the
rebuilding of the Temple. That was his beginning but he goes on to the glory of the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, the future establishment of God's earthly kingdom,
the judgment of God on ungodly world powers, and the blessing awaiting the nations that
will return to God.

God's blessing on each of you,
LJG

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