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The Prophet Haggai – Introduction

Introduction

The message of the prophet Haggai is more than 2500 years old. And yet, it goes straight to the heart. It is topical and speaks directly to us. It wants to shake us up and wake us up. It wants to help us to make a personal and collective assessment of where we stand. But the prophet's message is also encouraging. It wants to encourage us to follow our Lord with energy and dedication, to make ourselves available to Him, and to build His house with zeal.

“Set your heart on your ways!” The prophet repeatedly asks us to set our hearts on something. The Lord wants to reach our hearts. He is concerned with our affections, with our devotion. It is in the heart that decisions are made for Him. There are “the issues of life” (Prov 4:23). The Lord wants us to remain with Him “with purpose of heart” (Acts 11:23). The message of the prophet Haggai is a decisive help here.

The Historical Background

To understand the significance of this “minor” prophet properly, it is essential to examine Haggai's message in its historical context. Only then will we be able to properly reflect his message on our time and derive practical instructions.

The book of Ezra shows us that both Haggai and Zechariah lived in a special time and spoke to the people of Israel on behalf of God. It was the time when a remnant of this people had returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. They had come to rebuild the temple of God, which had been destroyed under Nebuchadnezzar. The book of Ezra says: “Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them” (Ezra 5:1).

How had it even come to this? After the death of Solomon, the son and heir to the throne of King David, the previously united nation of Israel was divided. Ten tribes went to his rival Jeroboam, while two tribes—Judah and Benjamin—remained with his son Rehoboam. In the period that followed, we see obvious signs of decay in both the ten tribes—the northern kingdom of Israel—and the two tribes—the southern kingdom of Judah. The people turned away from their God so that God had to deal with them in His governmental ways.

The first to be affected were the ten tribes, who were taken into Assyrian captivity by Salmanassar in 721 B.C. Not quite 120 years later, God's patience also came to an end with the two tribes. Despite many warnings and clear announcements of judgment, they had not listened to the voice of their God. That is why they, too, were led into captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was the instrument in the hand of God. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God had announced that the captivity in Babylon would last 70 years (Jer 25:11-12; 29:10). This period began with the first exile of some of the Jews under the reign of Jehoiakim in 606/605 B.C. It ended with the decree of the Persian king Cyrus in 537/536 when he issued an edict allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the destroyed temple. [1]

The return to Jerusalem did not take place at once. The Old Testament reports three different times when Jews returned from Babylon to their homeland:

  1. In 536 B.C., under Zerubbabel and Joshua. The focus of this return was the altar and the temple (Ezra 1).
  2. In 458 B.C., under Ezra (Ezra 7). The Word of God was at the center of this return.
  3. In the year 445 B.C., under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2). The focus of this return was the wall and the gates of the city.

The book of Ezra tells us in the opening chapters about the first return of some exiled Jews. Under Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest, just under 50,000 Jews (including servants and maidservants) made their way to Jerusalem. This was a relatively small number, and we ask ourselves why there were not more. For the others, life in Babylon obviously seemed more comfortable. They had settled in Babylon over 70 years ago, built houses, started families, and perhaps opened businesses that were doing well. Very few of them seemed to think about their homeland, the city of Jerusalem, the temple, and worship.

The first activity of the Jews who returned from Babylon was to rebuild the altar on its site so that they could sacrifice to God (Ezra 3:3). In doing so, they gave public testimony that they were once again in an “official” relationship with their God. But that was not all. They had it in their hearts to rebuild the temple of their God, which had been destroyed under Nebuchadnezzar. They set to work without delay. When the builders laid the foundation, there was great rejoicing, although this was mixed with the tears of those who had seen Solomon's temple (Ezra 3:10-13).

But where God is at work, the enemy also seizes the initiative. The fourth chapter of the book of Ezra tells us about the activities of the adversaries of the remnant of the Jews. First, the enemies came with cunning. They offered to build with the Jews. This tactic of mixing was immediately recognized. With clear words, Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the other leaders of the people refused (Ezra 4:1-5).

The enemies then changed their strategy. What they could not achieve with cunning and trickery, they now achieved with power and the threat of violence. They intervened with the pagan kings and finally succeeded in getting King Artaxerxes to give the order to stop building. The historian summarizes this as follows: “Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia” (Ezra 4:24). We have to put this period at around 14-16 years. During this time, work on the house of God was suspended.

King Darius (known as Darius the Great or Darius Hystaspes; reigned ca. 522-485 B.C.) was better disposed towards the Jews. In the second year of his reign, God called the prophet Haggai and sent him with a message to the people (Ezra 5:1). This message has been preserved in writing in the Bible as “the prophet Haggai.”

Haggai does not stop at external matters in his message. He does not speak of the threat of the enemies but reveals the real background. He shows clearly and unsparingly why the Jews had actually stopped building. Haggai does not mince his words. Self-interest, indifference, and negligence were the real causes of the building freeze. Their own interests were more important to them than the cause of their God. His question must have struck like a hammer blow: “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” (Hag 1:4). That was the real cause. Their own houses were the center of attention. They were indifferent to the house of God.

Although there were enemies who resisted them with might and might, the work stopped because their hearts no longer beat for God. In this state, they were immediately ready to stop working when opposition arose.

God could not simply accept this. In response, His blessing failed to materialize. His hand even turned against them. But not only that. God came to them with a message to shake them up and motivate them anew. He challenged them to reconsider their ways in their hearts and start anew. And the people listened to the words of their God. They took up the work again, and after around four years of construction, they completed the work in 516 B.C. (Ezra 6:15). They celebrated the dedication of this house of God as well as the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with great joy (Ezra 6:16-22).

The Person of Haggai

We know relatively little about Haggai, the prophet of God. He is mentioned in Ezra 5:1 and Ezra 6:14. His name means “my feasts,” “festive,” or “my festive joy.” This suggests that he may have been born on a Jewish feast day and that his parents had, therefore, given him such a name. We can also assume that his parents were God-fearing Jews who wanted their son to live for the joy of God. This is all the more remarkable because Haggai's parents lived in a difficult time when few of the people cared about God and His interests. Haggai was born either in the last days of the kings of Judah or already in the Babylonian exile—in any case, at a time when the majority of the people had distanced themselves from God.

Some Bible commentators assume that Haggai was already very old when he was called by God. Chapter 2:3 speaks of those who had still seen Solomon's temple. It is quite possible that Haggai was one of them, but this is by no means certain. However, we can rightly assume that he was older than the prophet Zechariah, who began his prophetic ministry among the people at around the same time.

Haggai's prophecy falls in the year 520 B.C. His ministry, as it is reported to us in our Bible book, only extends over a period of about four months. But his task did not end there. In Ezra 6:14, we read: “So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the command of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” The dedication of the temple took place in 516 B.C., so Haggai's ministry lasted at least until this time.

“The Prophet Haggai” is one of the shortest books in the Bible. Its inspired writer is one of the lesser-known personalities of the Old Testament. His writing style is relatively simple. And yet this prophet receives a very special distinction. He is the only one of all the prophets in the Old Testament to be given the title “messenger of the LORD” (Hag 1:13). This does not mean that other servants were not also “messengers of the LORD,” but only Haggai is explicitly called this. God does not look at what people look at, but He looks at the heart. Haggai's heart must have beaten so much for his Master that he was given this honorary title.

 

Footnote:

[1] A total of three deportations to Babylon took place: 1) under King Jehoiakim in 605 BC; 2) under King Jehoiakin in 597 BC; 3) under King Zedekiah in 586 BC (in this year, the city and the temple were destroyed).

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