Haggai

Haggai

Finding the Context:

Haggai was written to the people of Judah after they had returned from exile (1:1-3). It was written by the prophet Haggai. His ministry time was short, a time span of merely four months (1:1; 2:20). During this time the people of Judah were not rebuilding the temple of the Lord like He wanted them to. Rather they were building their own houses and bringing disaster upon themselves. God was withholding His blessings from them because they were doing what they wanted to do, rather than what He wanted them to do (1:3-11; 2:14-17). The main idea of the book is that God blesses those who choose to obey Him and His commands. You see His promised blessing given in 2:18-19.  You also see that God rewards the governor Zerubbabel who had chosen to obey the Lord once He heard the message (1:12; 2:23). Throughout this book you see a theme of blessings and curses. Blessings come to those who obey while curses come to those who fail to be obedient.

Theme Tracing:

1.     What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

You see from this book that God is truly a Jealous God (1:4). He longs to be worshiped first and foremost above everything else. He wants to be the main focus of His people. While this may seem like a selfish attribute, it is quite the opposite. Because God is a faithful lover of His people, He is constantly jealous over their affections because He knows that the only way they will ever be completely satisfied is when they are worshiping Him above everything else.

2.     What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

You see God’s redemptive plan in the prediction of the Messiah that is found in 2:9. God says that the glory of the future temple will be greater than it ever was in the past. It was more glorious because the future temple that was predicted was the body of Christ. You also see Haggai talking about how difficult it is to have sin removed (2:14-17). You can see in this passage a foreshadowing of the great cost that will be required for the sins of the world- the blood of Christ.