Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
HAGGAI 1
A Call to Build the House of the Lord
1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest:
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’ ”
3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.
13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord. 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.
The Promised Glory of the New House
In the second year of King Darius,
Application Notes
1:1-11 Cyrus, king of Persia, gave permission in 538 BC for the Jewish exiles in Babylon to return home. The Jews who had returned from Babylon to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem were not able to finish their work because they were hindered by their enemies (Ezra 4:4-24). After opposition put a halt to progress, no further work had been done on the temple for years. Haggai had probably been born in captivity in Babylon and had returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel in 538 (Ezra 1-2). In August 520, Haggai delivered a message to encourage the people to complete the rebuilding of the temple. Haggai and Zechariah, two prophets who encouraged the returning exiles, are mentioned in Ezra 5:1.
1:1 Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest, were key leaders in rebuilding the temple. They had already reestablished the altar, but work on the temple had slowed. Haggai gave a message to these outstanding leaders and to the exiles who had returned from Babylon, encouraging them to complete the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.
1:2-15 Haggai encouraged the people to finish rebuilding the temple. Opposition from hostile neighbors had caused them to feel discouraged and to neglect the temple and thus neglect God. But Haggai's message was a turning point in motivating the people to pick up their tools and continue the work they had begun. Who do you know today who, because of discouragement or distraction, has stopped doing something important or something God has called them to do? How can you encourage and inspire them, through God's Word, to take up the work again?
1:3-6 God asked his people how they could live in luxury when his house was lying in ruins. The temple was the focal point of Judah's relationship with God, but it was still in great need of repair. Instead of rebuilding the temple, the people were putting their energies into beautifying their own homes. The harder the people worked for themselves, however, the less productive they were because they were ignoring their spiritual lives. The same can happen to us. When we put God first, he will provide for our deepest needs. If we put him in any other place, all our other efforts are ultimately futile. Caring only for your comfort and pleasure while ignoring your relationship with God will lead to ruin.
1:6 Because the people had not given God first place in their lives, their work was not fruitful or productive, and their material possessions did not satisfy. While they concentrated on building and beautifying their own homes, God's blessing was withheld because they no longer put him first. Moses had predicted that this would be the result if the people neglected God (Deuteronomy 28:38-45).
1:9 Judah's problem was misplaced priorities. Like Judah, we may get our priorities involving work, family, and God out of order. Jobs, homes, vacations, and leisure activities may rank higher on our list of things of importance than God. What is most important to you? Where is God on your list of priorities? If he is not first, what can you do to reorder your priorities?
1:11 Grain, grapes for wine, and olives for oil were Israel's major crops. The people were depending on these for security while neglecting the worship of God. As a result, God would send a drought to destroy their Uvelihood and call them back to himself.
1:13-14 When working on projects at your church, have workers become tired and burned out? As work slows or stops, discouragement sets in. Haggai reminded the leaders and the workers in his time that God was with them in their work. With this message, God and his prophet renewed the enthusiasm of the people to get going. If work on your projects has started to lag, remember that God is always with you. He may want to use you as a spark of enthusiasm to bring joy back to the work.
1:14-15 The people began rebuilding the temple just 23 days after Haggai's first message. Rarely did a prophet's message produce such a quick response. How often we hear a sermon and respond, “That was an excellent point—I ought to do that” only to leave church and forget to act. These people put the prophet's words into action. When you hear a good sermon or lesson, ask what you should do about it, and then make plans to put it into practice.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)