Haggai is often called the “Prophet of the Temple”, because so much of his prophecy is directed toward a nation so wrapped up in their own affairs that they have forgotten about building the Lord’s House. Haggai was born during the seventy years of captivity, so he would have known nothing of the years prior to the demise of the nation of Israel. Even so, he had a tremendous burden for the rebuilding of the Temple, even though he had never seen the original temple before its destruction. He was apparently a colleague of Zechariah. (Ezra 5:1; 6:14) Historical setting: The remnant of Israel and Judah have returned from seventy years of captivity, and were selfishly pre-occupied with their own affairs rather than returning to the worship of Jehovah. The work of reconstruction of the temple had apparently ceased for quite a few years. (Chapter 1:4) In that context, Haggai rebukes the people sharply for their lack of interest in building the Lord’s House, while at the same time also encouraging them that Jehovah would richly bless such efforts. He further affirms that a day is coming when Messiah will come, and the Glory of the Lord will again fill His House.
OUTLINE OF HAGGAI:
A CUTTING REPROOF FOR LACK OF INTEREST. CH. 1:1-11
God has withheld natural blessings until the people reprioritize their lives.
ENCOURAGEMENT AS THE WORK OF REBUILDING IS RESUMED. CH. 1:12-15
PROMISES OF BLESSINGS CH. 2:1-9
Encouragement of those who were discouraged by the fact that the new Temple lacked the glory of Solomon’s original Temple. Affirmation that the day was coming when the Messiah would come and fill His House once again with His glory. It is important to remember that this temple does not have an Ark of the Covenant. The original temple was plundered, and the Ark was gone. In that sense, this temple would never know the glory of the Lord in the way the former one had. However, the day will come when the Lord God will build His temple from Living Stones and fill that temple with His Glory.