CHAPTER 1

(520 B.C.)

THE PEOPLE ENCOURAGED TO REBUILD GODS TEMPLE; GODS ANSWER TO THE OBJECTORS

¹In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the Word of the LORD by Haggai the Prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the High Priest, saying (the Ministry of Haggai was separated from the Prophet Zephaniah by approximately 100 years. The exiles returned to the Holy Land from Babylon in 536 B.C., fulfilling the seventy-year period of captivity prophesied by Jeremiah [Jer. 25:11; 29:10].

At that time, Zerubbabel, a descendant of David and of the Royal House of Judah, led the first group of nearly 50,000 people from Babylonia to the Holy Land. Almost immediately, the foundation of the Temple was laid; however, the work was greatly hindered and actually stopped until 520 B.C., when a fresh beginning was made. This fresh beginning was inspired by the prophesying of both Haggai and Zechariah, which saw the Temple completed.

The Book of Haggai records the unwillingness of the returned exiles to build, their shame over the inferiority of the new House, and their fear of the Persian Government because they built without special permission [Ezra, Chpts. 4-6]. Haggai probably wrote his Book in about 530 B.C.

In the second year of Darius the king, probably refers to Darius Hystapes Ahasuerus Artaxerxes the Persian. He reigned about 15 years after the Cyrus who commanded the building of the city and the laying of the foundation of the Temple, and who was thought to have been the son of Esther [Ezra, Chpt. 1; Isa. 45:13].

Haggai was the first Prophet after the captivities to Babylon),

²Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORDs House should be built. (Unbelief never fails of arguments, but always has this capital defect of leaving God out. The religious argument at that time was: the time, i.e., the seventy years of captivity, was not yet expired; therefore, the building of the Temple should wait. As another excuse, they said that they did not have the kings permission [Ezra, Chpt. 4].)

³Then came the Word of the LORD by Haggai the Prophet, saying (Then came the Word of the LORD, is repetition by the Holy Spirit, and by design. It is meant to impress upon the people the severity of the situation and the depth of their sin),

⁴Is it time for you, O you, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? (The question, Is it time for you... ?, has the emphasis placed on the pronoun you. It is used in derision, as the phrase This people is used in Verse 2 instead of My People. O you, to dwell in your cieled houses, has the Holy Spirit comparing their houses with His House. The comparison is not very favorable toward the people.)

⁵Now therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts; Consider your ways. (The word consider actually means set your heart upon.)

⁶You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you have not enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes. (Seldom does the Holy Spirit so clearly and plainly delineate the cause of lack of progress as He does in this particular Verse. Among other things, He shows us that to divert money from Gods Work to personal use causes poverty of soul and oftentimes of pocket. Though they did have fine houses to dwell in, it seems that they had been visited with scanty harvest and weak bodily health. In these statements, given by the Holy Spirit through the Prophet, one is made to realize what God can do and what He will not do.)

⁷Thus says the LORD of Hosts; Consider your ways. (The Holy Spirit prefaced Verse 5 with the same admonition. Now, for effect, He repeats it. It is done by design.)

⁸Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, sa ys the Lord. (The Holy Spirit quietly reminds them that the materials for doing the job were just a short distance away. The implication is: no costly offerings were required, only a willingness to work.)

⁹You looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? says the LORD of Hosts. Because of My House that is waste, and you run every man unto his own house. (God first is the secret of Spiritual and temporal prosperity. The phrase, You looked for much, and, lo, it came to little, is one step further than the first phrase of Verse 6. There they sowed much and brought in little; here, they expect much and get little.

And when you brought it home, I did blow upon it, signifies that what little harvest they did get was cursed by the Lord, because they were not attending to His Work. Please understand: this was for all the people, not just the Priests, etc.)

¹⁰Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the Earth is stayed from her fruit. (No doubt, the people ascribe the meagerness of their crops to natural causes; they would not see the judicial nature of their infliction. The phrase, And the Earth is stayed from her fruit, is an actual portrayal of the problems of the Planet, even unto this day!)

¹¹And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground brings forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. (This Verse portrays the Truth that every single thing in Judah of that particular time, including the labor of the hands, was cursed by God; consequently, and irrespective of the amount of labor, ingenuity, ability, and investment, the people could not hope to prosper.

There was a tremendous urgency by the Holy Spirit for the Temple to be completed, as is evident in this Book. Consequently, the opposition by the Samaritans and the demand to cease construction by the Persian king were not recognized by the Lord. In fact, absolutely no excuse should ever be allowed to hinder work that should be done for the Lord.)

THE PEOPLE ARE MOVED TO REBUILD

¹²Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the High Priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the Voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the Prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. (Zerubbabel was the Governor of Judah, no doubt appointed by the King of Persia. Thankfully, the leadership of the nation, headed up by Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest, led the way regarding obedience. The last phrase, And the people did fear before the LORD, proclaims their reaction upon hearing the Message, and rightly so!)

¹³Then spoke Haggai the LORDs Messenger in the LORDs Message unto the people, saying, I am with you, says the LORD. (The obedient heart of Verse 12 always is rewarded with the I am with you of this Verse. There could be no greater blessing than for the Lord to be with a person any person!)

¹⁴And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the High Priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the House of the LORD of Hosts, their God (this is one of the few recorded instances of all rulers and people stirred to obedience),

¹⁵In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (It seems that the Prophetic Message was delivered on the first of the sixth month [Vs. 1] and obeyed on the 24th of the same month. Thankfully, they did obey; however, such portrays the slowness of the heart to accept and obey the Word of the Lord.

The phrase, In the second year of Darius the king, recognizes the supremacy of the Gentiles and the sin of Judah which resulted in this supremacy. They would not have the Lord as their King; therefore, the Lord gave them a Gentile king.

Worse still, about 550 years later, the leaders of Israel would say, concerning the Kingship of Christ, We have no king but Caesar [Jn. 19:15]. They have found, to their terrible dismay, that Caesar has been a hard taskmaster.)