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A message from the Lord came to Haggai the prophet. Haggai gave it to Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel was governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Joshua was high priest and the son of Jozadak. The message came on the first day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia. Here is what Haggai said. 2 Here is what the Lord who rules over all says. ‘The people of Judah say, “It's not yet time to rebuild the Lord's temple.” ’
3 So the message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 4 ‘My temple is still destroyed. But you are living in your houses that have beautiful wooden walls.’
5 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘Think carefully about how you are living. 6 You have planted many seeds. But the crops you have gathered are small. So you eat. But you never have enough. You drink. But you are never full. You put on your clothes. But you are not warm. You earn your pay. But it will not buy everything you need.’
7 He continues, ‘Think carefully about how you are living. 8 Go up into the mountains. Bring logs down. Use them to rebuild the temple, my house. Then I will enjoy it. And you will honour me,’ says the Lord. 9 ‘You expected a lot. But you can see what a small amount it turned out to be. I blew away what you brought home. I'll tell you why,’ announces the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple is still destroyed. In spite of that, each one of you is busy with your own house. 10 So because of what you have done, the heavens have held back the dew. And the earth has not produced its crops. 11 I ordered the rain not to fall on the fields and mountains. Then the ground did not produce any corn. There were not enough grapes to make fresh wine. The trees did not bear enough olives to make oil. People and cattle suffered. All your hard work failed.’
1:1–11 Many Jews returned from Babylon to Judah. They were supposed to build another temple in Jerusalem. First they rebuilt their homes. Then they started farming again. But there wasn't enough rain. Their crops didn't produce enough food. Haggai explained why. Not having enough rain or food were sometimes signs of God's judgement. They were part of the covenant curses. In Haggai's time God allowed these covenant curses to come to the Jews. Covenant curses came when God's people weren't faithful to the Mount Sinai covenant. In the prophet Hosea's messages God had talked about ending the Mount Sinai covenant (Hosea 1:9). Many Jews thought that God ended the covenant when he sent them into exile. But God had promised that he would continue the covenant. He would continue it with the people left alive after the time of exile. Many prophets had announced this. God still wanted the Jews to live faithful to the Mount Sinai covenant after the exile. This meant that they would live the way God taught them to live. They would treat others according to God's rules. And they would worship God the way he taught them to in the Law of Moses. Because the Jews weren't doing these things, the covenant curses had come. The Jews needed to change their ways and to obey God. They needed to rebuild the temple. This would show that they had respect for God. It would show that they believed he is the Lord who rules over all.
12 Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Joshua the high priest was the son of Jozadak. They obeyed the Lord their God. So did all the Lord's people who were still left alive. The Lord had given his message to them through me. He had sent me to speak to them. And the people had respect for him.
13 Haggai was the Lord's messenger. So Haggai gave the Lord's message to the people. He told them, ‘The Lord announces, “I am with you.” ’ 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirits of Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua the high priest. The Lord also stirred up the rest of the people to help them. Then everyone began to work on the temple of the Lord who rules over all. He is their God. 15 It was the 24th day of the sixth month.
1:12–15 In the year 539 BC, Cyrus had ordered the Jews to rebuild the temple. In 536 BC Joshua and Zerubbabel led the people to rebuild the temple. But other people groups living around them forced them to stop building. Government officials also forced them to stop for around 16 years. This story is recorded in the book of Ezra chapters 1 to 4. Rebuilding the temple was something that Daniel had prayed about (Daniel 9:17–19). Daniel understood that the temple was a sign of God's honour. God didn't need a temple built by human beings. Solomon had made that clear when the first temple was built (1 Kings 8:27). And people didn't need a temple in order to worship God. The stories of Daniel and Ezekiel made that clear. Daniel and Ezekiel served God faithfully in Babylon after the temple was destroyed. But God chose to use the temple as a sign of his presence with people on earth. It was a sign that God wanted all people to worship him and obey him (Isaiah 2:1–5). Zerubbabel and Joshua listened to Haggai's message in the second year that Darius was king. These leaders obeyed God. They continued rebuilding the temple. So did all the people. Those were the people left alive after the southern kingdom's time of judgement. They were able to do this because God was with them. This meant that the people could trust that God was present with them. It also meant that God was taking action to help them. God stirred up their spirits. This meant that God gave them the desire and the ability to do the work. The story about continuing to rebuild the temple is recorded in Ezra chapters 5 and 6.
In the second year of King Darius,