Haggai 1:1-15 Comments by Stephen Ricker
Bible Study Home Page

The Call to Build the Temple
Comments for Study 1

Pick to read this Bible passage in a separate window.

Memory Verse: 7
Questions
Introduction
Outline
OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS TIMELINE
ISRAEL'S HISTORY
MAJOR EVENTS FROM BABYLON TIMES TO ROMAN OCCUPATION OF JUDAH
A LIST OF ISRAEL'S KINGS AND PROPHETS
A MAP OF JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT
A MAP OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

I. Haggai's Call (1:1)

Darius the Persian King

>1. Who was Haggai to deliver this word to?

* Haggai 1:1 "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 Jehozadak, the high priest"

* "In the second year" -520 B.C.

* "King Darius" -Darius I (Darius Hystaspis), successor to Cambyses II, son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), became king of the Mede-Persia empire in 522 B.C. (Ezra 4:1-5, 24) After solidifying his power in the Middle East, he set out to reconquer the Scythians and Greeks who had rebelled under his predecessor. He was successful in this venture until the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. From that time the kingdom began a gradual regression until finally conquered by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. Darius brought a new sense of unity to his empire. He enlarged on the policies of Cyrus the Great in making restoration to those disenfranchised by the Assyrian and Babylonian dominations. The Jews received additional financial aid for finishing the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 6:8-9). Unlike Cyrus, Darius organized a tightly-knit centralized state and vested himself with absolute power. Twenty satrapies (provinces) were established. Each had a system of checks and balances, with each official watching the actions of his colleagues.

* "on the first day of the sixth month" -This is according to the Hebrew calendar, Aug. 29th modern calendar. The first day of each month was called the New Moon Festival. Prophets were sometimes called to speak on this occasion. (2 Kings 4:22-23; Isa. 1:14)

* Ezra 5:1-2 and Haggai 1 concern the year is 520 BC. The temple foundation was laid, then stopped 10 years earlier when opposition came from the Samaritans. The Lord Almighty told Haggai to speak to the people. The Lord rebuked the people for building their own houses and ignoring the temple. He said he was holding back and stopping them from success because of their lackluster attitude.

The people repented. They obeyed the Lord and began work on the temple. They did not let possible resistance from the Samaritans or even the Persian Empire stop their work. Then the Lord promised them, "I am with you."

Today the Lord's temple is his people. The Spirit of God dwells in his community of believed, not a buildingof stone and wood. The Father and Son are in believers. I should take care and help build up the church that Jesus started building 2,000 years ago.

I think of my life and my actions. Do I make excuses to not do the work of the Lord? Is that the reason why I have labored much and harvested little? Even still I will seek a place to serve the Lord's people at the church I attend. I will tend to Jesus's body.

Darius the Persian King

* "the word of the LORD came through" -One of the main function of a prophet was to deliver God's word to the people. Haggai's message concerned the temple project that had been started and the suspended years earlier. The temple was finally finished in the sixth year of King Darius (516 B.C.) and dedicated in 515 B.C. (Ezra 6:15-18)

* "the prophet Haggai" -Some scholars believe that 2:3 indicates that Haggai saw the destruction of Solomon's temple. If so then Haggai would have been in his seventies. Though this is possible, 2:3 could be based on words he had heard from people like Daniel who were truly recorded as seeing Solomon's temple or Haggai could have read of the former temple's splendor and size in the historical books. See introduction for more on Haggai.

* "Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah" -Zerubbabel means descendant of Babel." He is the grandson of King Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah. Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon in the first Exile in 597 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:10-17). Zerrubbabel's father was Shealtiel. (Ezra 3:2; and 1 Chron. 3:16-17). Zerubbabel is named in Ezra 2:2 among the leaders of those who returned from Exile. According to Ezra 3, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, (or Joshua) the high priest rebuilt the altar and in their second year (538?) laid the foundation of the Temple, but their work was halted by among other things from opposition from those who had remained in Palestine during the Exile and people who the Assyrians relocated there. (4:1-6,24) Darius granted the Jews permission to continue rebuilding the Temple. (6:1-12) Zerubbabel quickly disappears from the record and was replaced by another. Some scholars believe he was removed by the king because the Jews tried to make Zerubbabel king of the Jews.

* "Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest" -Nothing else is known about him outside of this book.

>When did this happen and what was happening in the world at this time? (Jer. 25:11-12, 29:10; and 2 Chron. 36:21-23; Dan. 9:1-2, 10:1; Ezra 4:24)

Cyrus clay cylinder

* See a picture of the clay Cyrus cylinder to the right. "When I entered Babylon in peace, and took up my royal abode in the palace of the princes amid acclamation and shouts of joy, the mighty lord Marduk inclined the great hearts of the Babylonians towards me... I liberated those who dwelt in Babylon from the yoke that chafed them... I am Cyrus, king of all things, the great king... king of all the earth..." So runs the inscription in Babylonian characters on the clay cylinder of Cyrus. The last words might almost suggest that the biblical Chronicler had them in mind: "Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me..." (2 Chronicles 36:23). In 539 B.C. -a year after Cyrus had beaten the army of Nabonidus, the Babylonian king- the occupation of Babylon by the Persians settled the fate of the last great empire of Mesopotamia. The time had come of which it was said: "...after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you... in causing you to return to this place" (Jeremiah 29:10). (The Bible as History in Pictures, Werner Keller)

* Jeremiah 25:11-12 "This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the LORD, "and will make it desolate forever."

* Jeremiah 29:10 "This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place."

* 2 Chronicles 36:21-23 "The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you--may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.'"

* Daniel 9:1-2 "In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom-- in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years."

* Daniel 10:1 "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision."

* Ezra 4:24 "Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia."

* The closing years of the Old Testament were crucial ones in world history. Powerful leaders were emerging in nations around the world, attracting the masses to their own manmade religions and philosophies (a departure from idol and ancestor worship). Among such men were Confucius in China (551-479 B.C.), Buddha in India (563-483 B.C.), Zoroaster in Iran (sixth century), and Thales in Greece (640-546 B.C.). Haggai and Zechariah, two of the Lord's prophets were contemporaries of some of those leaders. (A Self-Study Guide, Irving L. Jensen)

>What can be learned about Haggai from Ezra 5:1-2 and 6:14-15?

* Ezra 5:1-2 "Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them."

* Ezra 6:14-15 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius."

* Haggai delivered the Lord's word. He challenged the people to repent of their complacent and fearful attitude.

* Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Hezekiah, and Ezra preaching against the Jew's sins lead to the ideas that eventually formed the Hasidim. The Hasidim became a militant religious community active before and during the Maccabean revolt (begun 168 B.C.). The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes roots can be traced to the Hasidim too.

Jewish Sects

>Why was it important for Israel to return to the promised land and the temple to be rebuilt?

* The people who returned from exile were called Jews from this time forward. Most were from the tribe of Judah, Benjamin, and some Levites (priests). However since the Israelites were also in captivity a small amount must have traveled back to the promised land as well. For example Luke 2:36-38 states, "There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem."

* The Israelites could not stay in exile because the prophecies concerning the Messiah required them to be in the promised land. For example the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem, had to be called a Nazarene, had to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, and had to die in Jerusalem.

* The temple had to be build in order for Jesus to overturn the money tables and for his sacrifice to be accomplished.

* The rebuilding of the temple was at once an act of dedication and of faith. It was a symbol of the continuity of the present with the past, and expressed the longing of the community that, despite the exile, the old covenant promises still stood. What the Temple was to symbolize in God's purpose the prophets themselves could hardly be expected to appreciate, for Jesus spoke of His own body as the temple (Mark 14:57-58; John 2:19), which in its turn would be destroyed. Raised from the dead it was to be the corner stone of a holy temple made up of living stones, believers who become "a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:19-22; and 1 Peter 2:4-5), a church to be presented before Him in splendour. For all this the rebuilding of the Temple in the time of Haggai and Zechariah was a necessary preparation. (Joyce B. Baldwin, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)

* The Jews in Judah and Jerusalem were ruled by a governor of the Mede and Persian Empire. The temple would remind and connect them to their past.

* It should be remembered that much of the Mosaic constitution presupposed the carrying on of worship in such a sanctuary, and the failure to complete a suitable house of worship could lead to a paralysing of the religious life of the Jewish community. It should also be understood that the second temple was to play a very important role in the history of redemption, for it was in this temple (as remodelled and beautified by Herod the Great) that the Lord Jesus Christ was to carry on His Jerusalem ministry. It was, of course, His advent that fulfilled the promise of Haggai 2:9, "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former." (A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Gleason Archer)

II. Build the Temple (1:2-11)

>2. What were the people saying? (2)

* Haggai 1:2 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.'"

* "These people" -The Jews who had returned from captivity in Babylon.

* They gave the impression that they intended to build the temple. They admitted that the religious leaders had said they must build the temple. Even Cyrus had given the order. It was not an easy task. Building the wall was hard enough. They had laid the foundation, but no more. They had great hopes when they left Babylon for Judah. Reality when they arrived was different. So they put off finishing the temple saying, "We will do it tomorrow, later when things are better for us." The Lord was testing them. Now he was rebuking them through his prophet, Haggai. Is it any different in our lives? When we accept Jesus as our Savior through his death and resurrection and accept him as the Lord of our life we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, every day we have choices to make. Will we live by faith? Will we obey Jesus? Will we resist temptation? Will we serve Jesus?

>Why might have they been making this excuse? (Ezra 3:6, 8, 10, 4:4-5, 23-24, 5:1-2, 5)

* Ezra 3:6 "On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid."

* Ezra 3:8 "In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work, appointing Levites twenty years of age and older to supervise the building of the house of the LORD."

* Ezra 3:10 "When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel."

* Ezra 4:4-5 "Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counsellors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia."

* Ezra 4:23-24 "As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop. Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia."

* Ezra 5:1-2 "Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them."

* Ezra 5:5 "But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received."

>Why are excuses often an indication of sin? (Gen. 3:10-13)

* Other factors caused the Jews to stop working on the Temple, besides the Samaritans' harassments. Among these were (a) the people's earlier adjustment to worshiping without a temple when they were in Babylon; (b) their disillusionment upon returning to find mostly desolation, hostility, and hardship (c) poverty resulting from failure of crops and high taxes, and (d) preoccupation with their own building projects. (Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets)

* Genesis 3:10-13 "He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" The man said, "The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

* When we are in sin we make excuses blaming other people, inanimate objects, and time. When Adam sinned he blamed his wife and the Lord who put her in his life. Eve blamed the serpent. Neither accepted that they had sinned and neither asked for forgiveness. When Judas betrayed Jesus he acted like Adam and Eve. When Peter denied Jesus he sought the Lord's forgiveness.

trumpeting place

* See a picture of a stone (2.43×1 m) with Hebrew writing "To the Trumpeting Place". It was uncovered during archaeological excavations by Benjamin Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the complex of the Second Temple.

>What is the answer to the question the Lord asked in verses 3-4?

* Haggai 1:3-4 "Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?""

* "living in your paneled houses" -The people in Jerusalem built nice homes for themselves and became self satisfied. Cedar paneled homes were associated with royalty. They were concerned about thier lives and well being while ignoring building the temple. The temple project was started fourteen years before the Lord sent Haggai to rebuke them. The stalled project was an indication that they were not interested in the things of God. They did not seek the Lord at his temple for all that was on the temple mount was a foundation and an altar.

* The meaning is "put first things first".

>3. How was the Lord's first challenge? (5)

* Haggai 1:5 "Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways."

* The Lord wanted the returned Jews to make a decision. He could "program" their minds and heart to build the temple. The Lord God does not want a bunch of robots who act and react without willful decisions and emotions. We are called to consider the Lord's word, the Lord's ways, and our past, present, and future. When his people make decisions based in faith, hope, and love he most pleased. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15) And what remains? "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

* "the Lord Almighty" -Older English translations have the Hebrew words here as "Lord of hosts". This title for God appears nearly 300 times in the Old Testament especially in the prophetic books. The first place in the Bible the Hebrew term is used is in 1 Samuel 1:3, though it is clear in earlier books that the Lord was in control of his people's army. Since the tabernacle was replaced with a temple at Shiloh by Samuel's birth (Joshua 18:1, 22:12; Judges 18:31, 21:19, 1 Samuel 1:3, 24, 4:3-4; Psalm 78:60; Jeremiah 7:12-14) some have equated this title for the Lord with the temple. The NIV Bible has the following note, "Because for most readers today the phrases "the Lord of hosts" and "God of hosts: have little meaning, this version (NIV) renders them "the Lord Almighty" and "God Almighty." These renderings convey the sense of the Hebrew, namely, "he who is sovereign over all the 'hosts' (powers) in heaven and on earth, especially over the 'hosts' (armies) of Israel." For readers unacquainted with Hebrew this does not make clear the distinction between Sabaoth ("hosts" or "Almighty") and Shaddai (which can also be translated "Almighty"), but the latter occurs infrequently and is always footnoted. When Adonai and YHWH Sabaoth occur together, they are rendered "the Lord, the Lord Almighty.""

>How is a universal statement, especially to God's people? (Mark 4:9)

* Mark 4:9 "Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

* Jesus often made this concluding remark when speaking to the people in parables. (Luke 8:8, 14:25; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22)

* A question that should be considered by every, especially those who call on the name of the Lord, "Give careful thought to your ways." The entire book of Deuteronomy was Moses looking back on forty years of wandering in the desert so that they would do right and resist wrong in the years to come. "Reflection on events in the light of God's word is indispensable if God's people are to know the meaning of His providential ordering of their everyday affairs." (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Joyce G. Baldwin)

>What should they have recognized? (6)

* Haggai 1:6 "You have planted much, but have 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."

* "planted" -The farmers worked hard but were not prosperous. Most of the people were farmers.

* "eat... drink... clothes" -The basic needs in life. They had some, yet nobody was satisfied in their labors and productivity.

* "wages... purse" -The use of coinage was relatively new in the world. They were used mostly to pay taxes. Trade was more common.

* The first coins developed in the context of Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece around 600 B.C. Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C., throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans and India.

4th century Judea coins

* See a picture of 4th century B.C. Judea coins to the right. These coins are from the province of Judah from the time of the Persian sovereignty. Above, an imitation of the Greek tetradrachma with the owl of Athens and the letters JHD (Jehuda). Below, a Hebrew coin, also bearing the letters JHD above a god sitting in a chariot with a falcon on his hand. Both coins are from the first half of the fourth century B. C., about the time when Ezra gave the Law a new status in Jerusalem. (The Bible as History in Pictures, Werner Keller)

>4. What was the challenge given by the Lord? (7)

* Haggai 1:7 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways."

* The repetition of the question adds emphasis. Chapter 2:15 and 18 states "Give careful thought."

>What were they instructed to do and why? (8, Ezra 3:7)

* Haggai 1:8 "Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD."

* Ezra 3:7 "Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia."

* "the mountains" -Judah's mountains would be able supply small timber and Ezra had already given the money to Sidon and Tyre for the needed large timber. The Lebanon Mountains within Sidon and Tyre's territories were known for large trees that could provide the beams for the ceiling and gates. However the Jews had yet to secure them.

* "build the house" -The Lord referred to the temple as his house. Elsewhere it was called his footstool since he dwelt in heaven.

* "I may take pleasure in it and be honored" -The temple would bringing him honor only as evidence that the people's faith and obedience showed they believed. Trust and obey brings the Lord honor. In the long run willful obedience is what matters, not lip service. (Matthew 21:28-32)

* The difference between Solomon's temple and this temple was more than the size. The source of the labor was different. Solomon used conscripted force labor to hew stone and carry loads. (1 Kings 5:13-18) Haggai was expecting voluntary service.

>What did the Lord do? (9)

* Haggai 1:9 "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 his own house."

* "I blew away" -The Lord did it. Sometimes we don't see prosper in all we do because our hearts and actions aren't right.

* A direct link lies between their poverty and their neglect of the temple.

>Why did he do it? (10)

* Haggai 1:10-11 "Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."

* "because of you" -Our actions good or bad, righteous or sinful have direct effect in our lives and the lives of those around us. We are expected to know and apply what we know.

* "dew" -As important as rain, especially in August and September when there is little rain.

* The Lord God did these things to reduce their pride and self-sufficiency.

* "drought... ruin" -Drought is Horeb in Hebrew and ruin is Hareb in Hebrew, a play on words.

>5. What did the Lord Jesus say about His Temple? (John 2:18-22; Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-6)

* John 2:18-22 "Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken."

* Ephesians 2:19-22 "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

* 1 Peter 2:4-6 "As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

* Since the Holy Spirit has been sent we are the temple of the Lord.

>How can we apply the words spoken in Haggai's day to our lives? (1 Cor. 6:18-20, 12:4-11)

* 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

* 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."

* Do we neglect the temple of God? Do we fill it with sin? Do we use it for things, events, and people and not the Lord?

* 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

III. They Obey (1:12-14)

>6. How did the people respond to the Lord's rebuke? (12)

* Haggai 1:12 "Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, 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."

* "remnant" -The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Haggai, Zephaniah, and Zechariah write of the remnant. The remnant make it through the day of the Lord's wrath by grace, people who are left over after God's judgement. The remnant are people who accept his call and remain so even though the majority do not. For the prophets the remnant refer most specifically to true Israel.

Some Christians have used the term remnant to refer to themselves. Can the Gentiles who are "grafted into Israel" by grace through faith in Jesus be called a remnant? The Hebrew and Greek words for remnant appear in both the Old and New Testament. Noah and his family were remnant from the judgment of the flood though the word is not used. (Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-23) Lot was remnant of Sodom, but again the word is not used. (Genesis 18:17-33; 19:1-29) The first time the word is used concerns the Israelites who went to Egypt. Joseph called Israel a remnant from all the people who perished because of drought. He said to his brothers, "For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be ploughing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance." (Genesis 45:6-7) Also, Og the Gentile king was called a remnant of the Rephaites. (Deuteronomy 3:11) So a remnant is a person or a small group who is saved by grace from the larger whole who perish during the wrath of the Lord. In that respect Christians are a remnant who are saved by grace through Jesus. Jesus calls them the few who follow the narrow road. (Matthew 7:13-14)

When the prophets speak of the remnant are they speaking to survivors from Israel, Judah, and the church? It seems that they are speaking of only a remnant from Israel and/or Judah. (2 Kings 19:4, 30-31, 21:10-15; 2 Chronicles 34:9, 21, 36:20) James made a distinction between the remnant and the Gentile believers. During the council in Jerusalem which met to consider the Gentiles who were putting faith in Jesus quoted the prophets. James said, "Simon (Peter) has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: "'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things' that have been known for ages." (Acts 15:14-18)

Paul, a Benjamite called himself a remnant because he believed in Jesus. He writes, "I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace... Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!" (Romans 11:1-12) Paul quoted from Hosea and from Isaiah to demonstrate that the saving of a remnant from among the Jewish people was still part of the Lord's method of redeeming His people. There would always be a future for anyone among the covenant people who would truly turn to the Lord for salvation. They were remnant survivors because the Lord chose to show mercy to those who had believed steadfastly in Him and had been righteous in their lives. The same will be true during the day of the Lord's wrath; there will be a remnant who survive and will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air as he returns to the earth to establish his worldwide kingdom.

Today's Dictionary of the Bible (T.A. Bryant) states, "Remnant has three basic meanings in Scripture:
    a) A group of people who survive military or political turmoil (Joshua 12:4 concerning the race of giants in Bashan; the nations surrounding early Israel, Joshua 13:12; the Amorites in 2 Samuel 21:2; and Jeroboam's dynasty in 1 Kings 14:1-)
    b) A portion of meat, oil, or other sacrifice left for the priests as their proper portion (Leviticus 2:3, 5:13, 14:18)
    c) A prophetic designation referring to the core of Israel who survive God's judgment to become the nucleus of the new people of God (Isaiah 10:20-23, 11:11-12; Jeremiah 32:38-39; Zephaniah 3:13; Zechariah 8:12) The whole idea of the survival of a "righteous remnant" implies God's care of his "chosen people" (2 Kings 19:31; Isaiah 10:22, 37:31; Ezekiel 6:8; Joel 2:32; Micah 2:12). Isaiah is the principal proponent of the "righteous remnant" concept, and Paul picks up his emphasis and applies it to the Church (Romans 9:27).
The New Compact Bible Dictionary (T. Alton Bryant) almost repeats a) and c) above.

* "obeyed" -Haggai was one of the few prophets that saw God's people accept the message of the Lord in their lifetime.

* "the people feared the LORD" -Fear of the Lord bring obedience which in turn brings peace and joy.

* Haggai 1:13 thru chapter 2.

The returned people of God were working hard on the temple in troubled times. They were afraid. The work went on for months. They were tired. The temple being built was no where near as grandeur as the former. They had become discouraged.

The Lord told them. "Be strong, all you people of the land and work. For I am with you,' declares the Lord Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'" He promised that their small work will be blessed beyond what it appears. The Lord will take flesh and walk around the temple mount and teach his people and perform miracles.

On any given day something can happen that can discouraged and bring fear. My work will seem to be coming to nothing, or to less than I wanted. Yet the Lord is with me. As Jesus did with the disciples 5 loaves and 2 fish, so he can make my small effort into a great miracle. As with the returned Jews building the temple, I just near to lay one stone at a time, one day at a time, one moment to the next. Jesus is with me. I have hope.

Rebuild the Temple by Door

* See a drawing of the rebuilding of the temple by Dore to the right.

>How was this a sign of their faith?

* Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey my commands." Obedience is an act of faith. Obedience is never easy. Obedience is an outward sign of a righteous heart inside.

* Being a remnant meant more than physically returning to the promised land. It also meant returning to him in mind, heart, soul, and action. Now that they acted, they were true remnant.

>7. What word of encouragement did they receive when they obeyed? (13)

* Haggai 1:13 "Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: "I am with you," declares the LORD."

* "Haggai, the Lord's messenger" -Only referred to as such.

* "I am with you" -The sweetest words from the Lord, just as sweet as, "I love you."

* Isaiah 42:18-43:7 is very similar to Haggai's message.

>Why might they need to know this?

* The work of the temple was hard costly work over several years. Knowing the Lord was with them would be an encouragement. As I continually work year and year on this web site I too need to know the Lord is with me. If not I would never continue let alone finish it. How can we know the Lord is with us? The Lord encourages in many ways especially through his Spirit, the comforter. If it were based on the amount of donations to the site, the encouragement would be zero for no one has done so for all the years I have worked on it even though thousands and thousands visit the site every year.

>8. What did the Lord do after they decided to obey?

* Haggai 1:14-15 "So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, 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, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius."

* "stirred up the spirit" -After they repented in the heart the Lord stirred them up.

* "spirit" -The Lord Jesus made man in his image. We are physical and spiritual.

* "the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius." -September 21, 520 B.C.

* According to the date given here there was a delay of twenty-three days between the original prophecy and the resumption of work. There are several possible reasons. One is the need for organization and planning. Third, is time needed to spread Haggai's message throughout Judah. Third, the sixth month was a month of harvesting, when urgent tasks in the orchards and fields would have to be completed. Twenty-three days would allow that work to be finished, after which every able-bodied man could be expected to report at the Temple site.

>Who can be credited for the building of the temple?

* The LORD moved Cyrus' heart to allow them to come back and decree the temple to be built. The Lord brought the people back. The Lord made the way for the materials to be readied. The Lord rebuked the people when they stopped the work. The Lord moved the leaders hearts.

>9. How are Jesus' words just before he left like the Lord's words through Haggai? (John 14:15-17)

* John 14:15-17 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

>How does this apply to our salvation? (Phil. 2:12-16)

* Philippians 2:12-16 "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing."

*