Book Introduction

Haggai was one of the post-exilic prophets.  Very little is known of him.  He is mentioned only in Ezra, and no history or lineage is given for him.  His name means ‘festival’ and suggests he was born on one of the festival days.  The focus of his prophetic ministry is to encourage the rebuilding of the temple. 

It was the decree of Cyrus that, after seventy years of captivity, allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and build the Temple.  The first exiles returned under the leadership of Zerubabel and the spiritual leadership of Joshua.  Haggai and Zechariah were God's prophets to these people at this time.  About 50,000 people returned to Israel.  Imagine what that was like.  Anyone younger than 70 had never been in the land.  Only those older than 75 or so would even recall Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple.  Many of the Jews were very happy in Babylon. 

The returning exiles set out to rebuild the temple and worked on it for six years, during which the opposition grew stronger.  They, in turn, lost their resolve, and the temple rebuilding was mothballed for ten years.  It was resumed when the Lord sent Haggai and Zechariah to minister and prophecy to them.  The work was restarted and completed in four years.

The Samaritans pressured the Jews to cease rebuilding the temple.  The people began to assimilate and mingle with other cultures.  They made themselves at home in the middle of this mixed bag and lost their desire to rebuild the temple.  This is the atmosphere from which Haggai delivers his prophetic messages.

Date: 520 B.C.

©2007 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater; Revised & Updated 2017, 2026