Haggai functioned in his prophetic ministry during the rebuilding of the temple after the Jews returned to their land from the Babylonian captivity.
Cyrus, king of Persia, had been moved by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the word of the Lord through the mouth of Jeremiah. God had promised to bring the people back from Babylon (Jer 24:6). They were to return after 70 years in captivity
(Jer 25:11, 29:10, Dan 9:1–2, Isaiah 14:1). See Prophet Jeremiah.
Cyrus made a proclamation throughout his kingdom and also wrote it down: "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the Earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1–4).
The people came up in hard times after they had come back to Jerusalem. There was great opposition to the rebuilding of the temple, and these men were able to stop the ongoing construction of the temple for several years (Ezra 4:4–24).
It was then that God raised up Haggai to prophesy. In the second year of king
Darius, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai, to Zerubbabel,
the governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua (Hag 1:1).
Zerubbabel was the grandson of Jechoniah and part of Jesus' genealogy
(Mat 1:12). This means that this Jechoniah can't be the same person as the
cursed Jechoniah, see The Curse of Jeconiah.
God had promised the Jews to bless them if they kept the Mosaic Laws and obeyed God. God wanted the people to build the temple, but they had stopped doing it because of political pressure. The blessings therefore didn't come
(Hag 1:2–7, 9–11). Haggai prophesied from the Lord that they would go up to the hills to get wood and complete the building of the temple, so that God might enjoy
it and be glorified (Hag 1:8).
Zerubbabel and Joshua, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed and feared the Lord. See To Fear the Lord in Fear of Man. They came and began work on the Lord's house. (Hag 1:12–14). Every person should be subject to the governing authorities, although we should obey God before authorities, see
This World is Not Our Home in The Book of Romans.
About a month later, Haggai brought another prophesy from the Lord, that they would be strong, for the Lord was with them. Although this building didn't have the glory of Solomon's Temple (the First Temple), God would fill it with his glory.
The later glory of it would be greater than that of the earlier temple.
(Hag 2:4, 7, 9 (5, 8, 10 in some translations)). The reason was that this
Second Temple, further restored by Herod the Great, was the temple that Jesus visited during his first ministry on Earth.
About two months later, Haggai brought another prophesy from the Lord, that God looks at the hearts of the people. It's not enough to live in Israel, if one isn't obedient to God. God wants to see a new attitude to do what is right. God would bless them if they walked in obedience. (Hag 2:10–19 (11–20 in some translations)).
Later that day, Haggai made another prophesy from the Lord, about what will happen at the end of the Great Tribulation when Antichrist attacks Israel, and God will rescue them (Hag 2:20–22 (21–23 in some translations)), see
The Return of Jesus. On that day, God will make Zerubbabel his servant, as one
signet ring, for God had chosen him (Hag 2:23 (24 in some translations)).
A signet ring was a stamp ring for signature, and a close personal affiliation.
See The Book of Zechariah for more information about the end time.
See also The Prophet Books in the Old Testament.
