Haggai 1 Study Notes

1:1 The king named Darius is Darius I (522-486 BC), not the earlier Darius the Mede (Dn 5:31; 6:1,6,9) or the later Darius II Nothus (Neh 12:12). Zerubbabel is listed as the governor because under Persian control Judah (Hb Yehud) had no Hebrew king. His father Shealtiel was the son of the Davidic king Jehoiachin (1Ch 3:17). As leaders, Zerubbabel and Joshua . . . the high priest (1Ch 6:14-15; Ezr 3:2) carried the responsibility of guiding the people, so the word of the Lord was directed specifically to them. The date was August 29, 520 BC.

1:2 A common name for God in Haggai is the Lord of Armies (used 14 times). This title views God as the Divine Warrior in charge of the armies of heaven, thus he is all-powerful and directs the fiery forces of the armies of heaven (2Kg 6:16-17). Because he is sovereign, he can help the discouraged people of Jerusalem rebuild the temple. The people were saying to each other the time has not come to finish the work of building God’s temple. Times were tough, and there was opposition, but God wanted his people to get on with the work.

1:3-4 Your paneled houses refers to the upper-income homes of Zerubbabel and Joshua. Their homes had expensive wood interior paneling to cover the ugly and uneven stones (similar to Solomon’s palace in 1Kg 7:3,7). Why were these leaders spending lavishly on their own homes and giving no priority to building God’s house?

1:5 Think carefully about your ways (lit “set your heart on your ways”) is a call for serious thinking on the decisions the people were making and what these choices say about their priorities. Will they take the easy way out or will they follow God’s ways?

1:6 You have planted much but harvested little indicates that God was not blessing the work of their hands. There must be a theological reason why these people were not receiving what they needed.

1:7 A repetition of the expression in v. 5. Note it occurs again in 2:18.

1:8 God’s desire was that the people build the house and give priority to worshiping God. Whatever one does, God should always be pleased with it and be glorified by it. These are two practical theological criteria that people can use to evaluate their life and set new priorities. Jesus set the example, for everything he did was aimed to please God (Jn 8:29). The reason he came to earth was to glorify the Father (Jn 12:27-28; 17:1,4).

1:9 I ruined it (lit “I blew on it”) explains why the people never had enough in v. 6. God purposely frustrated their efforts by not blessing and multiplying their produce; instead, the fiery breath of his wrath consumed almost everything. Some might ask, Why would God be so judgmental? But a more appropriate question might be, Why would God not more quickly judge those who do not glorify him? God’s house was in ruins because each man was busy with his own house.

1:10 The covenant curses in Dt 28:38-39 indicate that when God’s covenant people do not love and serve him, he will neither bless their crops nor send rain (Dt 28:23-24). Thus these problems were on your account; you caused this to happen to yourselves.

1:11 I have summoned a drought indicates that God was personally responsible for this drought (cp. v. 9).

1:12 In response the entire remnant of the people obeyed the Lord and feared the Lord. When the leaders “obeyed” God, the people followed their example. One obeys God when one fears or reverences him; that is the time when a person puts God first and determines to glorify him.

1:13 Above all other responsibilities, a prophet is fundamentally God’s spokesman, God’s messenger who communicates the theological truth that God has revealed. I am with you is a foundational promise that God gives to his people (cp. 2:4). Things may be tough at times, but God is always there to care for the people he loves.

1:14 The Lord roused the spirit of the leaders and the people so that they would respond. Spiritual transformation happens when God stirs up the winds of change in people’s hearts, convicts them of sin, and emboldens them to act in faith.

1:15 In the second year of King Darius is sometimes connected with the date in 2:1 (the dating system in 1:1 and 2:10 includes the month and year). On the other hand, since 2:1 and 2:20 do not give the year, a shortened formula is an acceptable way of identifying a date. The people began the work on the temple twenty-three days after Haggai’s first prophecy—September 21, 520 BC.