Haggai 1 Study Notes
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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.