Call to Rebuild the Temple
Haggai 1The prophet Haggai confronts the postexilic community's misplaced priorities and calls them to rebuild the temple, linking their economic hardship to the neglected house of God.
Old Testament
Haggai
Haggai records the prophet's dated messages from August to December 520 BC, the second year of Persia's King Darius I. In Jerusalem, he addresses the small postexilic Judean community, especially Governor Zerubbabel and High Priest Joshua, after work on the ruined temple had stalled. Poor harvests expose disordered communal priorities; rebuilding is presented not as mere construction but as renewed covenant obedience and confidence in God's presence. Haggai encourages a discouraged people with promises of future glory, shaken nations, and hope attached to David's line through Zerubbabel. Read it with Ezra 1–6 and Zechariah, which describe the same postexilic rebuilding effort.
0%
Promise of Future Glory
Haggai 2As the community compares its modest rebuilding project with the former temple, Haggai promises that the latter glory of this house will surpass the former and declares Zerubbabel the LORD's chosen signet ring.