Haggai 1:1–15 (November 17th, 2025)

The Command to Rebuild the Temple

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

The People Obey the Lord

12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

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Summary

Haggai 1:1–15 opens in the second year of King Darius (520 BC), when the people of Judah had returned from exile and rebuilt their homes but left the temple in ruins. Economic hardship, drought, frustration, and unfruitfulness marked their daily lives, yet they did not recognize the spiritual roots of their struggle.

Through the prophet Haggai, God confronts their disordered priorities:

2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?

Twice, God commands them to “consider your ways,” a Hebrew phrase (חָשַׁב, ḥāšav) meaning to set one’s heart upon, to evaluate deeply, to reflect carefully on the direction of one’s life.

This passage sits directly within the storyline of 2 Chronicles and Ezra. Second Chronicles ends with the destruction of the temple and a final note of hope. Cyrus decree invited God’s people to return and rebuild (2 Chron 36:23). Ezra records that the exiles did return and even began rebuilding. Still, opposition and spiritual drift brought work to a halt for nearly sixteen years (Ezra 4:24). Into this stalled moment, Haggai’s message is delivered, offering the spiritual diagnosis behind the historical events described in Ezra 5. Whereas Ezra recounts the facts of the delay, Haggai reveals the heart: the people have prioritized their own houses while God’s house lies in ruins.

Yet the chapter does not end in judgment but in revival. The people “obeyed the voice of the LORD,” “feared the LORD,” and God Himself “stirred up the spirit” of Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the remnant. A community that once drifted into neglect is revived by the Word and Spirit of God. Their obedience becomes a sign of renewed hope, pointing forward to God restoring His dwelling place among His people. This is a promise ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the true temple.

Who is God?

God lovingly interrupts His people when they drift from Him. He is not distant or indifferent. He enters history at the precise moment, sending His Word through His prophet. While our God is also sovereign over nations, seasons, kings, and even drought, He is also our Heavenly Father who disciplines His people. He disciplines us not to destroy but to restore. His questions expose misplaced priorities, but His purpose is communion.

What is our Guilt?

Our guilt mirrors Israel’s. We drift from God not by dramatic rebellion but by quiet neglect. We build our “paneled houses.” They are the projects, comforts, schedules, and ambitions we prioritize. While our hearts, the true sanctuary, remain unattended because we are "too busy." We often fill our lives with activity, yet our souls experience drought. We are so busy that we slowly become spiritually dry, exhausted, relationally strained, and anxious. We can't escape the subtle sense of futility. Like Israel, we fail to “consider our ways,” to examine whether Christ truly sits at the center.

Our guilt is not merely busyness. It is disordered love. We treat secondary things as ultimate, while the God who saved us waits on the margins of our attention. This neglect reveals a heart that has forgotten who sustains, satisfies, and orders all of life.

How does Grace shine?

Grace shines in that God does not abandon His drifting people.

He speaks. He interrupts. He exposes futility so that He can restore joy. His call to “consider your ways” is a call to come home.

His discipline is covenant love, not anger. And when the people respond, God immediately declares, “I am with you,” a promise that ultimately finds its fullness in Christ, in whom God dwells with us forever. The Spirit then “stirs up” their hearts. This is a reminder that true repentance is not self-generated but Spirit-empowered. Their renewed obedience, including rebuilding the temple, points forward to the greater reality. In Christ, God rebuilds His dwelling place in us. He who has begun the good work in us will complete it unto His day.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

You are the One who calls us back when we drift.

Help us to “consider our ways” with honesty and humility.

Where our priorities have grown disordered, reorder our hearts around your presence.

Where we have worked without fruit, remind us that apart from you we can do nothing.

Please stir our spirits by your Word and your Spirit, just as you stirred your people in Haggai’s day.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Additional Information: Post-Exilic Timeline (with Haggai)

586 BC — Jerusalem Destroyed

Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) burns the temple and exiles the people.

539 BC — Babylon Falls to Persia

Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon.

538 BC — Cyrus’ Decree

Jews are allowed to return.

This fulfills Jeremiah’s 70-year captivity prophecy.

536 BC — First Return Under Zerubbabel

Zerubbabel (governor) and Joshua/Jeshua (high priest) lead the people.

The temple foundation is laid (Ezra 3).

535–520 BC — Work Stops on the Temple

Opposition + spiritual apathy.

This is the “stalled period” addressed in Haggai and Zechariah.

520 BC — Ministry of Haggai and Zechariah Begins

Haggai’s prophetic ministry lasts from Aug–Dec 520 BC.

He issues four dated sermons in Ezra 5’s context.

Purpose: rebuke apathy and call the people to rebuild the temple.

520–516 BC — Temple Rebuilding Resumes

Spurred by Haggai + Zechariah + Darius’ support (Ezra 5–6).

516 BC — Temple Completed

The Second Temple finished during Darius I’s reign.

458 BC — Ezra Arrives (Artaxerxes’ 7th Year)

Ezra reforms worship and community life (Ezra 7–10).

445 BC — Nehemiah Arrives

Builds Jerusalem’s walls.

Jeremiah’s prophecy of the 70-year exile is fulfilled in an “already-and-not-yet” pattern. The “already” comes in 536 BC, when God moves Cyrus to send the exiles back home under Zerubbabel. This ends the captivity and fulfills Jeremiah’s prophecy that God would bring them back. But the “not yet” continues until 516 BC, when the temple is finally rebuilt. Finally, God’s dwelling among His people is restored. In Scripture, both moments are treated as genuine fulfillments. The return marks the end of exile, and the rebuilt temple marks the completion of restoration.