Haggai

Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. Each review contains quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover Haggai, a book written around 520 BC and one that is part of a larger collection of books called The Bible.

Haggai

Author

Haggai

Introduction

The short and powerful book of Haggai gives a strong call for people to prioritize God over everything else. Haggai challenged the discouraged people in Jerusalem to examine the way they were living and to set new priorities that would please God. They must remember that God was with them; He controls their future and wants His people to be holy.

Message and Purpose

Through his messages Haggai tried to persuade his audience to glorify God by rebuilding the temple. He argues that one should not: a) focus on one's own needs (1:4); b) be discouraged because the temple was not as glorious as Solomon's (2:3); c) be unclean and unholy (2:10-14); nor d) feel useless and powerless (2:20-23).

Haggai's call for the people to get their priorities in order and place God first by rebuilding His temple was of great importance. For the people to return to this task was a sign of their priorities. It also showed that God was with the remnant and that His promises of restoration had begun to be fulfilled. Their obedience in this matter declared God's glory and thus brought Him pleasure. It served to vindicate the Lord since the temple's destruction had disgraced the Lord's name.

Finally, their obedience to Haggai's words served as a pledge of the new covenant and the messianic age. The restoration of the temple was a sign that God had not revoked His covenant with Levi or His covenant with David. He would provide cleansing and restoration through a glorious temple and a messianic ruler.

Remarkable Chapter

With only two chapters in Haggai, singling out one of them would be a dubious task. Therefore, I will call attention to verses six and seven in the first chapter which outlines the priority the people had been placing on building their own temples—both proverbial and literal—instead of focusing on God. It begins with God speaking to His people:

"You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink but never have enough to become drunk. You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.

The Lord of Hosts says this: Think carefully about your ways."

Conclusion

Throughout the Bible, there is a call and a reminder to place God first. The period following the return from exile was no exception. Haggai's challenge was to call the postexilic community of Jews living in Jerusalem not simply to focus on their own creature comforts but to honor God. This commitment would be reflected in their work on the temple. Haggai's call was later reflected in the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you."