Haggai 1:1-4
Background:
536 BC – the 70-year captivity is over, and Cyrus, king of Persia, gives the command to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. II Chronicles 36:22,23. The book of Ezra is then given, which tells of the people following Zerubbabel to Jerusalem and their beginning the work on the temple.
Many of the Jews return to Jerusalem, where they spend the next 7 years building the foundation of the temple. When Cyrus died, after ruling Israel for 7 years, Campyses, or Ahasuerus of Ezra 4:6, the unbelievers of the area wrote to him, telling lies about how Israel was going to rebel from his authority and establish themselves as an authority in the area. Because of this letter, Ahasuerus gave commandment to stop the building of the temple, which was interrupted for the 7 years of his reign. When Ahasuerus died, Darius, king of the Medes was made king over the kingdom, which included Israel.
Consider These Things
Haggai 1:1-13
I. Consider the time.
A. Ezra 5:1 - Israel had come out of Babylonian captivity in the year 536 B. C. (606 - 70 = 536 B. C.). It is now 520 B. C. or 16 years later.
B. Ezra 3:8-13 - They had laid the foundation of the new temple when opposition caused the building to stop.
1. Ezra 4 - The description of the opposition.
2. They shouldn't have stopped building, but they did.
II. Consider the condition of the people.
A. They had tried to take care of their material needs, but found this impossible.
1. They didn't have enough to eat.
2. They didn't have enough to drink.
3. They didn't have any harvest.
4. They were losing all their savings, but couldn't understand why.
III. Consider the cause of their problem.
A. Verse 8,9 - They hadn't built the house of God.
1. They said it wasn't time to build God's house, but it was time to build their own house.
2. They were waiting for a better time to obey God.
IV. Consider the cure of their problem.
A. They are told to "consider your ways".
1. See verse 5 and 7.
2. It is good to see a relationship between our works and the circumstances of our lives.
B. There must be actions.
1. It is not enough to know the answer.
2. It is not enough to think about the answer.
3. It is not enough to talk about the answer.
4. It is not enough to pray about the answer.
5. It is enough when we act, when we do what we now we ought to do.
C. Ezra 5 and 6 gives a description of the completion of the temple and all the political trouble that presented itself and was cured by the God of heaven.