LET'S REBUILD THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

Passage: Haggai 1:1-15

Key verse: 14

NIV

A Call to Build the House of the Lord

1 In the second year of King Darius,(A) on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai(B) to Zerubbabel(C) son of Shealtiel, governor(D) of Judah, and to Joshua(E) son of Jozadak,[a](F) the high priest:(G)

2 This is what the Lord Almighty(H) says: “These people(I) say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.(J)’”

3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:(K) 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,(L) while this house remains a ruin?(M)”

5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought(N) to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little.(O) You eat, but never have enough.(P) You drink, but never have your fill.(Q) You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,(R) only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought(S) to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber(T) and build my house, so that I may take pleasure(U) in it and be honored,(V)” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.(W) What you brought home, I blew(X) away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,(Y) while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld(Z) their dew(AA) and the earth its crops.(AB) 11 I called for a drought(AC) on the fields and the mountains,(AD) on the grain, the new wine,(AE) the olive oil(AF) and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.(AG)”

12 Then Zerubbabel(AH) son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant(AI) of the people obeyed(AJ) the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared(AK) the Lord.

13 Then Haggai,(AL) the Lord’s messenger,(AM) gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with(AN) you,” declares the Lord. 14 So the Lord stirred up(AO) the spirit of Zerubbabel(AP) son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak,(AQ) the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant(AR) of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.(AS)

The Promised Glory of the New House

In the second year of King Darius,(AT)

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Footnotes
  1. Haggai 1:1 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak; also in verses 12 and 14
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Command to Rebuild the Temple

1 (A)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 (B)Zerubbabel the son of (C)Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (D)Joshua the son of (E)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 (F)by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 (G)“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while (H)this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: (I)Consider your ways. 6 (J)You have sown much, and harvested little. (K)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 (L)earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

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

The People Obey the Lord

12 (W)Then (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (Y)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all (Z)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, (AA)“I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And (AB)the Lord stirred up the spirit of (AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of (AD)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all (AE)the remnant of the people. And they came and (AF)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 (AG)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

INTRODUCTION TO HAGGAI

'Haggai' means 'festival.' Haggai must have been a young boy when he was taken as an exile to Babylon. He may have witnessed the destruction of the temple in 586 B.C. Now, he was an old man. He and Zechariah, a younger prophet, returned to Jerusalem to give encouragement and spiritual direction to the exiles who had returned to rebuild the temple (Ezra 5:1-2).

Seventy years after the exile to Babylon, Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon and gave permission for the exiles to return home. This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer 29:1

-14). However, after 7

years in Babylon, many of the exiles had made new lives for themselves and they did not want to return to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem. Those who returned with Zerubbabel had a clear mission: To rebuild the temple of God. They worked hard and laid the foundations (Ezr 3:8-1

). Then, the Samaritans living in the land persuaded the Persian government to make them stop. About 15 years later, Darius became king, and government policy changed. But the people hesitated to start again. Haggai and Zechariah strongly encouraged Zerubbabel to finish the temple. It was finished and dedicated in 516 B.C. (Ezr 6:15-18).

The messages of Haggai were delivered during a four month period in 52

B.C..

1. Give careful thought to your ways (1-11)

The exiles had returned to Jerusalem by God's grace. They came with the mission of rebuilding the temple. They worked hard and laid the foundations, but the people of the land had used political tactics to make them stop work. Nothing had been done for fifteen years. During that time, things did not go well. The people worked hard to survive, but nothing worked out. Haggai challenged them to 'give careful thought to your ways.' (5,7) Because they only worked for themselves and had not rebuilt God's house or done any work for him, they did not have God's blessing. So all their work was vain and useless. We need God's blessing.

2. The people obey (12-15)

The people, beginning with their leader Zerubbabel recognized the prophet as God's servant. They accepted his rebuke and repented and began to work on the house of the Lord again. The Lord was with them and they worked with spirit.

Prayer: Lord, help me to do your work first--with heart and spirit.

One Word: Do God's work first