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Haggai 1

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1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been by the hand of Haggai the prophet, unto Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and unto Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, saying:

2 Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: This people! -- they have said, `The time hath not come, The time the house of Jehovah [is] to be built.'

3 And there is a word of Jehovah by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying:

4 Is it time for you -- you! To dwell in your covered houses, And this house to lie waste?

5 And now, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Set your heart to your ways.

6 Ye have sown much, and brought in little, To eat, and not to satiety, To drink, and not to drunkenness, To clothe, and none hath heat, And he who is hiring himself out, Is hiring himself for a bag pierced through.

7 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Set your heart to your ways.

8 Go up the mountain, and ye have brought in wood, And build the house, and I am pleased with it. And I am honoured, said Jehovah.

9 Looking for much, and lo, little, And ye brought [it] home, and I blew on it, Wherefore? -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, Because of My house that is waste, And ye are running -- each to his house,

10 Therefore, over you refrained have the heavens from dew, And the land hath refrained its increase.

11 And I proclaim draught on the land, And on the mountains, and on the corn, And on the new wine, and on the oil, And on what the ground doth bring forth, And on man, and on beast, And on all labour of the hands.'

12 And Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people, do hearken to the voice of Jehovah their God, and unto the words of Haggai the prophet, as Jehovah their God had sent him, and the people are afraid of the face of Jehovah.

13 And Haggai, messenger of Jehovah, in messages of Jehovah, speaketh to the people, saying: `I [am] with you, an affirmation of Jehovah.'

14 And Jehovah doth stir up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, and they come in, and do work in the house of Jehovah of Hosts their God,

15 in the twenty and fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

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Exploring the Meaning of Haggai 1

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff

Haggai’s prophecy holds something new and happy, and also something old and unhappy. In his time, the ancient church has petered out, and the substitute for it, the Jewish church, has lost its way and become a church only on the outside. The time is approaching for the coming of the Lord, and this scolding by Haggai has in it, in verses 6-9, a prophecy of that coming.

The time of this prophecy is after the 70 years of exile in Babylon, when many of the exiles are coming back to the holy land. Zerubbabel is the appointed governor of the land and Joshua, the son of Josedech, is the high priest.

In Chapter 1, in Verses 1-5, Haggai tells these leaders that the Lord has told him that the people believe that it isn’t yet time to build the Lord's house, but that he is here to say that it is time. He asks them, "Is it time for you to live in your fancy houses while the Lord’s house lies in waste? Consider your ways!" The people are willing to wait for Messiah to raise them to earthly wealth and power but that time has gone and the church they represent lies in waste.

In verse 6, Haggai reminds them that none of what they have done so far has prospered, and then he alternates between telling them to get busy on the Lord’s house and telling them the troubles that will come if they don’t (in verses 7-11). A true church can't be set up with them because they only care about themselves and don’t care about the Lord.

A good thing happens: Haggai's message gets through. The leaders - Zerubbabel and Joshua - listen, and enough of the people are worried enough about the way things were going (as Haggai had said) that work starts on a new rebuilding on the old foundation. (verses 12-14)