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Andrew VanderVeen Mr. Hoekstra Bible Interpretation 9/29/02 Haggai Some background information taken from the Life Application Study Bible. "In 586 B.C., the armies of Babylon had destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem (God's House), the symbol of His presence. In 538 B.C. King Cyrus decreed that Jews could return to their beloved city and rebuild the Temple. So they traveled to Jerusalem and began the work. But then they forgot their purpose and lost their priorities, as opposition and apathy brought the work to a standstill. Then Haggai spoke, calling them back to God's values. The people were more concerned with their own needs then with doing God's will, and, as a result, they suffered. Then Haggai called them into action. "This is what the Lord Almighty says: Consider how things are going for you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord" (Haggai 1:4). And God's message through his servant Haggai became the catalyst for finishing the work." (Life Application Study Bible, 1363). Haggai is considered to some to be the most precisely dated book of the Bible, with the dates of each sermon given. The book is even so accurate that it has led some to think that he may have kept his writings in some sort of a journal. "Four of the five (1,3,4,5) messages are so precise in their dating that it tells the year, month, and day in the second year of Darius I" (Haggai, Book of,453), and cover a period of about three and a half months around the end of the year 520 B.C. This is why Haggai is considered one of the most "precisely dated books of the Bible." (Vanderwaal, 91) Haggai is addressing his book of the Bible directly to the Jewish exiles at Jerusalem and those already living in Jerusalem who were "disheartened" in their failing efforts to rebuild the Temple.
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