Haggai

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Purpose To encourage the Jewish people to resume temple reconstruction and to promote spiritual renewal
Author Haggai
Date 520 BC
Setting Jerusalem, almost twenty years after Cyrus had allowed the Jewish people to return and rebuild the temple

Overview Article

The Temple still lay in ruins nearly twenty years after the Hebrews returned to the land of Judah from exile in Babylon. Yet the people of Judah themselves were living in comfortable homes. Surely God’s house deserved better! Haggai pointed out this discrepancy and successfully roused the people to rebuild the Lord’s Temple. Haggai gave Israel a renewed vision of how their efforts would serve God’s plan for his people.

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Key People, Places, and Terms

Themes

Spiritual Renewal in the Later Prophets 6 The prophet Haggai commanded his audience to think about how failing to pay attention to their relationship with God affected their current situation ( Haggai 1:5–7 ; 2:15–18 ). God sent natural disasters as a warning... Completion of the Second Temple 3 The dedication of Israel’s second temple on March 12, 515 BC, was a major event for the Israelites returning from exile in Babylon. They could now worship and praise God as their ancestors did before the exile. This n... The Return of God’s Presence with His People 2 The descriptions of the Israelite exile include the terrible reality that, as part of his judgment, God removed his presence from his people and from the holy city of Jerusalem. This idea is most obviously present in... Famine 1 Famine happened early in the lives of the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac ( Genesis 12:10 ; 26:1 ). When the patriarch Jacob’s family experienced famine, God had already placed his son Joseph in Egypt to help God's peopl... Remaining in Christ 1 The Greek term menō , often translated as “remain,” “stay,” or “abide,” appears often in Jesus’ teachings about deep, intimate, and lasting relationships. For example, Jesus said, “ If you continue in [ menō en , ‘sta... Returning to the Lord 1 The Old Testament prophets often told the people of Israel to return to the Lord, both before and after the exile to Babylon (see, for example, Isaiah 55:6–7 ; Hosea 6:1–3 ; Haggai 1:12 ; Malachi 3:7 ). This meant a r... Temple Worship 1 In the ancient Near East, kings had to provide for their nation's temple. King David, who started the family line (dynasty) of Judah's kings, made Jerusalem the capital of Israel ( 2 Samuel 5:4–10 ). He also made it t... The Lord of Nations 1 Both the Old Testament and the New Testament state that the Lord is the one true God. God is supreme over all nations and peoples at all times. Even if rulers do not believe in or acknowledge him, God remains in contr...

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Outline

Use of Haggai in the New Testament

Quoted 1 times across 1 New Testament books

Total quotations 1
Connected books 1
Most-connected book Hebrews 1

All References

Haggai bookOverview.connections.ntReference Compare
Haggai 2:6 Hebrews 12:26
Compare
OT Text
  • For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
NT Text
  • now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven