Books of the Bible

The Book of Haggai

Old Testament · Minor Prophets · Genre: Prophecy · Author: The prophet Haggai · Chapters: 2

Haggai is a brief, urgent call to the returned exiles who had neglected God's house while busy with their own. Through the prophet, God stirs them to rebuild the temple, promising his presence and a glory in this latter house greater than the first.

Start reading: Haggai chapter 1

A key verse

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.Haggai 2:9 (KJV)

The setting and background of Haggai

Haggai is among the twelve Minor Prophets, and one of three, with Zechariah and Malachi, who ministered after the return from exile. Haggai prophesied in a precisely dated year, five hundred and twenty before Christ, to the community that had come home from Babylon but had let the rebuilding of the temple stall for years.

The book is brief and practical, a series of short messages confronting the people's misplaced priorities and urging them to rebuild God's house. It meets their renewed obedience with the assurance I am with you, and promises that the glory of the rebuilt temple will surpass the former and that in this place God will give peace.

Haggai was written to stir a discouraged remnant to put God first and take up the work he had given them. In the sweep of Scripture, its promise of a greater glory to come reaches beyond the modest rebuilt temple to Jesus, who entered that temple and who is himself the true dwelling of God's glory among us, in whom peace is given.

The story and structure of Haggai

Haggai prophesied in a precisely dated year, five hundred and twenty before Christ, to the community that had returned from exile in Babylon. They had come home with high hopes and had begun to rebuild the temple, but opposition and discouragement had stalled the work for years, while the people turned their energy to building and paneling their own houses.

Haggai's message is direct and practical. He confronts the people's misplaced priorities, pointing out that they live in finished houses while the house of God lies in ruins, and that all their striving leaves them strangely unsatisfied, as if they put their wages into a bag with holes. He calls them to consider their ways.

The people respond with remarkable readiness, and the work on the temple begins again. God meets their obedience not with rebuke but with a word of assurance and encouragement: be strong and work, for I am with you. The presence of God himself is the reward of their renewed obedience.

Some of the older people, who remembered the glory of Solomon's temple, wept at how humble this rebuilt house appeared by comparison. To them Haggai brings a stunning promise: that the glory of this latter house will be greater than the former, and that in this place God will give peace, a promise that reaches beyond the building itself.

The short book closes with God's assurance to Zerubbabel, the governor of David's line, that he has chosen him and will make him like a signet ring. Even in a small and struggling remnant, God is keeping his covenant with the house of David and moving his purposes forward toward the greater glory to come.

The great themes of Haggai

Key passages in Haggai

Haggai in the sweep of Scripture

Haggai stands with Zechariah and Malachi among the prophets who ministered after the return from exile, when the great days of Israel seemed far behind. Its call to rebuild the temple and its promise of a greater glory to come helped a discouraged remnant take up their work again. The promise that the latter house would hold a greater glory reaches beyond the modest rebuilt temple toward the day when God's presence would return to his people in an unimaginably greater way.

Where Christ is in Haggai

Haggai's promise that the latter temple would hold a greater glory points to Jesus, who entered that very temple and who is himself the true dwelling of God's glory among us, greater than any building made with hands. The peace God promised in that place is given in Christ, and God's assurance to Zerubbabel of David's line keeps alive the covenant that leads to the Son of David.

How to read Haggai well

Read Haggai as a call to examine your priorities, asking whether you are building your own comfort while neglecting the things of God. Let its confrontation of divided striving remind you that a life ordered around ourselves leaves us unsatisfied, and let its central promise, I am with you, strengthen you to give God his rightful place. And let its word of a greater glory to come lift your eyes to Christ, in whom God's presence has drawn near.

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