A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

temple, the Samaritans intimidated the Jews into abandoning their noble task. The sacrifices
were still offered on the altar and feasts observed with regularity, but construction was completely
halted on the temple. While weeds grew among the foundation stones of the second
temple, the people built their homes and developed their farms, growing accustomed to less than
they had hoped for when they left Babylon to return to the land. Day after day life continued
without thought of renewing the work they had begun with such zeal. Days grew into weeks and
weeks into months. Then, after sixteen years, something different happened in Jerusalem.
“Then the Prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the
Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them”
(5:1). Throughout the kingdom of Persia, there were many nationalistic movements beginning.
For the next several years, Persian authorities would be busy dealing with one revolution after
another. None of these uprisings was successful. The perceived weakness of the Persian
administration did not exist. But what was taking place in Jerusalem was different than the
patriotic uprisings in other parts of the kingdom.
The Prophet Haggai has been called the most successful prophet of all time; yet for all he
accomplished, he is something of a mystery. One commentator affirms he was young as he
began preaching; another is certain he was an old man. Some writers believe the prophet had
been in Jerusalem for some time and finally spoke out in frustration at sixteen years of inactivity.
Yet another claims he had only recently arrived in the city with a second group of Jews from the
Babylonian Captivity. Some claimed he was a priest; another said he was not. All that can be
known about the prophet with any degree of certainty is contained in the brief account of his
second recorded sermon. “Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s message to the
people, saying, `I am with you, says the Lord’ “ (Hag. 1:13). One suspects the prophet might
have simply described himself as “nobody important with a message from the Lord.” He knew
much could be done for God by those who were not concerned with who got the credit.
Five times this prophet stood before the people to deliver the message that God had given
him. Sometimes it was a message of rebuke designed to shake them out of their complacency
into aggressive service for God. At other times, the prophet was there to encourage the faithful as
they began a seemingly impossible task. The heart of his preaching is preserved in a book which
bears his name. It contains only thirty-eight verses and is one of the shortest books of the Bible.
But the message of Haggai did something that had never been done before. It moved a nation of
apathetic Jews to build a temple to the glory of God.
Haggai was not alone in preaching to the people at this time. A contemporary of his was
the Prophet Zechariah. This prophet was also concerned about the temple of God, but his
preaching went beyond the immediate problem of renewing the work on the temple. He related
visions, messages, and burdens from God concerning not only the temple, but also the One who
would someday teach in that temple. He spoke of the coming Saviour in both His rejection and
His reigning.