In the book of Haggai, one learns that Haggai is a prophet for Israel following their exile to Babylon. So, to understand today what one can learn from this prophecy one needs to understand who it was for; additionally, since this book is prophecy one needs to look elsewhere in the Bible to understand the full historical context.1 The first four chapters of Ezra give a historical account of the events leading up to the book of Haggai. In it, we can see a people who were happy and contented in exile but knew their calling was to be in the land promised to them, through their fathers, by God. As God would have it, He did not intend for His people to remain in exile, so He moved Cyrus to allow them to go back; furthermore, He spoke through Cyrus and gave the Israelites His full intention; to rebuild the temple.2 The Israelites laid the foundation and placed the altar but when opposition arises, the Israelites quit building and again go back to their routines of life; subsequently, they toil without putting God first and grumble because it is unprofitable and surprisingly they never understand why.3 Finally, God speaks through Haggai and reminds them who they are, who He is, and what their focus should be.4 The Israelites rebuild the temple and again through Haggai, God tells the Israelites that He is pleased, and He will never leave …show more content…
Like the Israelites of ancient Babylon, they meet opposition: deadlines, bills, and family and friends vying for their attention; consequently, they move God to the back burner, to “deal” with later; unfortunately, later never comes and the result is fruitless toiling. As lay leaders, we have a responsibility to remind everyone to put God first and everything else will fall into