A Teaching Outline for the Book of Haggai

Difficulty, discouragement, disobedience. This threefold sequence was, unfortunately, the experience of the first group of Jews who returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel in 538 BC. Almost immediately after God brought them back into the land, they began rebuilding the temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians roughly fifty years prior. Their grateful hearts were channeled toward diligent service, and they were eager to resume worship of their gracious God. Yet, just as soon as they started, they faced hostility and opposition from the nearby Samaritans who were prohibited by Zerubbabel from helping out. Claiming to worship Yahweh like the Jews, they said, “Let us build with you, for we, like you seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brough us up here” (Ezra 4:2). But with a discerning mind, Zerubbabel rejected their offer, knowing that it would result in little more than spiritual syncretism, a disastrous blending of true and false worship. Responding to them, he said, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God” (Ezra 4:3). In retaliation being rejected, the Samaritans went so far as to hire people to disrupt the rebuilding efforts, effectively discouraging and demoralizing the Jews (cf. Ezra 4:4-5). That discouragement quickly led to disobedience, as the Jews ended up abandoning work on God’s house in favor of their own houses (cf. Hag. 1:4). It was far more appealing to live an apathetic life, facing no persecution, than to live courageously for the Lord and suffer. In their minds, the corporate worship of God at the temple would just have to wait for a more convenient time (cf. Hag. 1:2). Thus, the foundation of the temple sat barren and unfinished for sixteen years—sixteen years!

Then, in the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia, the Jews finally got back to work on it. They picked up their shovels, picked up right where they left off, and picked up the pace. But after such a long period time, the obvious question is, what sparked their newfound zeal? What caused their priorities to change? What brought about this spiritual reformation? The answer is the same as it is in every other period of revival: the preaching of the Word of God.

Under the ministry of the prophet Haggai (followed two months later by Zechariah), the Jews and their leader Zerubbabel “arose and began to rebuild the house of God” (Ezra 5:2). In His kindness, God raised up Haggai for a short, four-month, four-message ministry to turn the hearts of His people back to Himself. Haggai caused them to “consider their ways,” meaning they snapped out of their secular stupor long enough to evaluate more important matters: the purpose of their existence, the blessings they had been forfeiting, and the way of redemption back to God. As the second shortest book in the Old Testament, Haggai had a small ministry with a big impact.

First, Haggai preached a message calling the people to repent of their sinful priorities. As if abandoning the temple weren’t bad enough, the houses they built for themselves were “paneled,” implying that the people ended up using the temple’s luxurious lumber for their own buildings (cf. Hag. 1:4, 1 Kings 7:3-7)! It was a misappropriation of funds in the worst of ways. But in response to Haggai’s prophetic word, the people feared the Lord, repented of their disobedience, and began rebuilding.

Seven weeks later, Haggai preached a message of encouragement as temple construction resumed. Though the new building clearly paled in comparison to the original, God promised not only that He was still with them to finish the task, but also that a day would come when God Himself would build a temple far more glorious than anything prior (cf. Hag. 2:5, 9). In fact, the dimensions of this future temple (which will be constructed during the thousand-year reign of Christ at His second coming) had already been outlined in specific detail by the prophet Ezekiel decades prior (cf. Ezek. 40:5-43:12).

Haggai’s third and fourth messages occurred on the same day, eight weeks after his second message. The third message was a rebuke to the self-righteousness of the people that had begun to creep in. Though the Jews had made excellent progress on the temple, Haggai pointed out to them that they were still suffering the covenant curses of famine and plague—demonstrating that the temple itself couldn’t make them holy. Rather than the building cleansing them, their sins had defiled the building (cf. Hag. 2:14). They needed “heart work” to match their hard work. By way of encouragement toward that end, God promised from that day on to bless them—nothing short of divine grace (cf. Hag. 2:19b).

The fourth and final message was for Zerubbabel personally. To this discouraged leader of a sinful nation (that was surrounded by enemies and still under pagan control!), God had two wonderful promises. First, God’s kingdom was coming, and it would overthrow all other earthly powers (just as the prophet Daniel explained, cf. Dan. 2:44, 7:14). Second, in that day, Zerubbabel would be honored like a signet ring—the one through whom God kept His promise to bring about this kingdom. A glance at Matthew’s kingly line in the New Testament indicates that Zerubbabel indeed had the right to the Davidic throne, and thus passed it on through Joseph to the true Davidic king, Jesus (cf. Matt. 1:12).

Today, we face a situation similar to that of the returned Jewish community. Though we aren’t constructing a physical temple, we are called to work hard for the Lord in various ministries. And difficulty, discouragement, and disobedience threaten our faithfulness as well. Beyond that, our priorities can just as easily be skewed and self-justified if we aren’t careful. In fact, the reality is that Satan doesn’t need Christians to commit heinous sins in order to render them ineffective for the Lord; he just needs them caught up in the everyday affairs of life to the point of spiritual apathy (cf. 2 Tim. 2:4). He doesn’t need them to be diabolical, so long as they’re distracted. Thankfully, we have a Savior who not only forgives us for our past, and empowers us for our present, but will return to make all things right in the future. May you exhort, equip, and encourage your disciples to “consider their ways” regarding these matters through a verse-by-verse study of this book. The following outline is offered to help.

Consider Your Disobedience (Haggai 1:1-15)

The Reluctance of the People (Hag. 1:1-2)

The Rebuke from the Lord (Hag. 1:3-11)

The Response of the People (Hag. 1:12)

The Reassurance from the Lord (Hag. 1:13-15)

Consider Your Discouragement (Haggai 2:1-9)

Concern Remembering the Past Temple (Hag. 2:1-3)

Courage Rebuilding the Current Temple (Hag. 2:4-5)

Comfort Regarding the Future Temple (Hag. 2:6-9)

Consider Your Defilement (Haggai 2:10-19)

The Holiness of Holy Meat Does Not Spread (Hag. 2:10-12)

The Uncleanness of Death Does Spread (Hag. 2:13)

The Uncleanness of the People Does Spread (Hag. 2:14)

The Holiness of the Temple Does Not Spread (Hag. 2:15-19a)

The Grace of God Will Spread (Hag. 2:19b)

Consider Your Deliverance (Haggai 2:20-23)

The Promise of the Coming Kingdom (Hag. 2:20-22)

The Promise of the Coming King (Hag. 2:23)