BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Most prophets from the Book of the Twelve we’ve seen so far were prophesying before the exile, urging the people to repent before it was too late. That didn’t happen.

Israel was so used to corruption and evil that people assumed it was normal, even profitable. They were so disconnected from the sweetness of God’s loyal love and faithful blessing that even the bitterness of evil seemed like honey. Why change what we’re doing if it’s working so well?

The book of Haggai picks up when the exile is ending, some 70 years after Judah’s collapse. At this point, another superpower nation, Persia, has blasted Babylon and assumed dominance over the entire region.

Under the Persian king, Cyrus, Israelites are granted safe passage and the supplies needed to return home. Good news, right? Well, not exactly.

Seven decades spent living in exile may have humbled the people, but it has not cured their problems of hard-heartedness and self-centeredness. The returned exiles are supposed to rebuild Jerusalem’s temple. Shortly after beginning construction, they stop restoring God’s house and devote their time to renovating their own houses.

The predictable result: Sour grapes droop on the people’s shriveled vines, blight scorching the leaves on their fig trees. Wheat seeds fail to sprout in dry, cracked fields. It’s death and dying all around.

So Haggai, like Moses had done long before, confronts his generation with a choice: Will they follow Yahweh and experience blessing in the land? Or will they wander back down the road to ruin?

Watch the video to learn about Yahweh’s call to choose life in the book of Haggai.

Reflection Questions

• Can you think of another character in the biblical story who prioritized building his own house in Jerusalem over building Yahweh’s temple? What happened? What does this hyperlink reveal about the hearts of the returned exiles?
• Review the covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28:22-40. Where do you see the returned exiles experiencing the consequences of abandoning Yahweh in today’s reading?