1 Rebuild the Temple!
The last three Minor Prophets - Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi - address the community of Hebrews reestablished in Jerusalem following the Babylonian exile. The book of Ezra credits Haggai and Zechariah for motivating the Hebrews to complete reconstruction of the temple (Ezra 5:i; 6:14), and Haggai's very name (= "festal," from the Hebrew word for the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem) may reflect this concern. Ezra 4:24-6:15 covers the periods of their recorded prophetic activities.
1 Rebuild the Temple!
Verse 1 dates Haggai's first prophecy to 520 B.C., year 2 of the Persian monarch Darius I (522- 486) - great-grandson of Cyrus, whose decree 18 years earlier freed the Hebrew exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). Haggai addresses the senior leaders of the returned Hebrew remnant: Zerubbabel, a descendant of David and civil governor of the now truncated Persian province of Judah, and the high priest Joshua ("Jeshua" in Ezra).
Through Haggai, God complains that the Hebrew returnees have put off rebuilding his temple (cf. Ezra 4). God's complaint that his house still lies desolate while his people enjoy shelter in well-appointed homes (v 4) contrasts with his initial response to the temple-building intentions of King David - but for good reason. In 2 Samuel 7, this monarch of an ascendant Hebrew kingdom regrets living in a sturdy cedar structure while God stays in a tent (the tabernacle, which housed God's throne - the ark of the covenant). In contrast to the Hebrew community of David's day, however, the meager group of returnees to Judah lacked political distinctiveness and national identity. As Persian subjects, most of whom were probably born and raised in Persia, they needed a physical symbol that represented the uniqueness of their com munity, differentiated it from other groups, and thereby helped save it from assimilation into the dominant culture(s) of the day. Since the Hebrews derived their communal identity primarily from their worship of Yahweh, his temple embodied that symbol. The rebuilt temple would make possible God's return to Jerusalem, signify his presence among the returned Hebrew remnant, and unite them in centralized worship. In addition, the sanctuary would witness to God's enduring power and vindicate his name among detractors, who viewed the exile of the Hebrews as evidence of God's impotence (cf. Ezek. 36:16-38).
Behind Haggai's urgent call to rebuild the temple lies a concern with the religious and cultural survival of his people. But how can he get them to resume work on the abandoned reconstruction? What the returnees want most at the moment are the blessings of the covenant made at Sinai - especially agricultural prosperity and economic well-being (cf. Deut. 28:1-14). In order to experience these blessings, says Haggai, they had better make among them a home for the One who grants the blessings. Work on the temple resumes three weeks after Haggai's initial urging.
2 On the Road to Restoration
After a month of labor, the second temple doesn't come close to matching the splendor of Solomon's magnificent sanctuary, destroyed by the Babylonians some 70 years earlier. But God encourages the people by confirming his presence in their midst and promises eventually to make the new temple more glorious than the first. To fulfill this pledge, God will exert his sovereignty over all creation and overthrow the present international political and economic order. Judah will be elevated and the temple enriched (vv. 6-9).
The interactive oracle in verses io-19 calls for priestly answers based on the ritual purity laws stipulated in Leviticus. Haggai's point is that physical contact with the temple, by means of rebuilding it, does not make the people holy. Touch communicates ritual defilement, but not ritual purity. Nevertheless, the returnees' work has demonstrated an attitude of heart that implies their intention to live by the covenantal laws; so God promises to reverse the deprivation they have so far suffered. The divine vow comes three months after the temple construction began.
The final oracle, addressed to Governor Zerubbabel, predicts God's overthrowing of foreign nations and implies that God will ensure the political security of the community of Hebrew returnees. The impression of a "signet ring;" or "seal;" identified the owner of the item bearing the mark or verified the authority of the docu ment to which the seal adhered. God's making Zerubbabel into a "signet ring" represents the designation of this Davidic descendant as the divinely appointed political authority, though Haggai stops short of calling Zerubbabel a king (cf. Jer. 22:24-30).
Signet ring, a symbol of political authority, used to seal and authenticate official documents. (Richard Cleave, Pictorial Archive)