Book Introduction - Haggai

Writer: Haggai

Haggai was a prophet of the restored remnant after the 70 years' captivity. The circumstances are detailed in Ezra and Nehemiah. To hearten, rebuke, and instruct that feeble and divided remnant was the task of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The theme of Haggai is the unfinished temple, and his mission to admonish and encourage the builders.

The divisions of the book are marked by the formula, "came the word of the Lord by Haggai":

1. The event which drew out the prophecy, 1:1,2.
2. The divine displeasure because of the interrupted work, 1:3-15.
3. The temples--Solomon's, the restoration temple, and the kingdom-age temple, 2:1-9.
4. Uncleanness and chastening, 2:10-19.
5. The final victory, 2:20-23 (see) Re19:17-20; 14:19,20; Zec14:1-3.