After the exiled Jews returned to Jerusalem by the decree of King Cyrus, they eventually completely stopped their efforts to rebuild the temple of worship to God. Their activity of being discouraged from continuing to rebuild is described in Ezra 4. Instead, the people put all of their focus into their own personal lives and their own possessions. Thus, God sent them a messenger, a prophet named Haggai with a very specific message for these people. The principles of God’s rebuke and admonition to these people to get back to the job of building are just as important for Christ’s church today to also “consider her ways.”
The following teaching presents the context leading up to the return from exile, the post-exilic events recorded in Ezra, and then the first part of Haggai’s prophecy to Zerubbabel (the governor), Joshua (the high priest), and the people at large. Listen to this teaching on Haggai 1:1-15 by clicking on the link below: