Haggai 1

¹ In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggeus the prophet, to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, governor of Juda, and to Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, saying:

² Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: This people saith: The time is not yet come for building the house of the Lord.

³ And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggeus the prophet, saying:

⁴ Is it time for you to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house lie desolate?

⁵ And now thus saith the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts to consider your ways.

⁶ You have sowed much, and brought in little: you have eaten, but have not had enough: you have drunk, but have not been filled with drink: you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed: and he that hath earned wages, put them into a bag with holes.

⁷ Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Set Your hearts upon your ways:

⁸ Go up to the mountain, bring timber, and build the house: and it shall be acceptable to me, and I shall be glorified, saith the Lord.

⁹ You have looked for more, and behold it became less, and you brought it home, and I blowed it away: why, saith the Lord of hosts? because my house is desolate, and you make haste every man to his own house.

¹⁰ Therefore the heavens over you were stayed from giving dew, and the earth was hindered from yielding her fruits:

¹¹ And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon all that the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon beasts, and upon all the labour of the hands.

¹² Then Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and all the remnant of the people hearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, and to the words of Aggeus the prophet, as the Lord their God sent him to them: and the people feared before the Lord.

¹³ And Aggeus the messenger of the Lord, as one of the messengers of the Lord, spoke, saying to the people: I am with you, saith the Lord.

¹⁴ And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zorobabel the son of Salathiel governor of Juda, and the spirit of Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people: and they went in, and did the work in the house of the Lord of hosts their God.

1:1-2 LIT: As God’s people began to return to the Promised Land from exile, they became complacent in doing His will and delayed in building His Temple. During this time, Haggai the prophet received a revelation from God instructing the people not to delay in building the Temple. ALL: Jesus is the antithesis of the postexilic people of God who never hesitated to build the house of the Lord, a type of the Church, but was always willing to do the will of His Father, as he says “[b]ehold, I come to do thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9). MOR: We should be careful not to delay in carrying out God’s work but should be swift to carry out God’s commands in imitation of our Savior Jesus Christ. ANA: We may look forward to the day when all of God’s people are in the Promised Land, which is a type of heaven, and are quick to carry out His commands.

1:3-4 LIT: God rebukes the people for living in houses protected by panels while His Temple still lie in ruins ALL: Though the people were more concerned about their own needs than the Temple, Christ never placed His own needs over those of His Father but always said “yet not my will, but thine be done.” (Luke 22:42) MOR: As followers of Christ, we should never place our own desires and comforts over our duty to God. ANA: After seeing God in the beatific vision, our desires will be perfectly conformed to God’s will.

1:4-6 LIT: God indicates the people have not flourished in the land since they have neglected His Temple. ALL: Though the people sowed much and brought in little, Christ sowed His Body into the earth and brought eternal life to many (John 12:24). MOR: The people of God were quick to seek food, drink and clothing for themselves and were not blessed. We must be careful to seek to feed, clothe and provide drink to those who are in need, placing their needs above our own and if we do so we will be blessed (Matthew 25:31-46). ANA: In heaven, all of God’s people will be selfless and will place others ahead of themselves.

1:7-8 LIT: God commands His people to collect timber in order to build His Temple, and if they do as instructed then He will be glorified. ALL: The timber is a type of the Apostles; the people building the Temple are a type of Christ, the Temple a type of the Church and the mountain a type of the teachings of Christ. As Jesus taught the disciples high and lofty things He prepared them to build God’s house, the Church, as timber was used to build God’s house in the days of Haggai. MOR: These things instruct us to scale the high and lofty mountains of God’s word, handed down to us by the Apostles, in order to build the temple of our bodies. ANA: God’s word delivered through the Apostles will complete the building of the Church Triumphant as all of His chosen come to Him through His teachings.

1:9-11 LIT: Like verses 4-6, these verses indicate the people have not been blessed because they have neglected to build God’s Temple. ALL: The people neglected God’s will and as a result the heavens were shut from giving dew and the earth did not yield its fruits. Christ obeyed God’s will and the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended down upon the people on Pentecost which yielded innumerable blessings. MOR: If we obey God’s will, God will bless the work of our hands.

1:12 LIT: Joshua the high priest, Zerubabbel and the rest of God’s people obeyed His word when they heard the voice of the prophet Haggai. ALL: It is fitting that the high priest Joshua listened to the voice of the LORD and the prophet Haggai since Joshua is a type of the high priest Jesus¹ who listened to the voice of the LORD and obeyed everything written in God’s word. The remnant which listened to the voice of the LORD and the prophet Haggai are a type of the Church which hears the voice of God’s prophets in the Scriptures and obeys their teachings.

1:13 LIT: God assures the people through His prophet that He will be with them as they build the temple. ALL: Jesus promises the New Covenant people that He will be with them as they build the new temple, the Church, “[a]nd lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20).

1:14 LIT: After hearing the words of the prophet Haggai the remnant of God’s people immediately began to build the temple on the 24^th day of the sixth month. ALL: The people began to build the temple on the 24^th day of the sixth month because the number six represents the number of man², since he was made on the sixth day, and man has become the temple of the Holy Spirit when God comes to dwell within him. The 24^th day is significant since it is represents the 24 elders in the Book of Revelation³, the 12 sons of Israel who represent the Old Testament and the 12 Apostles who represent the New Testament, who are the foundation for God’s word which builds the temple. MOR: As we embrace the word of God delivered unto us in the Old and New Testaments, we build up the temple of our body.