His ministry was during the reign of kings Jotham (11), Ahaz (12), and Hezekiah (13) of Judah.
His relationship with a prophet and post-exilic leaders was:
Zechariah, who served alongside him in the ministry of encouraging the rebuilding of the temple.
Zerubbabel (Sheshbazzar), as the governor of Judah under the Persian ruler, Darius.
Darius, as the fourth ruler of the Persian Empire.
Nehemiah, as cupbearer to the king in the Persian palace.
Esther, a Jew raised up to deliver her people, the Jews.
Haggai takes us back to one of the most turbulent periods in Judah's history: their captivity at the hands of a foreign power, followed by their release and resettlement in Jerusalem. They returned to their homeland, beginning in 538 B.C., after Babylon fell to the conquering Persians.
Haggai gives a collection of brief messages that came from the Lord in 520 B.C. The people had returned from exile and had lived in Jerusalem for some years, but the temple was still in ruins. The messages urge the leaders of the people to rebuild the temple, and the Lord promised prosperity and peace in the future for a renewed and purified people.
- What is the significance of Haggai’s use of the name Jehovah 35 times in 38 verses?
Sharing:
- This part of God’s Story takes place after punishment, and is directed to the remnant that returns to Judah from Babylon. Judah had been through sin, punishment, repentance, and a return to their homeland.
- The significance of using the name ‘Jehovah’ 35 times in 38 verses: The messages directs thoughts to God; it is a message from God; Haggai 1:14 indicates that the people’s strength and desire comes from Him; It is said that there are two kinds of people out there: those who are proud, and those who worry they are proud. We should be a third kind, who focus on God, understanding that it’s all about God’s goodness and greatness and forgiveness.
- As soon as the people began to obey God, He blessed them. He didn’t wait for years.
- The central verse is Haggai 2:15-16: consider your ways. We should make God our priority. It takes showing God’s love with our actions, and not just our words. Joshua 24:16-24 records where Israel said they would serve the Lord. They didn’t do too well on their own. They were unable to do it on their own.
- In Haggai 2:22 to the end, God says “I will” five times. Things are actually done by God. Actions don’t connect us to God, but rather His love for us.
- The ‘defiled and unclean’ meant things like eating a pig or touching the dead. In a legal sense, that made them unable to be with others.
- It took 15 years to rebuild the temple. They had distractions.
- The central message is really one of restoration. They were to turn their hearts to God and He will be there waiting for them.
The contemporaries of Zechariah:
- Zerubbabel was governor of Judah.
- Tattenai was the military governor of Judea (Ezra 6:13).
- Joshua was the high priest in Jerusalem.
- Xerxes I (485 – 465 B.C.) was king of Persia after his father’s death (Darius the Great), during the time of Zechariah 9-14.
Zechariah took his message further than Haggai did regarding the rebuilding of the temple, by emphasizing the need for complete spiritual renewal through faith and hope in God. The second portion of Zechariah was written in the period between the times of the prophets Haggai (520 B.C.) and Malachi (450 B.C.).
Zechariah delivered two distinct messages: 1) He dealt with the restoration of Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple, the purification of God’s people, and the messianic age to come (1-8); 2) messages about the expected Messiah and the final judgment (9-14).
- What is the significance of Zechariah’s use of Thus says the Lord at least 89 times?
- What does God prefer more than fasting?
- What was the purpose of God’s command for one fast?
Sharing:
· Zechariah 4:10 mentions small beginnings: gold lampstand; olive trees (vs.3-4). Things may seem very small, but can be totally be used by God.
The contemporary of Malachi was Artaxerxes I, as the fifth Persian Ruler.
Malachi’s message is delivered between Nehemiah’s first and second visits to Jerusalem, placing it between 430 and 424 B.C. as God’s final message of the Old Testament. He delivered God’s message of judgment on Israel for their continuing sin and of God’s promise that one day in the future, when the Jews would repent, God’s covenant promises would be fulfilled.
Malachi’s message was delivered after the temple was built in Jerusalem. His main concern is to call priests and people to renew their faithfulness to their covenant with God. There was laxity and corruption in the life and worship of God’s people. Priests and people were cheating God by not giving Him the offerings that were rightly due Him, and by not living according to His teaching. But the Lord would come to judge and purify His people, sending
ahead of Him His messenger to prepare the way and to proclaim His covenant.
· Consider God’s view of divorce, even though He permits it.
Sharing:
- God reminds Israel that He loves them. He tells them to look at Esau and remember that He has loved Jacob, their father.
- Malachi 1:6-2:9: God calls out the priesthood, the privileged. They are giving Him blind and crippled animals for sacrifice. They are supposed to be giving their very best animal to the Lord, to acknowledge that it was Him who gave them all they have. Instead, instead they treat God with contempt.
- We as humans sometimes need things explained to us. That’s why God allowed the “why” questions after He called them out. They asked, how we treat you with contempt? But God knew the sinfulness of their heart just like He knows ours. They would not give the governor, a mere man, second-rate food. It shows a complete lack of faith or belief. They fear a man much more than they do God. They would never give their second- best to someone in power over them, because they know how unforgiving people are. But they would give their God second-best? Do we give our God our seconds? Our leftovers? That’s a hard thought. We might like to say to ourselves, “Well, I might do that, but that’s not what I mean by it.” What we mean and what is reality do not always meet up. Reality is that we often show contempt for God and an unhealthy respect for man. We often fear man and money much more than we love and trust our God. False spirituality will not endure. It will be exposed and torn down by God. I believe that’s true for all time. God will not allow it to last for a lifetime.
- Malachi 2:10: Marriage is under attack in Judah. Men are forsaking the wife of their youth for the foreign women that surround them. These women worship another god and have no interest in the God of Israel. In Nehemiah we’re told that they don’t even raise their children to speak the language of Israel. God tells these men that their tears are ignored. While they have broken faith with their partner, their flesh, God will not bless them or answer a single prayer.
- Malachi 2:15: Has not God made them one? In the flesh and spirit they are His. And why only one wife? Because He was seeking Godly offspring. So guard yourself in the spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. In loving each other in marriage, we have a guard for our spirit. God is stepping in for the women of Israel who are being cast aside. He shows His view and His love for the relationship of marriage that He created.
- Malachi 2:17: God exposes the evil of saying, “Everyone’s fine, God doesn’t judge. He loves all His children and they are all good in His sight.”
- Malachi 3:1-5: God reveals again that He is coming; the Lord that they seek will come to His temple. But it is also a warning. Who will endure it? These people hear this prophesy and think, “I can’t wait.” But God is shaking His head, because He knows that they won’t be ready. You can’t live a selfish life until the last minute, and then decide to give everything. There are exceptions, but not many, and God constantly reminds us to be prepared and ready, because even the possibility of missing the Messiah is terrifying.
- Malachi 3:6-18: The people have been robbing God. They have been withholding there tithes and offerings because they did not trust that God would take care of them, and they were not giving credit to God for giving them all they had in the first place. God even challenges them to test Him in their offering. He tells them that if they give the glory to Him and trust that He will provide, He will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that they will not have enough room to keep it. God is calling His children to trust Him, and the results will be for their good. So why didn’t they trust Him? Next, God tells them that they have cursed Him. Because they say, “What did we gain by serving the Lord? What good did it bring us?” My question would be, when was Israel really serving the Lord? There were a few times when a few godly men were raised up, so that the people followed God’s ways. But the more consistent attitude of Israel was this: They wanted God to give them His heart when they kept their hearts guarded from everything that might hurt their pride. They wanted God to bless their outward actions when their hearts had no thoughts of loving God. The result of a false spiritual life is an absence of love. After generations of living falsely, they had no trouble killing their own children in the name of other gods. They easily got rid of the wives of their youth for young women who had no interest for God, because they had no interest in God. They had interest in themselves and what they could get.
- Malachi chapter 3 ends with those who revered the Lord, renewing their covenant with Him and giving Him honor for what He has done. God responds, telling them that He loves them and that they are His children. They will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked.
- Malachi chapter 4 ends with the day of the Lord. In Amos, who also mentions the day of the Lord, the prophet tells the people that there will be a time when God will remove His voice from the land so that the people will hunger for it and search for the Word of God.
- Malachi, Haggai and Zechariah are the final books of prophecy. God’s last words for four hundred years are to remind everyone that His day is coming. The wicked will be punished, and the “Sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” This is a beautiful description of what God’s purpose is. There is a warning against evil and a reminder to hold on: wait for Me, I am coming and I will teach you how to love again. I will send Elijah and I will save you from the curse. I am coming; healing is coming. Be ready; wait for me. The Old Testament testifies to the coming one and the healing of the curse. The expectation for the Messiah, the coming one, is breaking through all of creation. The righteous wait, and the wicked ones who understand, tremble. There is 400 years of earth’s history that is the calm before the storm. The world has reached the point of giving in to the curse and there is no man that can free it.
- HE IS COMING!
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