Haggai

Definition and Meaning

Haggai is one of the Minor Prophets (the shorter prophetic books) of the Old Testament and consists of two chapters and thirty-eight verses. The book takes its name from the prophet Haggai, whose name is commonly interpreted to mean "festal" or "of the feasts." Scripture says almost nothing about Haggai's family or life.

Biblical and Historical Background

Each of the book's four messages is dated to the second year of the Persian king Darius (Darius I), a year usually identified as 520 BC. After laying the foundation of the temple, the returned exiles had halted construction and were devoting themselves to adorning their own houses. Haggai declared that their poor harvests and hardship stemmed from their neglect of the temple, and he urged the governor Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua to resume the work.

The principal themes include the following:

• The repeated exhortation "Consider your ways" (Haggai 1:5, 7)
• The promise that, although the new temple seemed modest, "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former" (Haggai 2:9)
• The word that God would make Zerubbabel His "signet" (Haggai 2:23)

Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 record that the temple was rebuilt through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah. Reading Haggai alongside Zechariah, who ministered during the same period, helps clarify its setting. In Christian interpretation, the "latter glory" of Haggai 2:9 is sometimes read as a type (a figure foreshadowing what is to come) of Jesus Christ and the Church.

Practice in the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Haggai is frequently cited in connection with church building. When a congregation constructs a sanctuary, holds a dedication service, or makes pledges to a building fund offering, Haggai 1 and 2:9 are often used as sermon texts. Haggai 1:5 is also cited at New Year's Eve watch-night services and in New Year sermons as a call to reflect on the past year.

Opinions differ, however, on applying the command to rebuild the temple directly to the construction of church buildings today. Some regard this as a legitimate application concerning the devotion and priorities of the community of faith. Others, including some theologians and church leaders, caution against a building-centered application, pointing out that in the New Testament the community of believers itself is the temple.

The understanding of the text itself does not vary by denomination. However, in churches that follow a lectionary (a schedule of Scripture readings assigned to the seasons) based on the liturgical year, passages from Haggai are sometimes appointed as readings in the latter part of the year.