Haggai: Priorities - Build God's House

Haggai 1:3-11 CEB

Then the Lord’s word came through Haggai the prophet:

        Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses
            while this house lies in ruins?
So now, this is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
    Take your ways to heart.
    You have sown much, but it has brought little.
    You eat, but there’s not enough to satisfy.
    You drink, but not enough to get drunk.
    There is clothing, but not enough to keep warm.
    Anyone earning wages puts those wages into a bag with holes.

 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
    Take your ways to heart.
    Go up to the highlands and bring back wood.
    Rebuild the temple so that I may enjoy it
        and that I may be honored, says the Lord.
You expect a surplus, but look how it shrinks.
You bring it home, and I blow it away, says the Lord of heavenly forces,
        because my house lies in ruins.
But all of you hurry to your own houses.
Therefore, the skies above you have withheld the dew,
        and the earth has withheld its produce because of you.
I have called for drought on the earth,
        on the mountains, on the grain,
        on the wine, on the olive oil,
        on that which comes forth from the fertile ground,
        on humanity, on beasts,
        and upon everything that handles produce.

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Small Group Study
Haggai – Priorities
Nov 8, 2026

Haggai’s work as a prophet as recorded in this book lasted but a few months. It is an example of God’s people hearing God’s command and responding favorably. The setting is Jerusalem where the Hebrews had been returning home from exile in Babylon. The country and their homes were in ruins. After twenty years or so of rebuilding homes and infrastructure, with many still back in Babylon, God spoke through Haggai that it was now time to rebuild the temple.
The Command to Rebuild/Response (Haggai 1:1-15)

  • Note to whom the first prophetic words is given in verse 1 and what is being revealed by God in verse 2.

    • What is necessary for these individuals to be significantly involved in the prophecy/command from The Lord?

  • God’s word in verses 3-11 are then directed toward the people.

    • Discuss the current situation assessed by God (verses 4-6)

    • Discuss what God firsts asks of them (verse 7). What purpose does this have for the people of God and our relationship with Him?

    • Discuss what God then asks of them (verse 8).

    • Discuss the consequences of disobedience (verses 9-11).

  • Haggai records the people’s response in verses 12-15

    • What does God say in response to their obedience? (verse 13)

    • What does God do in response to their obedience? (verse 14)

      • What does this teach about God’s nature in our relationship with Him?

God’s Promise for the Temple (2:1-2:9)
This section highlights the practical difficulty in building the temple.

  • How does God motivate the people in verse 3?

  • How does God encourage them in verses 4 and 5?

  • What promises for the future does God make in verses 6-9?

God’s Promise for the People (2:10-2:19)
Read verse 19. This is the summary of the entire section.

  • What is the “theme” or spiritual condition being discussed in verses 11-13?

  • What is the state of the nation being discuss in verses 16-17?

  • Based on these two “topics” how then is God specifically promising to bless His people?

God’s Signet Ring (2:20-23)
A signet is a sign or seal of authority. Throughout the ages the ring would be worn by the person in authority and used to mark documents or objects as a sign of their ownership or value as indicated by the person in authority.
Biblical Examples :

  • Genesis 38:18 – given as a pledge

  • Genesis 41:42 – given as new authority

  • Esther 3:10 – used for making decrees

In these verses God’s word is indicating a future promise (verses 21, 23) and Zerubbabel would be a significant (like a signet ring) part of that future. God promises to establish not only the temple proper but establish someone in authority.  However, Zerubbabel did not reign long, and a king from the lineage of David was not enthroned.
 

  • How then was Zerubbabel “like a signet ring?” (See John 2:19)

  • Discuss the parallels between Zerubbabel’s building of the physical temple and Jesus’ building of the spiritual temple.

Angela DickinsonComment