BIBLE SURVEY - HAGGAI

​"And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to The Desire of all Nations, and I will fill this Temple with glory, says The Lord of Hosts." Haggai 2:7
 
Who was Haggai?
Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi are the last of the prophetic books.  They are the post-exilic prophets.  Of the sixteen OT prophets, eleven prophesied before the Exile, two prophesied during the exile and three prophesied after the Exile.  Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi ministered in the same time period as Ezra, Nehemiah and Queen Esther.  Haggai is the first prophetic voice to be heard after the Exile to Babylon.  The name Haggai means "festal one".  It is suggested that Haggai was born on a feast day.  As Haggai referred to the glory of the first Temple (2:3), he may have been alive to see the first Temple before it was destroyed.  In that case he would be an old man in his eighties. 
 
Historic Background
The Persian king, Cyrus, conquered Babylon in 538BC. He permitted the displaced peoples to return to their homelands, provided that they build a temple in which they would pray to their God on his behalf.  50 000 Judean exiles responded and seized this opportunity to return to Judea.  As they retraced the route that would have been followed by their father Abraham, they were led by Zerubbabel (seed of Babylon) and Joshua, the High Priest.  Zerubbabel had been born in exile and had never seen the Promised Land.  He was a surviving member of the royal line of king David.  Zerubbabel was the grandson to the last king of Judah, Jehoiachin.  The name Joshua means "God our Saviour".  Zerubbabel became governor in Judea and Joshua became the High Priest.  

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