March 2, 2025

The Result of Not Rebuilding – Haggai 1:1-11

Ice Breaker

1. Read Haggai 1-11 as a group.
2. If you could have a house restored and money was no object, what kind of house would you want to restore?

Loving God Unreservedly

1. From what you know about the conditions of postexilic Jerusalem, what might they point to as a justification for delaying the rebuilding of the temple? How do we make similar excuses for neglecting God’s calling on our own lives to build his temple (church)?
2. Why did the Lord rebuke the people of Judah? (1:3–6)

Loving People Sacrificially

1. Have you had the experience of knowing that God has spoken to you personally, either in a sermon, or reading the Bible or a Christian book, or in conversation with someone? If so, tell others in the group about it.
2. The work on God’s house had been neglected for sixteen years. Were the leaders Zerubbabel and Joshua to blame for not rousing the people to action? What does this say about the responsibility of leadership in the church?
3. How can we contrast the “not time yet (vs. 2),” to God’s time for us to do his work? How does “not time yet,” become a dangerous temptation?

Making Disciples Purposefully

1. What did Jesus say about good works? (Matt. 5:13-16) How do our good works witness to the world about the gospel? 
2. Who could you do a random act of kindness? 

Dig Deeper (optional/personal study) 

1. Research: What is your current understanding of what life is like for post-exilic Israel? What challenges did they face, and what resources do they have to meet these challenges? 

• The historical background of Haggai and Zechariah is recorded for us in the book of Ezra. The opening date formula (Hag. 1:1) places Haggai’s prophecy on August 29, 520 BC, three months after the grain and corn harvest (June–July) and toward the end of the fruit tree harvest.
• Take some time to read Ezra 1–6 and write down observations about key figures of the period as well as the circumstances surrounding the rebuilding of the temple.
• There are two Dariuses mentioned in the Old Testament: ‘Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom’ (Daniel 9:1) and ‘King Darius’ (Haggai 1:1). 
• The latter is Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia (cf. 1:15), who reigned from 521–486 BC. His second year was 520 BC, which was approximately eighteen years after the exiles had returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel and sixteen years since the foundation of the temple had been laid (Ezra 3:8–10).