Haggai
Chapter One
verse 1 – 2nd year of King Darius – King of Persia (modern-day Iran)
-Persia defeated Babylon who destroyed Israel’s temple – a symbol of God’s presence
in v1 – King Cyrus has died after allowing Israel to rerun to rebuild their temple
– King Darius takes over from King Cyrus – this is 20 years later
Israel received FAVOR…….Open Doors
-Two Things About Open Doors:
1. NOT ALL OPEN DOORS ARE FROM THE LORD
-we are not led by open doors but by the Spirit of the Lord – Romans 8:14
2. PRAYER OPENS DOORS – Colossians 4:2
devote – is continual…consistent…
Be Faithful…
Consistent Prayers = Consistent open doors
Be Alert – be awake…do not grow weary…drift away from praying
Be Thankful – for answered prayers and prayers that have not been answered yet but will be answered…and prayers where the Lord says NO…
Word of the Lord – It was the Lord’s word and not man’s word…
-Prophets directed people in the OT
-in the NT, we are directed by God Himself
-words from the Lord today only confirm what the Lord has directly told you…
-the word came through Haggai
Zerubbabel – he was the government leader of Jerusalem
Joshua – he was the high priest of the temple and spiritual leader of Israel
-we need the govt leaders and the spiritual leaders to see revival…1 Tim 2:1-8
Zerubbabel built the altar first – Lev 6:12-13 – and then started to rebuild the temple
-a personal altar keeps the fire burning…
-the enemy attacked the Jewish people when they started to rebuild the temple
The Word of the Lord came through Haggai the Prophet
-the people of God had their priorities messed up…
-their homes and businesses were all rebuilt while the temple remained in ruins – Matthew 6:33
Therefore, God raises up a VOICE – Ex: John the Baptist – Matthew 3:1-3
Haggai – his name means festival or festive
-a festive time would be coming to Israel as they rebuilt the temple and made Jesus #1
-Haggai was born in Babylon and returned to Jerusalem – Babylon didn’t bring him down. Stay filled up…
-Haggai was 70 years old when he gave this Word
verse 2 – This describes the Word of the Lord
-the Lord speaks and talks – we must listen
Thus speaks the Lord of Hosts – means the ones who lead the armies of heaven
-this speaks of the angels of God
-angel means messenger
-the Lord created all of the angels all at once – – – Job 38:4-7…Psalm 148:1-6…
Rev 5:11…the Lord leads the angels and not human beings…