Consider Your Ways

By Dr. Stanford E. Murrell

The Book of Haggai is set in the reign of Darius, king of the Persian Empire following the Babylonian Captivity that began in 586 BC. The prophet is concerned with rebuilding the Temple in order to restore devotion to the LORD and bringing moral and social structure to Israel. The ancient message of Haggai offers a practical message for the modern world. The only hope for any nation to survive, and America in particular, is to return to the LORD and His principles for living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329281646

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Consider Your Ways

CONSIDER YOUR WAYS

The Message of the Prophet Haggai

Dr. Stanford E. Murrell

THE CAST OF CHARACTERS IN HAGGAI

In the Order of their Appearance

Darius (521 – 486 BC) was the ruler of the Persian Empire founded by Cyrus the Great. In 537 BC, Cyrus gave the Jewish exiles permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Unfortunately, their labor was arrested by the Samaritans and other adversaries who accused them of intrigue against the Persian government. Time passed. With the ascension to the throne of Darius new hope was given to the leaders of the Jews. In the year 520 BC the prophets Haggai and Zechariah exhorted the people to renew their efforts to rebuild the Second Temple.

Haggai (festal) is listed as the tenth of the twelve Minor Prophets, and the first of the three who prophesied in Palestine following the Babylonian Captivity.

Zerubbabel (seed of Babylon) was the leader of the tribe of Judah at the time of the return of the Jewish exiles from the Babylonian Captivity. He is called the son of Shealtiel. Arriving in Jerusalem about 536 BC, Zerubbabel began to build the altar of the Second Temple on its old site in order to restore the daily sacrifices.

Shealtiel (I have asked God) was the son of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah), the king of Judah, and father of Zerubbabel. In the New Testament, Shealtiel is listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:27) as Salathiel. He was a descendant of David through his son Nathan (2 Sam. 5:14).

Joshua (Jehovah the Saviour) was the son of Jehozadak, a high priest in the time of Haggai and Zechariah. As high priest, Joshua represented the people dressed initially in the clothes of a slave, and later with the new and lovely garments of deliverance.

Josedech (Jehozadak; Jehovah has justified) was the son of the high priest Seraiah at the time of the Babylonian Captivity c. 586 BC. If he assumed the office of high priest following the slaughter of his father (2 Kings 25:18-21), he had no opportunity to perform his priestly functions for he was carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar (1 Chron. 6:15). It is probable he died in exile. 

LORD (lit. yeh-ho-vaw). Notice that the word LORD is often in capital letters in the English Bible. This has been done in order to indicate the Jewish sacred named for God. Technically, this name is from the tetragammaton (Gk. four letters) and refers the common transliteration of YHWH. While other forms are often used, Yahweh is favored by most Hebrew scholars and is widely accepted.

Haggai (festal) was a post exilic prophet who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Captivity to encourage the people to construct the Second Temple. The reconstruction work was concluded in 516 BC which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, ruler of the