Haggai
Haggai calls the returned exiles to rebuild the temple and renew their covenant faithfulness. Ezra 5 records the rebuilding effort from another perspective.
Major themes
- Misplaced priorities (Haggai 1:1–15): The people have built comfortable houses for themselves while the house of the Lord remains unfinished.
- Shattered expectations (Haggai 2:1–9): The new temple appears modest compared with Solomon’s temple, which discourages those who remember the former glory. The Lord promises that the latter glory of His house will be greater.
- Covenant faithfulness (Haggai 2:10–19): Ritual impurity spreads through contact, but holiness does not. Building the temple cannot substitute for personal faithfulness; the people must turn to God before covenant blessings can follow.