Haggai 1

In the second year of King Darius, the word of the LORD comes through Haggai to Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. The people are saying the time has not yet come to rebuild the LORD’s house, yet they dwell in their own “paneled houses” while God’s house lies in ruins. God twice calls them to “consider your ways,” pointing out that they sow much but harvest little, eat but are not satisfied, and earn wages only to put them “in a bag with holes” — because they have neglected His house while each runs to his own. He commands them to go up to the hills, bring wood, and build. Remarkably, the leaders and “all the remnant of the people” obey and fear the LORD, and God stirs up their spirits with the assurance, “I am with you.” Within three weeks the work resumes.