Haggai 1:12-15
I Am With You
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12Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.
13Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD.
14So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God,
15on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
Berean Standard Bible
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Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant of the people obey the LORD’s voice through Haggai. They recognize that God has sent the prophet, and they fear the LORD. His rebuke has led to a change of response.
Haggai then brings a brief word of reassurance: the LORD is with them. The people who have heard His correction are not left to rebuild through determination alone. God promises His presence as they take up the work.
The next verse says that He stirs the spirits of the governor, the high priest, and all the remnant. They come and begin rebuilding the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God. Their obedience is real, and God Himself moves them to act. His help does not make their work unnecessary; it enables them to do it.
The date of the beginning is recorded: the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in Darius’s second year. The message at the chapter’s opening came on the first day of that month. Haggai does not describe everything that happened between those dates, but he records that God’s word brought the people back to work.
The ruined temple remains a substantial task. What has changed is the people’s response to the LORD, sustained by His promised presence and His work in their hearts.
Questions
1 How do the leaders and people respond to Haggai?
AnswerThey obey the LORD’s voice through him and fear the LORD, recognizing that God has sent him.
2 What reassurance does God give them?
AnswerHe tells them that He is with them.
3 How does God help the work begin?
AnswerHe stirs the spirits of Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the remnant, and they come to work on His house.
4 When does the rebuilding begin?
AnswerOn the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in Darius’s second year, the same month in which Haggai first delivered the message.
What This Means for Us
The people obey, and the LORD stirs them to work. They need His presence and help as they respond to His word.
When you know a responsibility is right but feel reluctant to begin, ask God to make you willing. Take the next step in dependence on Him. You can thank Him for the desire and strength to serve while still taking the work seriously.
Prayer
Father, stir our hearts to obey You. Thank You that we can depend on Your help as we serve. Make us willing to begin and faithful to continue the work You give us. Amen.