2. HAGGA AT-A-GLANCE 2 & O.T. BOOK #37 AUTHOR: THE PROPHET HAGGAI WRITTEN: 526 BC Covering this time period: 526 BC Old Testament: 39 Books 37 New Testament: 27 Books CLAIMS TO FAME: Haggai is known as one of the few prophets to whom the people of Israel actually listened. FAMOUS STORIES INCLUDED: MOST FAMOUS VERSES: No stories are included in this book of prophecy, though the rebuilding of the Temple is what it's about. That story is found in the Book of Ezra. Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." Haggai 1:5-6 Important points about the Book: Haggai wrote from Jerusalem when many people had returned from the Babylonian exile. Those who had returned in hope 15 years earlier were now facing dire struggles. They lacked clothing and food and had been mocked by other nations brutally about rebuilding their temple. The mocking had drained them of faith so that they had quit. • Haggai's messages are simple and straightforward. God tells the people through Haggai to rebuild the temple first. It would keep them from falling back into errors that had caused the Great Exile. • The book is only two chapters and focuses specifically on getting the returnees to build the temple as top priority. Such would bring unity, faith, and strength back to them.