A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: [Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah (Zeph. 1:1), was a prince in the royal house of Judah. His name means “Jehovah hides.”] The events recorded in this book took place in Judah about 630 B.C.
B. The subject: idolatry and mixture resulting in judgment, and the destruction of idols resulting in salvation.
C. The background: [A contemporary of Habakkuk and Jeremiah, Zephaniah prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah. During his reign Josiah began to remove the idols but did not do it thoroughly; thus, some idols still remained. Therefore, Zephaniah spoke the word of God, saying, “I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests; and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops” (1:4-5). He was in the imperial court assisting and guiding the young king Josiah to seek God. He prophesied that God would punish the nations, cause the people to call upon Him and serve Him, and bring restoration to the nation of Israel (3:8-20).]
D. The central thought: The jealous God 1) rebukes the evil of idolatry, 2) warns of the imminent day of Jehovah, and 3) predicts the blessing of the coming kingdom age.
E. The general sketch: Manasseh and Amon, the two most evil kings of Judah, had led the people to worship idols and forsake God. Zephaniah warned Judah that the judgment of the righteous and holy God, although suspended during the years of King Josiah (2 Chron. 34:24-28), would eventually be fully accomplished on Judah. This judgment was to be executed on two kinds of remnants—the remnant of the priests and worshippers of Baal would be utterly destroyed; the remnant of the house of Judah, after being chastened, would be blessed and prosper in the end. Some of the people worshipped both Jehovah and Malchim (god of Amon—1:4-5). God is a jealous God; He will never tolerate compromise. His promised judgment came in part when Babylon invaded Judah and will come in full in the last day. Such chastening is proof of God’s love. Like Habakkuk, it ends with a very sweet song. Though stressing judgment, it is full of promises (3:14-17). “For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve Him with one consent” (3:9). This will be fulfilled in the coming kingdom, but we have a foretaste in the church today (Rom. 15:5-6).
F. The sections: 1) judgment (1:1—3:8) and 2) salvation (3:9-20).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: [Haggai, who lived at the same time as Zechariah (Ezra 5:1), spoke for God in the second year of Darius the king. His name means “my feasts” or “Jehovah’s feasts.” This shows how much he longed for an early return to his homeland to restore God’s feasts.] The events recorded in this book took place about 520 B.C. in three months and twenty-four days in Jerusalem.
B. The subject: building up the house of God by rejecting our discouragement and interest.
C. The background: [During the years when the rebuilding of the holy temple was interrupted, the children of Israel began to build beautiful houses for themselves and gradually forgot the building of the holy temple. Furthermore, the enemy’s opposition and hindrance steadily increased, and desolation and drought continued to plague the land. Therefore, the people of Israel concluded that the time to build the house of Jehovah had not yet come (Hag. 1:2, 4, 6, 10). It was under such a circumstance that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah rose up to deliver the word of God and encourage the returned Israelites to finish the rebuilding work of God’s holy temple.]
D. The central thought: 1) In their life and service, the believers should always put God in the first place. 2) You should “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). 3) “Wherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).
E. The general sketch: [God reprimanded the people through Haggai, telling them to consider their ways because of the disasters and miseries that had come upon them, and to not let the house lie waste, but to go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build God’s house. So, Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of Jehovah their God (Hag. 1:2).
Then God spoke through Haggai the prophet to encourage the people to be strong and work for the completion of the rebuilding of God’s house. “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts” (Hag. 2:4).]
F. The sections: 1) the chastisement and the encouragement for the lazy, selfish people (ch. 1), 2) the prophecy of the holy temple in the kingdom age (2:1-9), 3) the warning for the transgressions of the people (2:10-19), and 4) the promise of the Messiah (2:20-23).