With the Book of Haggai we begin the post-exilic prophets, who looked forward to the coming of Christ even as they struggled with the messy reality of life among the remnant who returned to Jerusalem.

When Haggai received his first oracle from the Lord, work on rebuilding the Temple had been on pause for almost two decades. “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Haggai asked.

In what seems like an all-too-rare prophetic success story, Haggai got results. Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the high priest and “the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord” (v. 12).

Naomi’s Haggai drawing is as straightforward as his message. The prophet stands before the temple his hands full of building tools—hammer, chisel and nails.

In the second half of the book, Haggai receives three more messages from the Lord promising good things for the obedient people, chief among them: “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” a prophecy we believe was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

This is the seventh post of Naomi’s art from our Minor Prophets Sunday school class. Previous posts were on Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Zephaniah and Nahum & Obadiah and Habakkuk. Naomi’s professional art is available at naomifriend.com.