With its emphasis on the Torah, the story of Ezra is linked with the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and their identity as the people of God. While Ezra prays for changed hearts and the forgiveness of sin, he looks forward to the Messiah and the fulfillment of all God’s promises.
Haggai is pressed into service to offer a prophetic voice to the crisis detailed in Ezra. To those Israelites who returned from exile to Jerusalem and faced an external opposition to the rebuilding of the temple, he encourages a relucatant people to give to an ailing fabric fund while reminding them of the Mosaic legacy and the Messianic promise.
Robert Fyall highlights the contemporary parallels of the challenges Israel faced to those of today’s church, and demonstrates the relevance of the books of Ezra and Haggai for God’s people in all times. While Ezra is rarely, if ever, preached on and Haggai gets an even shorter consideration, the message of these books—the need for obedience to God’s word and for openness to His Spirit—is one which needs to be heard clearly today.
