Context: Haggai is the first post-exilic prophet, having prophesied in 520 BC — exactly 16 years after the return from exile and 4 years before the completion of the Second Temple (516 BC). The people had begun the Temple's reconstruction but stopped in the face of opposition and difficulties. Haggai has a unique and clear mission: to motivate the people to complete the Temple.

The economic-spiritual argument: Haggai connects spirituality to daily life with disconcerting logic: "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?" (1:4). The drought and economic scarcity are presented as a direct consequence of neglecting divine priorities.

The eschatological promise: Chapter 2 contains a surprising promise: though the Second Temple was physically inferior to Solomon's, "the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former" (2:9) — interpreted messianically as a reference to Christ's presence in the Temple. The book closes with a word of encouragement to Zerubbabel, the governor — a typological figure of the Messiah.