According to Rev. Michael Piazza in Liberating Word “It is quite possible that Haggai was born in Babylon during the exile and traveled with his family back to Jerusalem around 539 BCE. We know nothing about him except that he returned. Many of the exiles did not. They had become comfortable, even prosperous, in Babylon, and going back to a city that was in bad shape like Jerusalem wasn’t appealing to them. Oh, they cared about those who had been left behind, yes; they cared about the temple that was the faith center of their people. Certainly they cared about their heritage and legacy. They just didn’t care enough to personally sacrifice or to be inconvenienced. It was similar to how most of us care about things like the environment, poverty, peace or justice. We care, but not enough to be personally inconvenienced or to make a sacrifice.”
According to Rev. Michael Piazza in Liberating Word “It is quite possible that Haggai was born in Babylon during the exile and traveled with his family back to Jerusalem around 539 BCE. We know nothing about him except that he returned. Many of the exiles did not. They had become comfortable, even prosperous, in Babylon, and going back to a city that was in bad shape like Jerusalem wasn’t appealing to them. Oh, they cared about those who had been left behind, yes; they cared about the temple that was the faith center of their people. Certainly they cared about their heritage and legacy. They just didn’t care enough to personally sacrifice or to be inconvenienced. It was similar to how most of us care about things like the environment, poverty, peace or justice. We care, but not enough to be personally inconvenienced or to make a sacrifice.”
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