Big Ideas · 11 · Haggai
'If you build it, he will come'
People feared rebuilding a temple without a sign of divine favor. Haggai turned the logic around: God's goodwill isn't the precondition for building; it's the result.
Don't wait for a blessing to start the work.
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Like the cornfield baseball diamond in Field of Dreams, the project seemed quixotic. Temple-building was traditionally a royal job, and Mesopotamian texts show deep anxiety about disturbing a god's dwelling. Haggai asked the people to act on their own.
Bible reference: Haggai 1:8
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 170–171
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