Encouragement is frequently the purpose of the Word of God for the people of God. It is the purpose of the Lord of hosts speaking through Haggai the prophet, in October 520 BC, to a disillusioned and despairing and despondent group of Jews who have come back from Babylon. The keynote of what Haggai had to say in the Lord’s name is given three times in Haggai 2:4, and it can be translated as either be strong or take courage:
Dale Ralph DavisTake courage, Zerubbabel, take courage Joshua, take courage all you people of the land.That is what he is saying. He has a note of encouragement for God's people. Well, when we say that, we have to make sure we have solid encouragement, right? It is easy to have a little religious blah, blah, a little bit of pious back-slapping, without any substance to it. It is easy to say be of good cheer, but is there any reason, any substance, is there any solid element to that kind of encouragement? In the prophecy of Haggai, there is. Haggai seeks, by God's grace, to give God's people solid encouragement. There are considerations that give them a basis for being encouraged and for having a fresh start. So, what forms that basis? Well, Haggai says in the first place there is the promise you need to hear in Haggai 2:4–5.1
3 Quel est parmi vous le survivant Qui ait vu cette maison dans sa gloire première? Et comment la voyez-vous maintenant? Telle qu'elle est, ne paraît-elle pas comme rien à vos yeux?