Haggai in Cherokee: Expanded Bilingual Edition

Our Expanded Bilingual Editions provide a verse by verse presentation in Old Syllabary, New Syllabary, phonetics, and English to facilitate language education. At the request of Cherokee clergy and language instructors, we are publishing Cherokee scriptures with the English drawn from the King James Version.This prophecy was chosen to be the first offering in our Old Testament series because of its theme of a nation conquered and removed, coming out of its exile and captivity, and still struggling to set its priorities. We believe this message will speak loudly to Native America, especially the Southeastern nations.Haggai appeared on the scene of Israel's history after Israel had been taken into captivity by the Babylonians in 605 BC to 639 BC, and after Persia had conquered the nation, Babylon. Because of Israel's Idolatry, which God had warned them against, Israel was conquered by the nation, Babylon, and Israel was no longer a nation any more. After Persia had conquered Babylon, the king of Persia, at the request of Nehemiah, had allowed a remnant of Israel to return to rebuild the city in about in 537 BC; and Haggai appeared about 18 years later. The remnant had returned, had laid the foundation, had built the Brazen Altar for offering of sacrifices; but then began rebuilding of the walls of the city. They built the walls in 52 days. Afterward they began the building of their own houses. They had left the temple, the dwelling place of God, unfinished. God spoke to Haggai who wrote to the governor, Zerubbabel, and to the priest, Joshua, concerning the people's failure to rebuild the temple. The people had begun saying, "It's not time to rebuild the temple". Sixteen years had passed since the rebuilding of the walls, and the temple, God's dwelling place. still lay in ruins. Haggai points out the shallowness of their dedication to God in leaving the temple in ruins. He sees the need for the governor and the priest to begin the rebuilding of the temple. He pointed out that their actions had brought unfavorable results of their harvests. Their failure to put God first had neither brought them blessing in their harvests, nor was conducive for renewal of inner conditions for establishing God's law. Haggai wanted them to see that God had given divine leadership to the obedient leaders, Zerubbabel and Joshua, whom they should follow. Although they were not a nation any more, they were still God's people. ----