The year was 521 b.c. The Temple, once an impressive piece of architecture and the dwelling place of Yahweh, had been burned to the ground and was now a shell of its former self. The Israelites, once the envy of their Samaritan and Edomite neighbors, were dispirited and depressed. They had lost their confidence in God. Their national symbol was a half-built, unusable place of worship. It was at this time that God reached out to them through the prophet Haggai with words of comfort, challenge, and encouragement.