The people of Israel had recently returned from the Exile to rebuild God's temple. However, because of opposition and discouragement, they stopped working on the house of God and focused on their own prosperity. God used Haggai to encourage them to make His house the priority. In the same way, we need to seek first God's kingdom by building up God's house. In these N.T. times, we need to pour our energies into the local church, which is God's temple.