Haggai 1:1 dates this message to the first day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king, when Yahweh's word came by Haggai to Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. The people had returned to Jerusalem, but the temple was still in ruins. Their excuse was simple: the time hasn't yet come.
God's answer exposes their priorities. Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies waste? He calls them to consider your ways. They sowed much and harvested little, ate without being satisfied, and earned wages to put into a bag with holes. God explains why: because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. God's solution is direct: go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified.
This time the people listened. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God. God's response was not a lecture but a promise: I am with you. Yahweh stirred up the spirit of the leaders and the people, and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of Armies. Haggai 1:15 notes they began on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, just over three weeks after the first message.