Misunderstanding the Times

After the return from exile, and the opposition of enemies that culminated in an Imperial decree that work on the Temple should cease, the returnees became discouraged, and then became used to a situation that was only ever meant to be temporary. God sent Haggai to wake them up, and to call them to do what they ought to have done already. They were not rebellious, but had drifted, and needed to be woken up.