Hag. 2:1 In the seventh month,
in the one and twentieth day of the
month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,
Hag. 2:2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of
Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue
of the people, saying,
The message of this chapter comes
approximately a month after the close of the previous chapter. Again, emphasis is made that the
message delivered by Haggai is from YHWH.
As in the first message, it is directed to Zerubbabel, the governor, and
Joshua, the high priest, the governmental and religious leaders of the people. This time, however, address is included
to the rest of the people. Why? I think because of the change of heart
as described in the last chapter.
Hag. 2:3 Who is left among
you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do
ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it
as nothing?
The Lord brings up a painful
thought. He reminds them that this
temple is nothing compared to the beautiful temple of Solomon that was
destroyed by the armies of Babylon.
Ezra confirms this as a painful memory to those who had lived to return
from the captivity.
Ezra 3:12
But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the
first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept
with a loud voice;
We are so
prone to make judgments according to physical appearances, and that is totally
wrong. God was clear in
establishing the truth that He looks on the heart of a man—not his outward appearance.
1Sam.
16:7 But the LORD said unto
Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I
have refused him: for the LORD seeth
not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD
looketh on the heart.
We tend to think a
ministry is successful according to its size and wealth. The Lord was clear in His letter to
Smyrna that though they considered themselves poor, He considered them as rich.
Rev. 2:9
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)É.
We are so
prone to look at things from eyes of flesh and the mindset of the world. We need to learn to look at things
through GodÕs eyes. God is looking
for a response from His people that declares their love for and obedience to
Him as Lord. That
truth was emphasized by the Apostle John.
1John 2:5
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby
know we that we are in him.
1John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1John 2:16
For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of
the Father, but is of the world.
Hag. 2:4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be
strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye
people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
Hag. 2:5 According to the
word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit
remaineth among you: fear ye not.
The beautiful truth that God
declares—What matters most is that ÒI am with you,Ó God says. ItÕs not the beauty of the building
that matters; itÕs the God that building honors that makes the difference. In spite of their unfaithfulness, God
reminds them that He is a covenant-keeping God; He will honor the covenant established
with them when they came out of Egypt.
I think these verses in Leviticus describe it best.
Lev. 26:44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast
them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my
covenant with them: for I am the LORD
their God.
Lev. 26:45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors,
whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that
I might be their God: I am the LORD.
God is always faithful—even
when His people are not.
Hag. 2:6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the
heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Hag. 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations
shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
These verses are very familiar in my
study of prophecy regarding the return of Messiah Jesus as King of kings. I believe that has to be the main subject
of this prophecy since it will result in God filling the temple with
glory. Although Jesus brought
glory to the temple by His very presence there during His first coming, it is
His second coming that will result in GodÕs glory being restored to the temple
as it was in the time of Solomon.
It is His second coming that will be preceded by a shaking of the
heavens, earth, sea and dry land as so vividly detailed
in the book of Revelation.
My focus has always been on the
physical impact on the planet. Creation
will be shaken as God pours out His wrath in judgment upon the nations of the
earth. The thing that stands out
to me now is that the LordÕs coming is described as Òthe desire of all
nations.Ó I think the word desire could only apply to those who have
turned to God in faith during that time.
Though it is true that this has been the desire of the church since its
beginnings (and it is true that the church is composed of people from all
nations), the Lord is clear that His wrath is reserved for His enemies, the
wicked.
Nah.
1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance
on his adversaries, and he reserveth
wrath for his enemies.
So even though this could be a
reference to the desire of the Òchurch,Ó the church will not be here to
experience the wrath of the day of the Lord that precedes His coming. (7/08) The nations here would refer to
the body of believers that come to faith during the tribulation, or 70th
week of Daniel. This period will
include the time of wrath prophesied by Isaiah.
Is.
13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their
iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay
low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Is.
13:12 I will make a man more precious
than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Is.
13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts,
and in the day of his fierce anger.
Always of interest is the difference
in GodÕs perspective on time and ours—Òit is a little while,Ó and itÕs
already been over 2500 years since Haggai made this prophecy.
Hag. 2:8 The silver is
mine, and the gold is mine, saith the
LORD of hosts.
Hag. 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the
former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the
LORD of hosts.
Staying in context, the Lord is
saying that there is nothing you could use to make this temple more beautiful
that I could not provide you. When
the Lord returns to rule from the throne of David, that temple will have far
greater glory than SolomonÕs temple.
It will house the very throne of Messiah. When He establishes His kingdom, there will finally be peace
in the land of Israel.
Hag. 2:10 In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month,
in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet,
saying,
Hag. 2:11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,
Hag. 2:12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and
with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall
it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.
Hag. 2:13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch
any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
Two months have passed since the
previous message, and Haggai is given another word from YHWH. The Lord poses a couple of questions to
the priests:
I liked David GuzikÕs summary of the
principle: ÒHoliness is not
Ôcontagious,Õ but impurity is.Ó
Hag. 2:14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is
this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
Haggai then applies this truth to
the people. He basically says,
ÒNothing about you is holy; everything you have to offer me is unclean.Ó
Hag. 2:15 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward,
from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:
Hag. 2:16 Since those days
were, when one came to an heap of twenty
measures, there were but ten:
when one came to the pressfat for to
draw out fifty vessels out of the
press, there were but twenty.
Hag. 2:17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in
all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned
not to me, saith the LORD.
Again, the Lord is asking them to
remember and consider what He has taught them in this experience of building
the temple. My paraphrase of His
message: Remember that before you
determined to honor Me and build My house, you were
not very prosperous. I made sure
that you werenÕt by preventing your crops from producing and by sending mildew
and hail to destroy much of what did grow. I caused your labor to be unfruitful. Yet not once did you turn to me in
faith and repentance.
Hag. 2:18 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and
twentieth day of the ninth month, even
from the day that the foundation of the LORDÕS temple was laid, consider it.
Hag. 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea,
as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree,
hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
The Lord continues His message; He
basically says—Learn from your experience. Since deciding to honor me by building my house, though your
barns are still empty of harvest and your fruit vines and trees have yet to
produce a good crop, I am promising that from this day forward ÒI will bless
you.Ó In other words, you will plant
your seed and reap a good harvest and your fruit vines and trees will produce
and provide all that you need.
Hag. 2:20 And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four
and twentieth day of the month,
saying,
Hag. 2:21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will
shake the heavens and the earth;
Hag. 2:22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will
destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the
chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall
come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
Hag. 2:23 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O
Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make
thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.
Now the Lord has a special message
for Zerubbabel, the governor.
Verses 21-23 seem to go hand-in-hand with verses 6-7. This prophecy was obviously not
fulfilled in ZerubbabelÕs time. So
how does it apply? I had to go to
the commentaries for help. It made
sense to me to understand Zerubbabel as a type of Jesus. As the governor, he represented the
ruler of Israel. In the day
that Messiah comes to take His throne, He will fulfill the promise represented
by Zerubbabel as GodÕs signet ring, the ring of GodÕs authority. In that day, the powers of the heathen
kingdoms on earth will be destroyed and their militaries destroyed by the word
of God, and Jesus, the rightful King of Israel, will take His throne.
My how blessed Haggai was to see a positive response to his ministry—a privilege not enjoyed by many of the prophets.