Introduction

‘In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: ‘Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ Haggai 1:15-2:1-5

HAGGAI’S SECOND MESSAGE

As mentioned in the previous chapter, Haggai 1:15, belongs at the start of this chapter. Around a month later Haggai received and delivered his second message to the Jews, Haggai 2:1.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the date, Haggai 2:1.

‘This was the seventh day of the feast of tabernacles, Leviticus 23:34 / Leviticus 23:36 / Leviticus 23:40-42, and its close. The eighth day was to be a sabbath, with its ‘holy convocation,’ but the commemorative feast, the dwelling in booths, in memory of God’s bringing them out of Egypt, was to last seven days.’

Haggai is to speak to Zerubbabel, Joshua and to the remnant of the people, Haggai 2:2. He asks them who of them is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to them now? Does it not seem to them like nothing? Haggai 2:3.

It seems that they have become discouraged in their work in rebuilding the temple, Ezra 3:12. We can imagine them thinking about how awesome Solomon’s temple was in all its grandeur, 1 Kings 6:22 / 1 Kings 6:28 / 1 Kings 6:30 / 1 Kings 6:32 / 1 Kings 6:35 / 1 Kings 7:48-50 / 2 Chronicles 3:4-9, but now here, it is laying in ruins, Haggai 2:3, because the Babylonians totally destroyed it in 586 B.C. 2 Kings 25:8-17. It’s easy to understand how discouraged they would be when they thought about how the temple once was and what they are about to do.

There’s no way they could build a temple like Solomon’s temple, which took seven and a half years to build, but that wasn’t God’s point. God isn’t interested in the physical structure because the time was coming where the true place of worship was going to be revealed, John 4:20-24 / Acts 17:24, and ultimately, the temple was going to be destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, Matthew 24:1-35.

According to Josephus, Solomon’s temple stood one-hundred and twenty cubits in height, but that of Zerubbabel was only sixty cubits. God was more concerned about His people identifying themselves as His people who lived in the land and to do that, they needed to get back to following God and obeying His commands.

The Samaritans had discouraged the people, to such an extent that they stopped working on the temple, Ezra 4:17-24, and so, God encourages them to ‘be strong and work’, Haggai 2:4, which were the same words to Solomon from David, 1 Chronicles 28:10 / 1 Chronicles 28:20. This was God’s way of declaring that He was with them, Haggai 1:13, and the work they should be getting on with, is actually God’s work.

God again assures them that He is with them by telling them that the Holy Spirit was among them, Haggai 2:5 / Haggai 1:13 / Exodus 29:45-46. He will give them the encouragement they need to get on with the building work, just like He was with their ancestors when He delivered them out of Egypt, Haggai 2:5 / Deuteronomy 18:15.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the covenant, Haggai 2:5.

‘The ancient covenant that God made with Abraham, promising to bless ‘all the people of the earth’, Genesis 12:1-3 / Genesis 22:15-18, through his ‘seed’ (singular, which is Christ), Galatians 3:16, will yet be honoured by the Father.’

God is going to be with them in the rebuilding of His temple, Haggai 2:5.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning God’s spirit remaining among them, Haggai 2:5.

‘The Spirit of God is God the Holy Spirit, with His manifold gifts. Where He is, is all good. As the soul is in the body, so God the Holy Spirit is in the Church, Himself its life, and bestowing on all each and every good gift, as each and all have need. As Paul says of the Church of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:4 / 1 Corinthians 12:6 / 1 Corinthians 12:11.’

‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea, and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place, I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.’ Haggai 2:6-9

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning ‘a little while’, Haggai 2:6.

‘The 517 years, which were to elapse to the birth of Christ, are called a little time, because to the prophets, ascending in heart to God and the eternity of God, all times, like all things of this world, seem, as they are, only a little thing, yea a mere point, which has neither length nor breadth. So John calls the time of the new law, ‘the last hour’, 1 John 2:18, ‘Little children, it is the last hour.’ It was little also in respect to the time, which had elapsed from the fall of Adam, upon which God promised the Saviour Christ, Genesis 3:15, little also in respect to the Christian law, which has now lasted above 1,800 years, and the time of the end does not seem yet near.’

Just like when God shook Mount Sinai when He established His covenant with Israel and gave them the law, Exodus 19:18, He would once again shake the heavens and the earth, Haggai 2:6, to establish a new covenant with His people in the future, Jeremiah 31:31-34 / Luke 21:25 / Hebrews 12:27. He will fill this house with glory, Haggai 2:6 / Exodus 40:34-35 / 1 Kings 8:11 / 2 Chronicles 5:14 / 2 Chronicles 7:1-12 / Ezekiel 43:5 / Ezekiel 44:4.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the glory.

‘The glory then was not to be anything, which came from man, but directly from God. It was the received expression of God’s manifestation of Himself in the tabernacle, Exodus 40:34-35, in Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings 8:11 / 2 Chronicles 5:14 / 2 Chronicles 7:1-12, and of the ideal temple, Ezekiel 43:5 / Ezekiel 44:4, which Ezekiel saw, after the likeness of that of Solomon, that ‘the glory of the Lord filled the house’.’

All this shaking represents uproar which would affect all nations until the coming of the Messiah, Haggai 1:7. After this God is going to reveal Himself to mankind through Jesus, His Son. It would be Jesus who will ascend to God’s right hand and rule over all the nations of this world, Daniel 2:44 / Daniel 7:13-14 / Philippians 2:5-11. God says the silver and gold are His, Haggai 2:8.

Deane, in his commentary, says the following, concerning Haggai 2:8.

‘All nations with their wealth come (into Christ’s kingdom) and the Gentiles shall bring their treasures, their powers, whatever they most prize, to the service of God. All that, is here called metaphorically, coming with treasures to the Temple.’

God says, the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house and in this place He will grant peace, Haggai 2:9 / Isaiah 9:6-7 / Micah 5:5 / Ephesians 4:3. We must remember that when Haggai prophesied these words, he and the people at the time would have no idea what they meant, 1 Peter 1:10-12, and if they understood anything about his words, they would have understood that this was all a part of God’s plan, it was all about hope for their future.

They needed to trust God and realise that He was working through the remnant of exiles so that He could lay the foundation for the coming of the Messiah. This was more than just a bunch of stones for a physical building, this was God preparing to build His spiritual house, 1 Corinthians 3:11 / Romans 16:5. God determines how it will be, not man.

THE GLORY IN THIS NEW TEMPLE WILL BE GREATER THAN SOLOMON’S

There are three ideas about this.

1. It’s going to be when Herod builds parts to it and so it will resemble Solomon’s temple.

2. Jesus Himself would physically walk in Zerubbabel’s temple.

3. A prophecy of the Messianic temple, where individually we would be a temple of God, 1 Corinthians 3:16.

Whatever it is, it will happen after the earth and heavens are shaken in which God will change things, the kingdoms, rulers, and powers. The spiritual is always better than the physical, as Christians today, we are now in that kingdom that cannot be shaken, Hebrews 12:25-29. We too have peace in Christ, as Christ is the Prince of peace, Isaiah 9:6 / Ephesians 2:13-18.

Haggai’s second message teaches us to look past the physical and look forward to the spiritual.

HAGGAI’S THIRD MESSAGE

‘On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says: If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’ The priests answered, ‘No.’ Then Haggai said, ‘If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?’ ‘Yes,’ the priests replied, ‘it becomes defiled.’ Then Haggai said, ‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the LORD. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.’ Haggai 2:10-14

It appears that Haggai’s words weren’t enough for the people to start building the temple again, because he has to speak to them again, two months later, Haggai 2:10 / Haggai 2:1. His third message is presented as a series of two questions. By asking these questions, God is getting them to see that cleanliness and healthiness are not contagious but uncleanliness and un-healthiness are. All food was ceremonially unclean, Leviticus 23:19-23, and so they are told, it’s unclean because there is no temple.

The first question is asking, if a garment that was being used to carry holy meat, would that in turn make anything it touched holy? Haggai 2:11-12. The obvious answer to this question is no, it wouldn’t, Haggai 2:12.

The second question is asking if anything is made unclean by touching a dead body, could that defile the thing it touched? Haggai 2:13 / Numbers 19:22. The priests answer by saying, that anything which was defiled and unclean touched something else, it would make whatever it touched defiled and unclean, Haggai 2:13.

Gill, in his commentary, says the following.

‘A basic principle is revealed here. The influence of holiness is not as far-reaching as the influence of unholiness. A rotten apple will corrupt a barrel of good apples, but a good apple will not transform a barrel of rotten apples.’

The reason for these questions was simply to show the priests that it was easier to become defiled than it was to become clean. Anything which was ceremonially holy, couldn’t make anything it touched holy but anything which was unclean, would make the person who touched it unclean, and whoever the person touched would become unclean, Numbers 19:11-22.

The Jews had apparently built an altar, but the problem was they thought that their past sins would be forgiven if they ceremonially performed offerings on the altar. God is saying that their lazy attitude towards building the temple had defiled them to the point that God wouldn’t accept their sacrifices on the altar, Haggai 2:14. This is part of the reason why they were being punished through famine and drought, Haggai 1:3-6 / Haggai 1:7-11.

Haggai’s questions were simple enough for the priests to understand. Can holiness be transferred through casual contact? No. Can defilement be transferred through casual contact? Yes. God is saying the people are unclean, and what they are offering is unclean. Unclean people can’t build a holy temple, therefore, their offering is unclean, Haggai 2:14.

‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD’s temple. When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew, and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the LORD. ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ Haggai 2:15-19

Once again God asks His people to give careful thought and consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in God’s temple, Haggai 2:15. God asked His people to seriously think about the questions Haggai asked.

When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten and when anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty, Haggai 2:16. The hardship they were going through was the consequences of their own actions and so, the answers to those questions may be easy for them to answer but changing their ways would be the challenge.

Haggai encourages them to be patient for the blessings that would come as a result of their repentance. Up until now, they’ve worked hard for nothing, Haggai 1:6 / Haggai 1:9, they’ve worked hard to please themselves, Haggai 2:16 / Deuteronomy 28:22, but now, since they’re going to concentrate on building God’s house, they simply needed to be patient for the blessings which would follow.

When they start the building work, God would start to bless them by giving an increase to their crops. This was to be an act of faith, and so, they had to do something first and trust that God would bless them. Just believing wasn’t enough, they had to act in faith, James 2:14-26.

Before the stone was laid in the temple, the Jews toiled and scraped to get by. God even brought ‘blight, mildew and hail’, Haggai 2:17 / Psalms 78:47, to irritate their efforts, but they didn’t obey Him, Haggai 2:17. Once again they are asked to give careful thought from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, when the foundation of God’s temple was laid, Haggai 2:18.

God goes on to ask them to give careful thought about what’s happened since the temple’s foundations were laid, Haggai 2:18. He asks is there seed in the barn? Haggai 2:19, to which the answer is no, not even has the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, produced any fruit, Haggai 2:19.

God says, ‘be patient, trust Me, I will bless you’, Haggai 2:19, and although the promises are material blessings, they will be blessed even more spiritually. He says, this is what I’ll give you, but you must stop looking back and start looking forward to the future, Philippians 3:13.

HAGGAI’S FOURTH MESSAGE

‘The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: ‘Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. ‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.’ Haggai 2:20-23

Haggai’s fourth and final message on the twenty-fourth day of the month was addressed directly to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, Haggai 2:20 / Haggai 1:1, who was the grandson of Jehoiachin, 1 Chronicles 3:19, and who was a member of the royal family of David, Haggai 2:2 / Zechariah 4:6-10. God would shake the nations so that He could bring about His purpose of bringing the Messiah into the world, Haggai 2:21. This message is a repetition of the prophecy given earlier in Haggai 2:6.

God is going to overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms and He will overthrow chariots and their drivers, horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother, Haggai 2:22. God is going to overthrow the kingdoms of the Gentiles, just like He did before.

He used the Assyrians to punish Israel, Isaiah 10:5-7, He used the Babylonians to punish the Assyrians, Isaiah 47 / Jeremiah 50-51, He used the Medo-Persia to punish the Babylonians, Isaiah 44:28. God used the Greeks to punish the Medo-Persians, Daniel 8:5 / Daniel 8:20-22, and God used the Romans to punish the Greeks, Daniel 2:40-43 / Daniel 11:2.

It was the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, then the Medo-Persians, then the Greeks and then the Romans and all of them would come and go, Daniel 2:31-45 / Daniel 7:17-23, but Jesus would have the right to rule. Jesus was called the Lion of Judah, Revelation 5:8-10 / Revelation 6:12-17, King of Judah, He was the only one who could be king.

On that day, God says, He will take His servant Zerubbabel and make him like God’s signet ring, Haggai 2:23 / Genesis 41:42 / Jeremiah 22:24 / Esther 3:10 / Esther 8:2, because God has chosen him, Haggai 2:23 / 1 John 4:19. Please note that Zerubbabel is here being used as the type of Jesus, as a King that would eventually come, 1 Timothy 6:15 / Revelation 1:5 / Revelation 17:14 / Revelation 19:11-16.

Deane, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The true Zerubbabel, i.e., Christ, the son and antitype of Zerubbabel, is the signet in the hand of the Father’.

The signet ring which symbolised the right to rule usually was engraved with the sign of the owner and the ring was used as a signature of authority when the engraved sign was pressed on a document. God chose Him as His servant, Haggai 2:23 / Isaiah 52:13 / Isaiah 53:11.’

What’s important to understand here is that Zerubbabel was made the leadership symbol of the nation in expectation of the Messiah whom Zerubbabel would symbolise. Just as Zerubbabel led the exiles when they returned from their Babylonian captivity, Ezra 2:2, so Jesus, our King, would lead and deliver us from the captivity of our sins and give us freedom, Mark 11:9.

Jesus’ spiritual kingdom would be established far above all the other kingdoms of this world, Daniel 2:44 / Daniel 7:13-14. It would be Jesus who would sit at God’s right hand, Revelation 1:5 / Revelation 2:26-27 / Revelation 3:21 / Revelation 17:14. It would be Jesus who would rule as King over all things from heaven, Ephesians 1:20-23. It would be Jesus who asks everyone to walk by faith in humble obedience to Him as their King, Romans 10:17.

Haggai’s fourth and final message is simply saying that the kingdom of God will be restored.

APPLICATION

I always like to ask the question, who encourages the encourager? God always encourages us to keep going and promises to be with us forever, Matthew 28:20. In most congregations, you will always find the faithful few who are always trying their best to reach out to the lost and encourage those who are struggling, but who encourages them?

Who encourages them when they are struggling? Why not go out your way today, to encourage the encourager? Give them a call, visit them, and ask if they need help, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 / Hebrews 3:13 / Hebrews 10:24-25.

As the Jews discovered, procrastination can be a serious sin, putting things off can be unproductive and unacceptable to God. I would be a rich person if I had received five pounds every time I heard someone say, ‘yes, I’ll think about becoming a Christian, but not just now, I have things to sort out first!’

What many people don’t understand is that none of us has got the promise of a tomorrow. We take tomorrow for granted and believe we can just put things off to a later date because we’re too busy building our own little empire, Luke 12:13-21. The truth is, that later date may not come, and it’ll be too late for salvation, James 4:13-15.

CONCLUSION

Haggai’s message was simple enough to understand. The Jews needed to finish building God’s temple but do it in a way which pleases Him and brings Him glory. To do this, they needed to forget about the past and look to the future, Philippians 3:13. As Christians, God must always be first in our lives, but we must learn the lesson from Haggai’s message, Romans 15:4.

It was going to take more than Zerubbabel and Joshua to build this temple, everyone needed to be involved. If we as God’s holy temple, Ephesians 2:19-22 / 1 Peter 2:5, are to continue to build upon the Lord’s temple today, then everyone needs to be involved in that building work because God has work prepared for us to do, Ephesians 2:10.