Christian
Churches of God
No. F037
Commentary on
Haggai
(Edition 3.0 20060910-20140905-20230728)
Chapters 1-2
Christian
Churches of God
E-mail: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright
© 2006, 2014, 2023 Wade Cox)
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Commentary on Haggai
Introduction
Haggai was ordered
by God to prophesy concerning the restoration and the construction of the
Temple. The text complements Zechariah and is dual in nature. It looks to the
millennial system and the conversion of the Gentiles.
The name Haggai is
derived from the word Hag or feast, or festival. The text
is delivered on the New Moon, but Bullinger incorrectly states in his note that
it refers to the full moon which is an error (cf. Companion Bible, fn. 1). It is the Sixth
month or the month of Elul. It is in the Second year of Darius the Persian when
the instruction to complete the Temple is given by Yahovah through Haggai.
This text is thus
an instruction from Yahovah to Judah in tandem with the prophecy given through
Zechariah.
The command is
given in the First year of the 71st Jubilee. The complete structure
of 70 Jubilees from the closure of Eden is complete with the Jubilee in 424/3
BCE, and the Temple is now to be reconstructed. This is the second command
given by God but the work was stopped over a period from the decree of Cyrus
down to Artaxerxes I who stopped construction, and it was ceased until the
Second year of Darius the Persian (see the paper The Sign of Jonah and the History
of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013)).
God has spoken to
Judah over their neglect. The message is constructed in four parts.
1. The Word of
Yahovah. The text commences with a censure for neglect (Hag. 1:1-4).
2. The people’s
sayings are then cited by Yahovah.
3. The Word of
Yahovah is again given.
4. The people’s
sayings are given and replied to by Yahovah.
The Hebrew idiom
for God speaking through the prophets is, “by the hand of”. It thus shows the
intention for the prophecy to be recorded for all time. The instances are
contained in footnote 1 to The Companion Bible.
The word is
addressed to Zerubbabel, meaning sown in Babylon (i.e. Babel). He was of
the royal seed conceived or sown in Babylon, and to Joshua the son of Josedech
the High Priest.
The name Joshua is
the same as that given to Messiah. The full name is Yahoshua or Salvation of
Yaho, which is the function of Messiah as High Priest and also as King of
Israel. The term son in the text is used also of grandson (cf. 1Chr.
3:19 and Ezra 2:2 and 3:2). Look also at the paper Genealogy of the Messiah (No.
119).
Josedech
(Yahosedech) means Yahovah is righteous. The full name Yahoshua, or Joshua
ben Josedech, means Salvation is through the righteous Yahovah.
Joshua is the
first High Priest of the Temple for the New Construction. They are both very
old when this censure is given. The Messiah will be the High Priest for the
final return to Jerusalem, which is the subject of the message in Zechariah.
These texts are thus both connected to the millennial reign of the Messiah.
The word governor
here is derived from the Persian word pechah (from which we derive
Pasha) as a prefect or satrap.
Shealtiel means asked
for from God. He was the son of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) who was taken captive
to Babylon (2Kgs. 24:15; 1Chr. 3:17; cf. Ezra 3:2,8; 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Mat. 1:12;
Lk. 3:27).
Haggai Chs. 1-2 (RSV)
The First
Message
The Command to Rebuild the
Temple
Chapter 1
1In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoz′adak, the high priest, 2“Thus says the Lord of hosts: This people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 4“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 6You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes. 7“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 8Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may appear in my glory, says the Lord. 9You have looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while you busy yourselves each with his own house. 10Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11And I have called for a drought upon the land and the hills, upon the grain, the new wine, the oil, upon what the ground brings forth, upon men and cattle, and upon all their labors.” 12Then Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el, and Joshua the son of Jehoz′adak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared before the Lord. 13Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, says the Lord.” 14And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehoz′adak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month.
Intent of
Chapter 1
vv. 1-4 The question is asked of Judah, as they
have left the House of God in ruins for well over a hundred years when they
could have built it a century earlier. However, there was a Temple at
Elephantine operating for the whole time the Temple at Jerusalem was in ruins
and that should not be forgotten.
Yahovah then
reminds them of the signs of their condition.
vv. 5-7 So Yahovah starts and ends with the statement,
“consider how you have fared”. They have nothing because they have not honoured
God. The word, consider is used five times in the book (1:5,7;
2:15,18,23; cf. Job 1:8; 2:3 and Isa. 41:22) and means set your heart on
or give your attention to. The intention is to examine where Judah has
been led and the fruits of what they have done.
v. 8 Yahovah then issued the command:
vv. 9-11 The term appear in my glory is, I will get me honour. The Hebrew word is ‘ekkabda. This is one of
twenty-nine words that are without the letter He at the end (Ginsberg’s Massorah,
Vol. 1, p. 281). The letter He is equal to five. Bullinger (Comp.
Bible fn. to v. 8) notes this and says that the Talmudists consider that
this was because there were five items missing from the Second Temple, which
are:
Items 2 and 3 are
in fact representations of the Holy Spirit and are representative of its
presence in the elect. Item 5, the Spirit of Prophecy, is present in the
Church and the culmination was in Jesus Christ.
The list is
alleged to safeguard the instances of the word which have the letter He
at the end. (Examples are Ex. 14:4,17.)
In the millennial
Temple the Holy Spirit in the elect as the Temple of God replaces all these
aspects. It has been the case with the church since the inception of the church
in the wilderness.
Yahovah states
that they looked for much and received little. What they stored was blown away.
He then supplied the answer: Because of the House that lay in ruins.
Thus they had done nothing over the entire century from the decree of Cyrus and
that of Darius Hystaspes when they could have acted, and God punished them for
that fact. It was only during the reign of Artaxerxes I that construction was
stopped, but they made no attempt to revive the construction after Artaxerxes
had suppressed the civil war (see paper No. 13 ibid.).
v. 11 God placed the land under a curse and the produce was
withheld from them for their disobedience.
v. 12 When God rebuked them they repented.
vv. 13-15 The people were thus mobilised to action.
Then the Lord spoke again through Haggai.
The message and
the repentance took 24 days from the New Moon to the Twenty-fourth day of the
Sixth month. Look also at the paper The Ascents of Moses (No. 070)
for the sequence over the period from Sivan to Elul, the Third to the Sixth
month.
The prophecy of
Haggai was reviewed in the paper The Oracles of God (No. 184)
in order to deal with a number of issues regarding the calendar, and the
misapplication of both Haggai and Daniel to end-time events. The comments
important to Haggai are quoted here.
“The text in
chapter 1 is a plea to the nation of Judah to commence work on the Temple. The
nation is not being blessed because they have placed their own self-interest
above that of God. There are serious parallels in history with the behaviour of
Judah and the neglect of the work of God. If this prophecy is referring to the
Last Days, it must refer to the spiritual Temple, which is the Church. The
entities in this prophecy are Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel governor of
Judah, and Joshua, son of Josedach the High Priest. The time is the second year
of Darius II. This matter has been explained in detail in the paper The Sign of
Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013).
The names are of individuals at the time of the reconstruction of the second
Temple (see also the paper Genealogy of the Messiah (No.
119)).
If this prophecy
is of the latter days, we can only be speaking of the spiritual Temple, and the
types of Zerubbabel and Joshua as High Priest. The High Priest, Joshua, is
Yehoshua or the Messiah. The typology with Jesus Christ is found in Zechariah
in the judgment. Christ is both king and priest, fulfilling both typologies.
The injunction in chapter 1 of Haggai is that the nation of Israel will not
prosper until it undertakes the work of the Messiah in the restoration, as part of the Temple of God. The curses
on the land will increase until that happens (Hag. 1:10-11). The first instance
is in the 24th of the Sixth month. This happened with the second Temple. It is
either in the past or it will relate to the future as an anti-type.
Thus Haggai is
concerned with the construction of the Temple, and the blessing of Israel is
consequent to that activity. It is thus impossible to relate the events in
chapter 2 to an event that is not subsequent to the events in chapter 1. Thus,
the 24th day of the Sixth month saw the work on the house of God. Chapter 2
then commences from the 21st day of the Seventh month or the last day of the
Feast of Tabernacles. The Last Great Day is the eighth day of the Feast” (The
Oracles of God (No. 184)).
Chapter 2
The Future Glory of the
Temple
In the second year of Darius the king, 1 in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 2“Speak now to Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoz′adak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3‘Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4Yet now take courage, O Zerub′babel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehoz′adak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts, 5according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not. 6For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts. 8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. 9The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.’”
A
Rebuke and a Promise
10On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 11“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests to decide this question, 12‘If one carries holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and touches with his skirt bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered, “No.” 13Then said Haggai, “If one who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It does become unclean.” 14Then Haggai said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, says the Lord; and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15Pray now, consider what will come to pass from this day onward. Before a stone was placed upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, 16how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17I smote you and all the products of your toil with blight and mildew and hail; yet you did not return to me, says the Lord. 18Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider: 19Is the seed yet in the barn? Do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still yield nothing? From this day on I will bless you.”
God’s
Promise to Zerubbabel
20The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21“Speak to Zerub′babel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his fellow. 23On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerub′babel my servant, the son of She-al′ti-el, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.”
vv. 1-9 The treasure of all nations is rendered in the Septuagint (LXX)
as the elect of all nations. It must thus refer to the Church and the
conversion of the Gentiles.
The Spiritual
Temple is built over forty Jubilees or two thousand years from 30 CE to the
Second Advent.
The complete House
of God will be built again but in the millennial system after the return of the
Messiah, and after the subjugation of the nations. This is the millennial
Sanctuary referred to by Ezekiel (cf. Comp. Bible fn. to 2:7). The glory
of the latter shall be greater than the first (cf. Ezek. 43:2-5). The physical
house will not be built prior to the Millennium but in the Millennium itself.
The First Jubilee of the Millennium is the Fiftieth or Golden Jubilee since
this command was issued, and Zechariah was also given the sequence of the
activity (see Commentary on
Zechariah (No. F038) and also The Golden Jubilee and the
Millennium (No. 300)).
The spiritual Temple of God was commenced from
Pentecost 30 CE, which was the Third year of the cycle after the Jubilee of 27
CE. We might thus assume that the physical Temple and structures will be
commenced in Jerusalem from the Third year of the 121st Jubilee cycle i.e. in
2030. We will deal with the sequence in the papers on that subject.
The message came
again through Haggai on the Twenty-fourth day of the Ninth month. The message
concerned the sacred and the profane. It concerns the salvation of the nations
and their sanctification. The words holy flesh in the text is the flesh
of the sacrifice, which refers forward to the elect of God. The word rendered dead
body is nephesh or soul and is one of 13 passages where nephesh
is used to denote a dead body. Here it is making a distinction between the
unconverted that are dead, and the living of the elect called of God. Judah and
Israel are restored for the Millennium but all the nations are also restored
and brought to sanctification and holiness on a progressive basis. (See also Commentary on Zechariah (No. F038)
and Sanctification of the
Nations (No. 077).)
vv. 10-14 The altar was set up before the Temple and the offerings are being
classed as unclean. However, it refers forward in time to the attempts at
sacrifice by Judah without repentance, conversion and baptism.
vv. 15-17 The reference to God smiting them is an allusion to Deuteronomy 28:22.
However, that will change with repentance.
vv. 18-23 The seeds will be sown and God will bless the sowing before it is
drawn in and multiply it.
The blessing of
Judah will occur when it begins to bless the nations and the Temple is
commenced in Jerusalem under the Messiah. On that day, the wealth of the Holy
Land will increase tenfold. The destruction will be healed and the land
restored.
This prophecy thus
places the 24th day of the Ninth month as a pivotal point in God’s
grace to Israel, and His blessings upon the nation. It has usually been seen as
the point in time that the restoration is fulfilled. That was why the attempt
was made to claim that the Commonwealth, under General Allenby, captured
Jerusalem on 24 Chislev 1917. However, whilst the date of Allenby’s entry was
in Chislev, it was not on the 24th day. The attack was launched on
24 Chislev according to the New Moon Conjunction, and not the Hillel calendar.
The detail is examined in the paper The Oracles of God (No. 184).
The primary purpose of that paper was to deal with the issue of the oracles of
God and where the authority for the calendar resided. We will need to take all
this detail into account in the calculations regarding the Restoration of
Israel in the Last Days.
Quoting The Oracles of God (No. 184)
we see that:
“The propositions
made from this prophecy are:
From these points
it is then argued that the Hillel calendar is thus inspired and an oracle of
God.
Firstly, regarding
the fall of Jerusalem, Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that the Babylonians
plundered the city in 598 BCE, and the city was levelled in 587 BCE. Neither of
these dates gives 1917 as equalling seven time cycles, or 2,520 years. The
first date would produce 1923 and the latter date would produce 1933.
Now, this process
is classic circular reasoning, as we will see. It is evident from an
examination of the history of the liberation of Jerusalem that the events were
listed as they were, to convey the impression that God had acted to fulfil
Haggai because the people of the time saw that as a fulfilment of prophecy.
Having contrived the 9 December 1917 date, the contrivance is then used to
justify the Hillel calendar, which formed the basis of the contrivance in the
first place.
In 1917 the Holy
Land was being liberated by Australian, New Zealand and British, and other
allied troops fighting Turks with German auxiliaries. According to the Official
War Diary (H.S. Gullett, The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and
Palestine, Vol. II of the Official History of Australia in the War of
1914-18, Angus and Robertson Ltd, Sydney, 1937), Gaza and Beersheba had
been taken by 31 October to 1 November 1917. The seizure of Palestine was
inevitable. On 2 November 1917 the Balfour Declaration for the establishment of
the Jewish Homeland was issued by the British Prime Minister Balfour as his
first declaration (the second declaration was regarding the Commonwealth of
Australia under British law). The capture of Jerusalem was not undertaken until
December. The progress of the forces was:
|
Battle of
Beersheba |
31 October to
1 November |
|
Tel el Khuweilfe |
8 November |
|
The breakthrough
occurred (Sinai and Palestine 4-8 November) |
6-11 November |
|
The Great Drive
was made |
8-15 November |
|
The Maritime
Plain was cleared |
11-17 November |
|
The Jerusalem
advance |
16-24 November |
|
Nahr Auja and El
Buij |
24 November to 1
December |
|
Final assault
for the capture of Jerusalem |
7 December |
The final assault
was launched by Commonwealth troops on 7 December 1917. According to the true
New Moon this was the actual date of the 24 Chislev (the Hillel calendar
commenced the month two days later). The Turks and Germans began an immediate
evacuation, and by 8 December 1917 Jerusalem was freed. The infantry had
dug in and established, and by 10 December the Light Horse pushed along
the Nablus road about eight miles. They drew heavy Turkish artillery fire. They
were holding out towards the southern end of the Jordan Valley, and were
attempting to limit Allied access across the river to the Hejaz railway, and so
limit Allenby’s operations on the right flank.
Nothing occurred
on 9 December 1917 as Jerusalem had already been liberated from the attack on
the seventh. Many American histories of Protestant origin seemingly try to
claim that 9 December was the day Allenby entered Jerusalem and liberated it.
The fact of the matter is that Allenby officially entered Jerusalem on 11 December
1917. Allenby was mindful of the bombastic pageantry with which the German
Emperor Wilhelm (William) had entered Jerusalem in 1908. He deliberately made
his entry a low-key affair, entering on foot by the side entrance of the narrow
old Jaffa gate. 100 troops from the contingents lined the Jaffa road, including
English, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Ghurkas, Australians and Italians. The New
Zealanders had ridden hard from Jaffa so that the Dominion might be
represented. The only touch of colour was from a detachment of French infantry
in pale blue uniforms. This was the twenty-fourth time that Jerusalem had been
entered by a conquering force (Gullett, ibid., p. 523) but it was not on
24 Chislev 1917. By the Hillel calendar it was 26 Chislev, but from the
true New Moon it was 28 Chislev. Our troops had indeed entered on 24 Chislev,
but by assault. That is based on the true conjunction with no postponements.
Jerusalem, at the
time of its capture, presented no striking evidence of poverty but it was in an
indescribable state of filth. It was so polluted by sellers of religious relics
and false religion who were habitually unclean (aided by the primitive habits
of the Turkish soldiers over three years) that Christians recalled their visit
with horror (ibid., p. 522). After the occupation of Jerusalem the city faced
food shortages and the British had to truck supplies in from the Mediterranean.
Our advance from the south had been so rapid that the Turks had no time to lay
the southerly colonies waste. They were to prove useful. The Zionist Commission
under the President of the English Zionist Federation, Doctor Weizmann, was
tasked, by authorisation of the British Government, with the reconstruction of
Palestine. This task involved restoring the ruin of eighteen and a half
centuries (The Times History of the War, Vol. XV, London, 1918, p. 179).
The propositions
can thus be seen in the light of historical fact free of the fiction of an
uninvolved Protestant British-Israelite propaganda emanating from the US.
However, we must
remember in all this that Judah had not been blessed at this stage. It is
perverse to imagine that God would have chosen this time to fulfil Haggai and
still leave another prophecy yet to be implemented in which Judah would go
through the worst horrors of its entire existence as a nation. Exactly seven
time cycles from the levelling of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the Nazi Party
came to power in Germany and began the systematic persecution of the Jews. From
1942 to 1945 Germany undertook the most systematic genocide of the Jewish
people or, for that matter, any nation in recorded history. To assert that this was God’s idea of blessing Judah,
in the fulfilment of Haggai, is the most perverted form of reasoning
imaginable. If Haggai is fulfilled in these activities we can conclude:
It is not
convincing, however, that Haggai is fulfilled.”
However, we can
conclude that this date, 24 Chislev 1917, was the start of the establishment of
Jerusalem as the centre of the Jewish homeland proclaimed under the Balfour
Declaration of 2 November 1917. The other Balfour Declaration concerned
Australia and its Constitution.
If we look at this exercise as an antitype for the decrees to construct
the previous Temple, i.e. from the decree of Cyrus to the commencement of
construction of the Temple under Darius the Persian, we come up with a time
sequence that covers a period of one hundred and sixteen years. The Balfour
Declaration thus sets off the chain from 1917. The Declaration was in the
Eighteenth day of the Eighth month of the Fortieth year of the 118th
Jubilee, or 2 November 1917. The end of the period of 116 years to the
Millennium is in 2033, or the Sixth year of the millennial system. We can
expect the Third to the Sixth years of the Millennium to be concerned with the
Temple and the housing of the millennial administration in accordance with
prophecy (see the papers The
Golden Jubilee and the Millennium (No. 300) and
The Golden Jubilee and the
Millennium Part II: Israel and the Surrounding Nations (No. 300B)).
The reference to
the signet ring is a parallel to Zechariah 4:7-10 and 6:13 (cf. Gen. 41:42 and
Est. 3:10). The symbolism is also seen in the Song of Songs 8:6 and Jeremiah
22:24.
The chosen
one is the true prince and governor of Isaiah 9:6,7. All of the elect are
chosen as David and his line were chosen (1Kgs. 8:16, 11:34; cf. also Zech.
12:8).
“The
dedication of the Temple [mentioned here] was as though the Temple was greater
than Solomon’s Temple. That was just plain nonsense. In fact, the prophecy in
Daniel 9:25-27 shows it is to be built over seventy weeks of years. There is no
doubt that the second Temple, and also Herod’s reconstruction of it, were
nothing compared to Solomon’s Temple. The Temple here spoken of is a prophecy
comparing the spiritual Temple under Messiah with that of the physical Temple,
and the former Covenant.
The Spirit of the
Lord was to remain with the people, and this only happened from the Church on a
permanent basis. Haggai 2:6 is quoted in Hebrews 12:26-27.
Hebrews 12:26-27 His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." 27This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. (RSV)
This is a direct
warning from Messiah that this prophecy refers to the final shaking of the
heavens and the earth so that what cannot be shaken will remain. This shaking
commences with the Temple of God, which is the Church, being the naos or
Holy of Holies (1Cor. 3:17). Therefore, let us be grateful to God for receiving
a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28).
The time-frame is
the wars of the end and the return of the Messiah. The First World War was
called the Great War for Civilisation because it was thought that it was
in fact at the time of the end, and 1914-1916 was rightly seen in prophecy as
the completion of seven times from the Reign of Nebuchadnezzar, commencing from
the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE. The wars of the end did indeed commence
from this date, but it was to be over a much more extended time-frame and the
prophecy necessarily involved the restoration under Messiah. The 24th of
Chislev (the Ninth month) involves the question of the Holy and the Unclean
(Hag. 2:10-14). The nation is seen as unclean, and the nation from this time is cleansed of its uncleanness. This point is then
related directly to the placement of stone upon stone in the Temple. From that
day forward is the laying of the foundation of the Temple, and the Lord will
then lay stone upon stone in the construction of the Temple. This sequence does
not relate to physical things, but to the conversion of the nation. From the
construction of the Temple as living stones, the blessing of the nation will
proceed. That is why the Holocaust occurred as it did – because the nation had
not converted and the blessings of the Lord have not yet been given. There will
be more wars and more disasters yet for both Judah and Israel until they are
both repentant and cleansed of sin” (The
Oracles of God (No. 184)).
The Temple is
still being built of living stones and God will not allow a physical structure
to operate on an ongoing basis until Messiah returns and Judah is converted.
The only attempts to do so to date have failed, and resulted in harsher
penalties for Judah. No unconverted Jew or Gentile is allowed to partake of the
Temple. Only those who repent and are baptised are able to be part of the
process so that it is not rendered unclean. The kingdoms of this world are
overthrown and that which was sown in Babylon will be made a signet ring
to the Lord of Hosts. The unclean will be cleansed and will be called Holy to
the Lord and will rule as elohim, as kings and priests in and from Jerusalem.
Bullinger’s Notes on Haggai Chs.
1-2 (for KJV)
Chapter 1
In
the second year. See note on p. 1276.
Darius =
Darius (Hystaspis). See App-67 ; and notes on Ezra and Nehemiah.
the
king. In Aramaic and later books these words follow the name. In the
earlier O.T. books they nearly always precede it. Compare "king
David", "king Hezekiah", &c.
sixth
month. Elul, our August-September.
the
first day, &c. Therefore the feast-day or Sabbath of the full moon.
the
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
by =
by the hand of. The Hebrew idiom for God speaking "by the prophets".
Reference to Pentateuch, where the expression occurs thirteen times (Exodus 9:35 ; Exodus
35:29 . Leviticus 8:36 ; Leviticus 10:11 ; Leviticus 26:46 . Numbers 4:37 , Numbers
4:45 ; Numbers 9:23 ; Numbers 10:13 ; Numbers
15:23 ; Numbers 16:40 ; Numbers 27:23 ; Numbers
36:13 ). Compare the five occurrences in Joshua ( Hag 14:2 ; Hag
20:2 ; Hag 21:2 , Hag 21:8 ; Hag 22:9 ). Judges
3:4 . 2 Samuel 12:25 .
1Ki 8:53 , 1 Kings 8:56 ; 1 Kings 12:15 ; 1Ki 14:18 ; 1 Kings 15:29 ; 1
Kings 16:7 ; 1Ki 17:16 . 2 Kings
14:25 . 2 Chronicles 10:15 ; 2 Chronicles 23:18 ; 2 Chronicles 29:25 .Nehemiah
9:14 .Isaiah 20:2 .Jeremiah 37:2 , &c.
Haggai. Hebrew. Haggai from Hag =
feast, or festival.
Zerubbabel. Hebrew
= sown in Babylon; because he was of the royal seed of Judah born (or seed
sown) in Babylon. Compare 1 Chronicles 3:19 . Ezra 2:2 ; Ezra
3:2 . See App-99 .
son. Put
by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Genus), App-6 , for grandson.
Shealtiel. Hebrew
= asked for from God. The son of Jeconiah (= Jehoiachin), who was taken captive
to Babylon (2 Kings 24:15 . 1 Chronicles 3:17 ). Compare Ezra 3:2 , Ezra
3:8 ; Ezra 5:2 .Nehemiah 12:1 .Matthew
1:12 .Luke 3:27 . See
App-99 .
governor. Ruling
Judea as a Persian province, with a Persian title pechah, from which
we have the modern pasha = prefect, or satrap.
Joshua. The
first high priest after the return. See Haggai
1:12 , Haggai 1:14 ; Haggai 2:2 , Haggai
2:4 .Zechariah 3:1 , Zechariah 3:3 , Zechariah
3:8 , Zechariah 3:9 ; Zechariah 6:11 . Spelled "Josuah"
in the 1611 edition of the Authorized Version.
Josedech. Hebrew
= Jehovah is righteous.
Verse 2
the
LORD of hosts. See note on 1 Samuel 1:3 .
This
People. Not Zerubbabel or Joshua.
time. Repeated
here and in Haggai 1:4 for
emphasis.
not. Septuagint
reads "not yet".
Verse 4
you,
O ye . Hebrew Figure of speech Epizeuxis ( App-6 ), for emphasis
= you, even you, or that ye yourselves.
ceiled =
panelled. Used of the lining of an arched roof. Occurs in 1Ki 6:9 ; 1 Kings 7:3 , 1
Kings 7:7 . Jeremiah 22:14 .
Showing that their houses were not only roofed, but wainscotted or decorated.
Hebrew = "in your houses [and that too] panelled". Compare David (2 Samuel 7:2 .Psalms
132:3; Psalms 132:3 ). This
proves that the Temple had not then been commenced. Compare Haggai 1:9 . See notes on Nehemiah 7:4 , and longer note on Nehemiah 2:1 , Nehemiah
5:14 , Nehemiah 13:4 .
Also App-58 .
Verse 5
Consider =
Set your heart on, or give your attention to. Occurs five times m this hook (Haggai 1:5 , Haggai
1:7 ; Haggai 2:15 , Haggai 2:18 , Haggai
2:18 ). Compare Job 1:8 ; Job 2:3 .Isaiah
41:22 .
your
ways: i.e. the ways in which ye have been led, your experiences which are
detailed in the next verse.
Verse 6
Ye
have sown, &c Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy
28:38 , Deuteronomy 28:39 ).
App-92 .
have
not enough = are not satisfied. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:26 ). App-92 .
Verse 8
mountain =
hill country.
take
pleasure = he pleased therewith.
I
will be glorified = I will get Me honour. Hebrew text
has 'ekkabda. This is one in a list of twenty-nine words which are
without the letter He (= H) at the end (see
Ginshurg's Massorah, vol. I, p. 281). App-30 . This letter = five (
App-10 ), and later Talmudists regard it as betokening the fact that five
things were lacking in the second Temple, viz.: (1) the ark; (2) the sacred
fire; (3) the Shekinah; (4) the Urim and Thummim; and (5) the spirit of
prophecy. This list is to safeguard ( App-93 ) the other occurrences of the
word, which have this letter at the end, among them being Exodus 14:4 , Exodus
14:17 . These constitute a reference to Pent, with Leviticus 10:3 (which, like Haggai 1:8 , is without the). App-92 .
saith
the LORD = hath said Jehovah.
Verse 9
saith
the LORD of hosts = [is] the oracle of Jehovah Sabaioth.
Verse 10
the
heaven, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus
26:19 . Deuteronomy 28:23 ).
App-92 .
dew. See
note on Psalms 133:3 .
and. Note
the Figure of speech Polysyndeton ( App-6 ), emphasizing each item
which is particularized here, and in Haggai
1:11 .
Verse 11
new
wine. Hebrew. tirosh. App-27 .
that
which. Some codices, with Aram, and Syriac, read "all which".
Verse 12
the
remnant: which had returned from Babylon. Compare Haggai 1:14 ; Haggai
2:2 , &c.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4
.
as =
according as. Some codices, with a special various reading
called Sevir ( App-34 ), one early printed edition, and Syriac, read
"with which".
sent
him. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulg, read "sent him
unto them". Compare Jeremiah 43:1 .
Verse 13
the
LORD'Smessenger, &c. = the messenger of Jehovah in the message of
Jehovah.
message. Hebrew
word Occurs only here.
spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9
. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6 , for the
state of mind and feeling, &c. Compare 1
Chronicles 5:26 . 2Ch 21:16 ; 2
Chronicles 36:22 (= Ezra 1:1 ). Jeremiah 51:11 .
they
came. See Ezra 3:1 , &c.
Verse 15
In the, &c. This reads on from Haggai
1:14 , giving the date when Haggai's message took effect about
three weeks later. It is not the commencement of another message, as some have
supposed. See note on p. 1276.
Chapter 2
Verse
1
In
the seventh month. See note on p. 1276.
the
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
by. See
note on Haggai 1:1 .
Haggai. See
note on Haggai 1:1 .
Verse
2
Zerubbabel.
. . Shealtiel, governor. . . Joshua . . . Josedech. See notes on Haggai 1:1 .
the
residue = the remnant.
Verse 3
Who
is left . . . ? = Who is there among you, the remnant? Evidently there
were some present who had seen it. Compare Ezra 3:12 .
this
house. The Temple is regarded as one throughout.
first =
primitive.
Verse
4
saith
the LORD of hosts = [is] the oracle of Jehovah Sabaioth. See note on 1 Samuel 1:3 .
Verse
5
I
covenanted with you: or, supply the Ellipsis thus: "[I
remember", or "Remember ye] the word which I", &c. Reference
to Pentateuch (Exodus 29:45 , Exodus 29:46 ).
when
ye came, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 12:51 ).
App-92 .
so
My Spirit, &c.: i.e. speaking by the prophets. Compare Nehemiah 9:20 . Isaiah 63:10-14 .
Spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9
.
remaineth: or,
abideth.
Verse
6
saith =
hath said.
once =
first; as in Haggai 1:1 with Haggai 2:1 .
Hebrew. 'chad = one of several. See note on Deuteronomy 6:4 .
There had been shakings before; but this one would be extreme and final. Quoted
in Hebrews 12:26 , Hebrews 12:27 .
Greek. hapax = once for all: i.e. first, before the fulfillment of
the promise given in the clause which follows. It is feminine here, and cannot
agree with "little" (one little, or a little)
because me'at is masculine.
I
will shake. See the Structure, below (Haggai 2:21 ).
Not "convert"; but shake violently, as in Psalms 46:3 ; Psalms 77:18 . Jeremiah 10:10 ,
&c.
and. Note
the Figure of speech Polysyndeton ( App-6 ): emphasizing the
universality of this last shaking, in contrast with all former shakings. It
refers to the great tribulation (Matthew 24:29 , Matthew 24:30 ).
Compare Isaiah 13:13 ; Isaiah 24:18 .
Verse 7
the
desire. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of the Adjunct), App-6
, for the object of desire, which cannot be "things",
for hemdath is feminine, singular, and refers to Him Who alone can
satisfy the desire of all nations. Compare 1 Samuel 9:20 . 2 Chronicles 21:20 .
shall
come. The verb is plural: hence some would refer it to the treasures of
"silver and gold" of Haggai 2:8 .
But when two nouns stand together (as here) the verb may agree
in member with either noun. Here it agrees with "nations"
in number, but with the object desired in reality. The Septuagint reads
"the elect of all the nations".
glory. This
refers to the future millennial Sanctuary of Ezekiel ( App-88 ), as it follows
after the great shaking of this verse and Revelation 6:12-17 .
Moreover this "glory" is connected with the final peace (Haggai 2:9 , Isaiah 9:6 ; Isaiah 60:18 ).
The second Temple was connected with "grace", not "glory",
and was followed by wars, not peace (Matthew 10:34 ; Matthew 24:6-8 . Luke 12:51 ).
Verse
8
The
silver, &c. Compare Isaiah 2:7 ; Isaiah 60:9-17 ; Isaiah 61:6 .
Verse
9
latter
house, &c. Render: "Greater shall he the last glory of this house
than the first". Ezekiel 48:2 .Ezekiel 4:5 ; Ezekiel 44:4 .
peace. Compare Isaiah 9:6 . Micah 5:5 .Zechariah 9:9 , Zechariah 9:10 .
Verse
10
In
the, &c. Nearly two months after the preceding message. See note on p.
1276.
by. Many
codices, with eight early printed editions, Septuagint, and Vulgate, read
"unto"; but in Codex Hillel (quoted in the Massorah, App-30
) and others, with two early printed editions, Aramaean, and Syriac, read
"by the hand of", as elsewhere in this book. See note on Haggai 1:1 .
Verse
11
Ask
now, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 10:10 , Leviticus 10:11 .Deuteronomy 17:11 ; Deuteronomy 33:10 ).
App-92 . Supply the Ellipsis : "Ask now [direction]",
&c.
Verse
12
holy. See
note on Exodus 3:5 .
holy
flesh: i.e. the flesh of a sacrifice. Compare Jeremiah 11:15 .
skirt =
wing. See note on Ruth 3:9 .
or. Note
the Figure of speech Paradiastole ( App-6 ).
wine. Hebrew. yayin. App-27
.
shall =
will.
holy. See
note on Ex". Hag 3:5 .
No. Reference
to Pentateuch (Leviticus 6:27 ).
App-92 .
Verse
13
by =
by [touching].
dead
body = soul. Hebrew. nephesh . See App-13 . where see thirteen
passages in which nephesh is used of a "dead soul" in
distinction from a "living soul", as in Genesis 2:7 .
Reference to Pentateuch. App-92 .
unclean. Ref
to Pentateuch (Leviticus 22:4 , Leviticus 22:6 ).
Verse
14
Then,
&c. This is the application of verses: Haggai 2:11-13 .
there. Referring
to the altar which was set up before the building of the Temple. See Haggai 2:15 .
Compare Ezra 3:2 , Ezra 3:3 ,
with Haggai 2:6 .
Verse
15
consider. See
note on Haggai 1:5 .
from
this day. The day of the prophet's message.
upward =
above, as to place; backward, as regards time; as explained. Referring to past
time, before the foundation was laid. See the Structure (and "if");
and note on Haggai 2:19 .
Verse 16
measures. Supply
"sheaves".
there =
and there.
vessels. Omit
"vessels". Hebrew. purah = a winepress. Occurs only here,
and Isaiah 63:3 .
Hence used of a wine measure.
Verse 17
I
smote you, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:22 ).
App-92 .
Verse 18
Consider
. . . consider. Figure of speech Anadiplosis. App-6 .
from
this day: i.e. from the day the foundation of the Temple was laid. From
this time, subsequently, things would be different, and Jehovah would bless
them, as promised in Haggai 2:19 .
Is
the seed . . . ? The answer is no. It was sown.
yea,
as yet = howbeit, though at present. See notes on p. 618, and App-58 .
from
this day = from this very day. Referring to their obedience in building
you. Omit;
and take "bless" absolutely.
Verse 20
again. On
the same day: i.e. a second time.
Verse 21
governor. See
note on Haggai 1:1 .
I
will shake. Compare the Structure p. 1276; and note on Haggai 2:6 .
Hebrew I am shaking, or about to shake. Referring to a nearer shaking
than Haggai 2:6 .
the
heavens and the earth. See note on Deuteronomy 4:26 .
Verse 22
heathen =
nations.
Verse 23
as a signet. Compare Song of Solomon 8:6 . Jeremiah 22:24 .
See also, for this honour, Zechariah 4:7-10 ; Zechariah 6:13 ;
and compare Genesis 41:42 .Esther 3:10 .
chosen thee. As David and others were chosen (1 Kings 8:16 ; 1 Kings 11:34 ,
&c).
thee. This must refer to the true prince and governor
of Isaiah 9:6 , Isaiah 9:7 .
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