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: 11“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests what the law says: 12If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’ ”
The priests answered, “No.”
13Then 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.”
14Then 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.
15“ ‘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. 16When 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. 17I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,’ declares the LORD. 18‘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: 19Is 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.’ ”
Original Meaning
THE BOOK OF HAGGAI records the date of the prophet’s prophecies in order to provide a historical backdrop for the reading of the text. To this point the dates have been linked to the feasts of the Jews—not surprising from a prophet whose name means “feast” and whose message is focused on the temple, the destination, and physical context of the feasts. Although at first sight this third pericope does not seem to follow this pattern, a closer look will reveal that it is connected to a significant celebration related to the temple rebuilding.
Its date coincides with the third month anniversary of the beginning of the rebuilding project (see Hag. 1:12–15) and, more importantly, with “the day when the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid” (2:18). This day also appears to provide the background for three other passages from the early Persian period (Ezra 3:10–13, Zech. 4:6b–10a; 8:9–13). The importance of this day in the rebuilding project is evidenced in extrabiblical documents describing temple rebuilding rituals in the ancient Near East.1
Such rituals accompanied the rebuilding of ancient Near Eastern temples—from the decision to build until the dedication of the completed building. An initial ceremony typical in the Mesopotamian rebuilding work was the kalu ceremony, in which a professional sang laments as a brick from the old temple was removed. This brick was then laid in the new structure by a royal representative and priests purified the site. Moreover, references to blessing and abundance accompanied the laying of the foundation and rebuilding of the temple.
These elements help us understand various components in Hag. 2:10–23. On this day, Haggai addresses not only the people as a whole on the topic of blessing (vv. 15–19), but the priestly caste on the topic of purity (vv. 10–14) and Zerubbabel on the topic of royal power (vv. 20–23).2 Thus, it preserves the trend established in previous pericopes. Haggai’s message is once again linked to a ritual celebration, but this time with a ceremony connected with the rebuilding of the temple. This is an important signal to the Persian authorities as well as to the Jewish people that substantial progress has been made on the temple structure.
In past research, the extent of Haggai’s message has been determined by highlighting the superscriptions at 2:10 and 2:20. Some students of 2:10–19 have observed, however, that even this section does not have integrity as a unit but consists of two unrelated prophetic messages: 2:10–14 and 2:15–19. Furthermore, close affinities between 2:15–19 and chapter 1 led to the view that 2:15–19 originally followed 1:15 but was separated due to scribal error.3
Several recent studies have overturned this faulty consensus, showing on textual, formal, and rhetorical grounds that this section belongs together.4 Not only is there an absence of textual evidence for scribal error, but the structure of this passage follows that of earlier pericopes (superscription, messenger formula, naming of addressees, questions, and exhortation/ admonition). In 2:15 the word “now” (weʿattah; cf. 1:5; 2:4) represents an important link in Hebrew speech that always appears, not at the outset of a speech, but rather midway, identifying the point of movement to the present.5 Those who displace this passage to Haggai 1 force weʿattah into a position unique in all Hebrew literature.6
Haggai 2:10–19 manifests an integral unity. The prophet begins in 2:10–14 by engaging the priests in a Torah ruling (2:10–13) as a prelude for his initial message that sacrifices are defiled because of contact with an altar defiled by the people (2:14). However, what begins on a negative note is soon transformed into a positive encouragement in 2:15–19. Although God’s rejection of the sacrifices as a result of this defilement is now coupled with God’s curse of their agricultural endeavors, these negative reactions by God are now placed in the past tense because of the significance of the day on which this oracle is delivered. This day is that on which the foundation of the temple will be laid. This activity, done by a people committed to finishing it, will result in the blessing of God: his acceptance of their offerings and grant of plenteous harvest.
This second section uses the repeated phrases “give careful thought” (3x) and “from this day on” (3x) to create a movement forward to the climactic declaration: “I will bless you” (2:19). The sense is that the prophet is interrupting the thought of the future-oriented main theme—“I will bless you”—with a regular reflection back that creates anticipation in the hearer/reader for the content of the future main theme.7
Past Defilement: Addressing the Priests (2:10–14)
HAGGAI’S FIRST SPEECH approaches the problems of the past using imagery associated with Israel’s sacrificial and legal system. Following his pattern of rhetoric from earlier prophecies, Haggai avoids disclosure of his main theme (v. 14) until his audience is engaged (vv. 10–13).
The prophet begins with an instruction to make an inquiry of the priests. Although the priests in the Old Testament facilitated sacrifice for the Israelites (Lev. 1–8), they also represented them before God (Lev. 16) and communicated the law and its interpretation to the people.8 The priest was expected to deliver decisions in any matter of law (e.g., Lev. 10:11; Deut. 17:8–13), especially in cases related to cultic ritual (e.g., Lev. 10:10–11; Ezek. 44:23–24).9 The priests in Haggai 2:11–13 are functioning, then, as teachers of the law, ruling on a matter of cultic ritual for Haggai, a role bolstered by the presence of the same vocabulary as used here in Leviticus 10:10–11.10 This vocabulary (esp. the terms “consecrated” [qodeš] and “defiled” [ṭameʾ ]) demonstrates that these inquiries are concerned with ritual purity and in particular the transmission of purity and impurity.11
The two scenarios in these verses contrast the ability of that which is consecrated or defiled to communicate that quality to another object. In each case three levels of contact are established: in the first (v. 12), meat—fold of garment—food; in the second (v. 13), dead body—person—food. (1) The first scenario concerns the contagious nature of holiness by drawing on the vocabulary of Leviticus 6:27, which concerns the sin offering. Interestingly, the setting assumed by the scenario is that of the peace offering (7:11–21) which, in contrast to the sin and guilt offerings (6:26; 7:6), could be taken home for consumption and explains why foods associated with normal domestic life appear in Haggai 2:12.12
Fishbane gets to the core meaning of this scenario when he contends that the concern here is the ability of holiness to be transferred to the third level.13 The texts in question speak of the transfer of holiness from a consecrated object to a person or object, but the law is silent on the ability of that person or object to transfer that holiness to a third person or object. The priests are thus correct in their ruling: “No.”
(2) The second scenario is concerned with the contagious nature of defilement (Hag. 2:13), drawing on Leviticus 22:1–9 and Numbers 19:22. In this situation the first level of defilement is a corpse,14 contact with which defiled a person for seven days—a defilement only terminated by the cleansing process described in Numbers 19:11–13.15 In this case, however, there is ample evidence that one so defiled also had the ability to defile a third person or thing (Lev. 22:4; Num. 19:22). This contrasts the first scenario, as Hildebrand has observed: “The two questions contrast holiness with uncleanness, both concerning contact to the third degree. Uncleanness is passed on to the third degree; holiness is not. In a word, uncleanness is more contagious than holiness.”16
Once again the priests’ answer consists of one word in Hebrew (“defiled”), which represents the starting point for the prophet’s main thrust.17 God is drawing an analogy between the defilement in the scenario and the defilement of the people. Note the repetition of the Hebrew word ken (“so,” which looks back to the priests’ answer) three times in verse 14 before repeating the priests’ answer again at the end of the verse: (lit.) “So this people, and so this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so all the works of their hands, and [as a result] that which they offer there is defiled.” The rhetoric builds towards a climax in the final phrase, which returns to the cultic sphere, which was the concern of many of the texts providing the legal background for this passage. The people’s offerings were defiled because the people were defiled. Both in the second scenario and the community’s experience, defilement is contagious and disqualifies worship.
Scholars have clearly demonstrated from the rest of the Hebrew canon that the terms “this people” and “this nation” refer to the Jewish community.18 Earlier prophets used the phrase “this people” almost exclusively to refer to the people of God rather than to foreigners,19 while “this nation” occurs only five other times in the Hebrew canon and each time has the Jewish community in mind (Ex. 33:12–13; Jer. 5:9, 29; 7:28; 9:9). In addition, when the prophets use these phrases, they are predominantly negative in focus, a trend evidenced here in Haggai 2:14.20 It is interesting, however, that the same two titles also appear in Exodus 33:12–13,21 in a passage following the famous golden calf incident in Exodus 32, which has influenced Haggai’s message in Haggai 2:4–5. As the tabernacle of old, so also the temple would be constructed by a community cleansed from defilement, forgiven for disobedience.
Defilement has been transferred from “this people and this nation” to “whatever they do” (lit., “all the works of their hands”). Although some treat this phrase as referring to work on the temple site22 and others as an allusion to agricultural produce,23 it most likely refers to sacrificial activity on the altar. First, the verb in the following phrase (“offer”) is a sacrificial term used only for animal sacrifices. Moreover, the antecedent of the word “there” at the end of verse 14 must be the first phrase, and since it is connected with offering sacrifice, it must refer to the altar. Similar to the preceding scenarios, this application sets up three levels of contact as a defiled people have defiled the altar and in turn defiled the sacrifices they offer there.
The text does not explicitly state the cause of this defilement; as a result, many views have filled this gap, ranging from moral and ritual failure to contact with the temple ruins.24 Most likely, however, this defilement finds its source in the neglect in rebuilding the temple,25 not only because it suits Haggai’s message here but also because of the reference to the altar rather than the entire temple complex. The point is that the project needs to progress beyond the “altar” stage; God demands an entire temple structure and not merely an altar on a cleared site.
From Past Curse to Future Blessing through Present Obedience (2:15–19)
HAGGAI NOW MOVES to the present through the structural marker weʿattah (“now”), which highlights the function of the initial address to the priests to encourage reflection on the reason for past problems that will be left behind after the ceremonies of the present day. Three times in this speech Haggai says “give careful thought” (2:15, 18), echoing Haggai’s initial speech to the people in 1:5, 7 (which also reflected on past agricultural curses). Here, however, “to your ways” is missing after “give careful thought” because the reflection is not exclusively on the past (as in Hag. 1) but on the future as well.
Another repeated phrase is “from this day on” (Heb. maʿelah, 2:15, 18, 19), a phrase translated in various ways because of what has been perceived as the awkward flow of this section.26 To understand this phrase and the passage means to discern the creative rhetoric of a prophet who introduces multiple thoughts simultaneously,27 forcing the people to think of past (before one stone was laid on another), present (this day), and future (this day on) at the same time. Although most words are linked to the description of the frustrating past, great emphasis falls on the expected future by beginning and ending with this time reference and constantly interrupting the declaration of the future dimension. Most emphasis, however, is placed on the significance of the present day, which represents the segue from a cursed past to blessed future.
The first movement to the past is signaled by the Hebrew phrase miṭṭerem (“before” in Hag. 2:15).28 Standing in juxtaposition to the immediately preceding phrase (“from this day on”), which begins in the present and moves to the future, this phrase begins in the present before moving to the past. The day on which “one stone was laid on another in the LORD’s temple” is the present day, the day of foundational laying, and probably refers to the royal ceremony of laying the “first stone” (see comments above and on Zech. 4:6b–10a).29
Through this time reference Haggai calls his audience to consider their past experience in language reminiscent of Haggai 1. In contrast, however, this prophetic message comes later in the year after the harvests are completed, and there is a sense of reflection back on this experience. The word “heap” (ʿaremah in 2:16) refers to a pile of harvested grain (e.g., Ruth 3:7; Neh. 13:15), while the vocabulary in the following line is used in connection with wine production.30 Although Petersen argues that this verse refers to mysterious disappearance of food,31 the use of the infinitive “to draw” (laḥśop) suggests expectation (“in order to draw”) as in Haggai 1:9. The yields of this harvest are far below expectation: expecting twenty measures of grain they find only ten; expecting fifty measures of wine they find only twenty.32
The similarity to Haggai 1 continues as the prophet now identifies the reason for these unmet expectations: Yahweh has struck them with covenant curses.33 The Hebrew text makes the attack from Yahweh even more personal by first identifying the object of Yahweh’s striking as “you” before clarifying it as the people’s agricultural endeavors: (lit.) “I struck you with blight, mildew and hail, that is, all the works of your hands.” This verse is nearly identical to the words of Amos 4:934 and shows how Haggai creatively uses the tradition of the classical prophets by drawing on Amos’s indictment of the people but using it to force reflection on the past rather than to introduce judgment in the future.
The phrase “all the work of your hands” must refer to the agricultural endeavors of the people because of the covenant curses that follow. God’s discipline has come through “blight, mildew and hail.” Amos’s original list of “blight and mildew” is a common lexical pair in the Hebrew Bible, denoting opposite conditions of covenant curse (Deut. 28:22; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chron. 6:28). “Blight” refers to the result of scorching hot easterly winds from the desert, while “mildew” refers to a condition caused by the damp westerly winds from the Mediterranean. The contrast is thus east versus west, dry versus damp.35 Haggai expands this pair to a triad of conditions, including also “hail,” thus adding the dimensions of height and temperature to those of space and humidity.
Both in Amos’s time and in Haggai’s time, the people did not respond to God’s discipline. Verse 17 thus reveals both the source of the frustration described in verse 16 as well as the purpose of that frustration, which was not merely to punish wrongdoing but also to lead the community back to God in relationship and obedience. This confirms the connection, already established in verse 16, to the covenant tradition of ancient Israel (Deut. 28:22; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chron. 6:28; Amos 4:9), which approaches covenant curse as God’s means to draw his people back to himself, not to reject them as covenant partner (cf. Lev. 26:40–45; Deut. 30:1–10).
In verse 18 Haggai momentarily leaves the past to continue his future-oriented rhetoric. As he guides the audience from past back to the future, the prophet again cries “give careful thought.” He then looks to the future by resuming where he broke off in verse 15 before identifying the specific day to which he has been referring: “from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month.” This again links this message both to the previous interchange with the priests (v. 10) and the subsequent oracle to Zerubbabel (v. 20). He then fills out the ceremonial significance of this day in the phrase “the day when the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid” (see above).36 This ceremony is an official signal from the people that they will carry through on the building project.
As Haggai makes his final transition from future to past, he calls one final time for deep reflection (“Give careful thought”) to introduce two frustrations in the past: (1) the low stock of seed in the barns, an issue that fits this particular time of year (the completion of seeding in mid-December leaves the people little on which to survive until the next harvest);37 (2) lack of grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives—the other major category of produce in Palestine. These four crops were essential to Palestine’s economy (Num. 13:23; Deut. 8:7–8), providing food and drink to the population (grapes, figs, pomegranates) as well as fuel (olive) and dye (pomegranate). The first three crops were harvested in the early fall (August/September), while olive trees bore fruit in the later fall (September–December). Now from the vantage point of mid-December, the prophet reminds them that the harvest is over and there is no fruit.
Haggai finally returns to consider the future and to finish the sentence he began in verse 15 (repeating “from this day”). He declares climactically: “I will bless.”38 Until this point in his messages, the prophet has not mentioned the word “bless” directly. He has spoken of curse as the result of the people’s disobedience in the past and alluded to future blessing. Now he makes this explicit. God’s blessing will accompany this community, which has displayed its obedience by laying the foundation of the temple.39 This declaration of God’s blessing builds on the negative background of verse 17, which alludes to the curses so foundational to the covenant relationship between God and his people. It shows that God’s desire is that his people will experience blessing and that the curse is intended as prelude to repentance and blessing. This is why after the strong warnings of covenant curse in Deuteronomy 27–29, God declares that when the people experience such curses, if they “return” to him (30:2), they will experience blessing once again.
Bridging Contexts
TEMPLE AND SACRIFICE. The event that occasions these oracles at the end of Haggai is the ceremony accompanying the laying of the foundation of the temple. The importance of this event is often lost on modern readers who look at the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament theology of a community that needs no temple. However, for God’s people here (to whom we are related through Christ), this event is highly significant for it emphasizes their link to their glorious past, the temple foundation created by Solomon, and signals the dawning of a new day for their community. The rebuilding of the temple is an act of obedience to God’s call and is key to the return of God’s presence and blessing.
As Christians we may also celebrate this refoundation event as one of the many glorious redemptive-historical events that are recorded in the Bible. The rebuilt temple would sustain the faith of the community of God, and in its courts Jesus and his disciples would inaugurate a new era of redemptive history. Well after this physical temple was destroyed by the Romans (in A.D. 70), the temple endured as an important symbol for the church, providing a theological image for describing its character as the place of the manifest and holy presence of God.
It appears from Ezra 3 that one of the first acts of the community that returned in the early days of Darius was the rebuilding of the altar amongst the temple rubble. This passion for sacrifices—what Tremper Longman III has called “the strangest aspect of Israel’s worship to us living in the twenty-first century”40—does not immediately connect with us as New Testament believers living in the shadow of the cross. But for our ancient predecessors in the Old Testament community, it was essential to experience covenant relationship with a holy God at the temple.
The various sacrifices presented in Leviticus enabled and fostered the covenant relationship between God and his people. Some of the sacrifices (Lev. 1: ʿolah; Lev. 5: ḥaṭṭaʾt; Lev. 5–7: ʾašam) made the relationship possible by providing atonement for the sins of the people, restoring relationship broken by sinful acts and motives. Such sacrifices were clearly foundational to this covenant relationship, but they opened the way for other sacrifices that fostered this relationship either through offering a gift to God (Lev. 2: minḥah) or providing an opportunity for fellowship or thanksgiving (Lev. 3, 7: šelamim).41
New Testament fulfillment of sacrifice follows the trajectory set by these two Old Testament aspects. On the one side, the sacrifice of Jesus is seen as the once-for-all atoning sacrifice that enables a relationship with God (Heb. 9–10). On the other side, we are encouraged to offer our lives (Rom. 12:1–2; Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6; 1 Peter 2:5; Rev. 6:9), our gifts (Phil. 4:18), our worship (Heb. 13:15; Rev. 5:8; 8:3), our acts of kindness (Heb. 13:16), and our faith (Phil. 2:17) as sacrifices that foster this covenant relationship founded on Christ’s sacrifice.42
While the Old Testament has verbal modes for offering praise, fellowship, and thanksgiving to God (psalms and prayers), sacrifice was essential for restoring relationship between a holy God and a sinful people. In light of this, one can appreciate the passion of this people for the rebuilding of the altar as well as the deep concern they would have felt when the prophet Haggai questioned the legitimacy of their sacrificial acts. It equates to our Christian passion for the rehearsal and celebration of the sacrifice of Christ and the deep concern we would feel if someone questioned the legitimacy of Christ’s sacrificial act.
The ceremonies of temple refoundation and sacrifice, then, provide the backdrop for the presentation of the prophet Haggai. In his message he speaks negatively of past defilement and yet positively of future blessing. These two further themes have enduring relevance to us in the church today as we consider them in light of the cross.
Past defilement. Modern readers of this ancient text do not appreciate the rhetoric of Haggai 2:10–14, mostly because of the obscure nature of the initial dialogue between Haggai and the priests. But Haggai was extremely relevant in his speech forms, accommodating them to his audience with sensitivity.43 In order to comprehend this introductory paragraph, the modern reader must gain an appreciation for the symbolic nature of the law in ancient Israel.
One major aspect in the law is the careful delineation of holiness. Underlying this consistent aspect and foundational to its interpretation is the holiness of God. God is holy; he is wholly other, distinct from his creation and perfect in his being (cf. Isa. 6). For this holy God to be present with his people meant a careful delineation of what among created things would be allowed to be in his presence. Only those elements of fallen creation that had been consecrated or separated to him alone were acceptable. God defined these carefully through the law, and they included only a limited number of created things, whether people, sacrifices, or utensils. Such careful attention to the code of holiness in the law is occasioned by the curse that accompanies sin in our world. Inattention to these codes resulted in a break in relationship with God and was a constant reminder of the need for redemption from sin and imperfection caused by the Fall.
But ceremonial holiness is not the only kind of holiness in the law. It is balanced by demands for ethical holiness, the basis of which is the holy character of God, who makes his people holy (Lev. 20:7). This is the same phrase used for ceremonial holiness (21:8; cf. 20:25–26). These two types of holiness are not so easily differentiated in the law, even though Christ makes a clear distinction between the two in the Gospels (Matt. 23:23–25). Haggai connects the one to the other without difficulty, showing how ethical disobedience has resulted in ceremonial defilement and rendered the people’s sacrifices unacceptable in the past. In the New Testament the ceremonial law is declared fulfilled in Christ through his death, while the ethical law has continuing validity. Haggai’s accent on the ethical resonates with this Christian understanding of the law as articulated by Christ in Matt. 23:23–25.
Future blessing. While Haggai 2:10–14 uses the terminology of holiness to typify this break in relationship with God, 2:15–19, functioning as transition from past to future, uses the terminology of curse and blessing to reflect on the consequences of breaking the covenant relationship. Herein lies another distancing feature of this final section of Haggai, an issue that we have already treated in detail in our discussion of 1:1–11 (see Bridging Contexts). There we concluded that the Old Testament theology of retribution (i.e., that God blesses the obedient and disciplines the disobedient) is a principle that is carefully defined in the Old Testament itself and balanced with the theology of God’s sovereign freedom to allow suffering in the lives of the obedient and to delay disciplining the disobedient.
The New Testament echoes these two theological aspects as Christ promises material and spiritual blessing to his followers and yet also expects suffering as a key feature of the life of discipleship. Both Old and New Testament believers, then, could and can expect that their acts of obedience will result in blessing either in this life or the next, while remaining aware that such acts may be greeted with suffering.44
Contemporary Significance
FILTHY TOUCH. In Greek mythology Midas was the king of Phrygia to whom the god Dionysus gave the power to turn all he touched into gold as a reward for assisting Dionysus’s teacher Silenus. Midas soon realizes that this miraculous power is not a reward but a curse, for even his food turns to gold. The greedy king is only freed after crying to Dionysus, who instructs him to bathe in the river Pactolus.
Haggai 2:10–14 presents a people with a powerful touch, a touch that also has disastrous consequences. Their disobedience has rendered their sacrifices defiled before their God. According to Ezra 3:1–6, when the people returned to the land early in the reign of Darius, one of their first priorities was to rebuild the altar and reinstitute the rhythm of sacrifice in the Holy Land. This revealed the importance they placed on atonement and worship as a people. Unfortunately, these people did not continue their reconstruction efforts and instead focused attention on their own homes at the expense of the temple (Hag. 1), disobeying God’s call to reconstruct his sanctuary. This disobedience rendered their sacrifices unacceptable before their holy God and created the crisis of curse evident in the book of Haggai.
As the prophet begins a speech that will ultimately describe the positive future of the people, he reminds them of their past predicament and links this disaster to their disobedience. This section, therefore, begins by helping God’s people recognize the power of sin in their lives. Their sin disqualifies the very acts designed to cover sin and enhance relationship with the Lord. This first part of the prophet’s oracle on the day of the foundation laying echoes the message of the prophet Samuel to Saul:
Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. (1 Sam. 15:22–23)
This message is a consistent theme elsewhere in the Old Testament, echoed by psalmist (Ps. 40:6–8; 51:16–17), sage (Prov. 21:3), and prophet alike (Isa. 1:10–20; Jer. 7:21–26; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21–27; Mic. 6:6–8). Although God has provided sacrifice to atone for sin and facilitate worship, he desires an obedient people who will live out covenant faithfulness from the heart. This divine design is showcased in the words of the psalmist who said: “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8), or the prophet who cried: “Let justice roll like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24). Through Jesus God has instituted the new covenant, which places the law within the hearts of his people by his Spirit (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:27) and invites them to walk now in obedience before him.
Haggai 2:10–14 reminds God’s people of the seriousness of disobedience, something that is not lessened in light of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. If anything, as Hebrews 6 has warned us, it is heightened. This echoes the concern of Paul in Romans 6:1–2 when he wrote: “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!”
As human beings our acts of sacrifice and worship are defiled by the touch of our fallen hands. Only through Jesus, the One who transforms our fallenness through his death and resurrection, can our sacrifices be acceptable before God. Those who are redeemed by Jesus can now walk in obedience by the Holy Spirit. However, even this new covenant community can become trapped in the meaningless practice of sacrifice without obedience by persisting in disobedience both as we celebrate the forgiveness we have received through Christ’s sacrifice and also as we offer spiritual sacrifices in word and deed to the Lord.
Haggai 2:10–14 is a humbling reminder of our fallenness and a vivid depiction of the insidious nature of sin that threatens our relationship with God. On the one hand, Jesus’ sacrifice resolves the dilemma of this passage as he atones for our sin, purifies us, and enables us to walk in obedience. On the other hand, as we struggle to walk in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ (Eph. 4:1), we realize how much we need the empowerment of the Spirit to avoid repeating the failure of Haggai’s community (Eph. 3:14–21).
It is easy within the church today to bring our sacrifice, whether our verbal worship, our material contributions, or our gifts and abilities, and yet be walking in disobedience either because of a heart that is disengaged from the God of covenant or because of a pattern of life contrary to God’s standards. It is easy to become the “whitewashed tombs” of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day—looking beautiful on the outside (by bringing all the right sacrifices) and yet on the inside being “full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matt. 23:27).
This is a great danger, for instance, for those who lead God’s people in their corporate “sacrifice” of praise (worship services) on a weekly basis or for all who offer “sacrifices” of service through preaching, teaching, caring, giving (and a host of others) on a daily basis. It is easy to become so proficient in the mechanics of these activities that we give little consideration to the importance and impact of individual and corporate obedience, thus offering defiled “sacrifices” to our holy God.
The importance of an obedient walk to our corporate and individual worship (in word and deed) is highlighted at the outset of that great book of worship in the Old Testament, the Psalms. Psalm 1 is clear as it pictures two paths in life, the way of the wicked and the way of the righteous. Its perspective is also transparent as it promotes the rejection of the way of the wicked and the adoption of the way of the righteous. This latter way is closely related to one’s “delight in the law of the LORD,” the law on which this one “meditates day and night.” These truths are not unique to this psalm. However, one should notice the key placement of Psalm 1 at the beginning of the Psalter, for which it serves as an introduction to the book as a whole.45 Serving as the gateway into this book that prompts the worship of and fellowship with the God of Israel and Creation, Psalm 1 reminds us of the importance of our walk to all our acts of sacrifice.
Marking the seasons. When I stumbled across an old picture of my school recently, what caught my attention was my father-in-law at the center of the old black-and-white photograph. In the scene he stands with several other men and women dressed in suits and dresses, standing in the middle of a field. He is holding a shovel in his hands, and the photograph catches the group in what appears to be the act of digging a hole. If you have not grown up in Western culture, this photograph makes no sense for it is filled with oddities: people fancily dressed about to engage in menial labor. But most of us in the West have seen such a ceremony, the groundbreaking ceremony for a new building—in this case, for a new seminary addition to a college. These ceremonies often bring together an odd assortment of people, including the architect, contractor, owner, and bank manager. A shovel is painted gold, and the participants gather together to dig the first hole together, marking the beginning of the construction process. In Christian contexts this ceremony will include a prayer of dedication.
The foundation-laying ceremony in Haggai 2:10–19 is one practiced throughout the ancient Near East in the dedication of temples. Just as groundbreaking ceremonies are not essentially “Christian” activities yet have been appropriated and sanctified by Christian organizations as a way of marking an important juncture in the life of the Christian community, so the Israelites incorporated ceremonies into the rhythm of their community. As we have already noted, several times in 2:15–19 the prophet emphasizes “from this day on,” a day that we have identified as the day the foundation was laid for the house of God. This day signaled far more than just a key phase in the rebuilding project. For Haggai it designated a new phase in the redemptive story of this community, for it marked the transition from cursing to blessing.
During the past month I have been involved in three different ceremonies marking a major transition in the lives of my students: a graduation, a wedding, and an ordination. These events have reminded me of the importance of marking the seasons of our lives through ritual and worship. However, many Christian traditions reject the ceremonial in spiritual communal life. Such rejection does not hold true for physical life, as they typically celebrate yearly rhythms of birth, marriage, and death. But when it comes to spiritual rhythms, they rarely celebrate these, distancing themselves from high church traditions.
The reason given for such rejection is usually linked to Paul’s statement that there are no special days, that all days are redeemed by Christ (Col. 2:16–17). Paul, however, directs this statement to those who used observance of special Jewish holy days as the foundation for their acceptance before God. He did not intend to suggest that celebrating special moments in the life of the individual and community is inappropriate.
As individuals and communities of faith we celebrate the new phase in our redemptive stories on a regular basis through the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This is a reminder that from the day of Christ’s death and resurrection, God’s curse was turned away from us. It is no wonder that such an experience of remembrance (1 Cor. 11:24) is also to be an experience of renewing grace and sustenance (John 6:48–58).
Another important redemptive marker in the life of the Christian community is the day of one’s baptism or confirmation. On this day the individual within the community marks the transition from curse to blessing through faith in Christ.
Not only does Haggai 2:15–19 stress the importance of celebrating key moments of salvation, it also encourages us to celebrate key times of transition in the life of the community, such as moving to a new location, receiving new members, submitting to new leadership, or experiencing spiritual renewal. As Haggai’s community of old did, we must approach God with penitent and expectant hearts, reaffirming our commitment to him in order that we may hear his voice of promise afresh: “From this day on I will bless you.”
Blessing. This passage traces the transition from cursing to blessing, a transition linked to the day of the foundation laying of the Second Temple. As God’s people we also trace the same transition to the day of the foundation laying of another temple, the temple of Christ, a day that involved his sacrifice and inaugurated a new phase of redemptive history (John 2:19–22). The apostle Paul echoes this message in his citation of Deuteronomy 27:26 in Galatians 3:10–14 when he traces the transformation from curse (“Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law”) to blessing (the blessing given to Abraham) to the work of Christ: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”46
Because of this we now have received a multitude of blessings in Jesus. In fact, Ephesians 1:3 says that the Father has “blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ,” including such blessings as adoption as his children (1:5), redemption through his blood (1:7), forgiveness of sins (1:7), knowledge of his will (1:9), and sealing by the Holy Spirit (1:13). These foundational blessings that mark us as the people of the new covenant, however, are just the beginning of the kind of blessing that God promises us.
At its core, blessing is the communication of the life of the Creator to us (cf. Gen. 1:28–30 with 3:14–19). This helps us to understand Christ’s promise that he has come to give us life—life in abundance. Through Jesus the Father now breathes life into his people (John 20:22; cf. Gen. 2:7), re-creating them to fully experience all that he intended for them in the garden at the beginning of history. For Christians, then, such blessing is not limited to the “spiritual” realm, but rather impacts the “physical” realm as God promises to grant fullness of life.
As Christians we must live in light of this truth. We must hear the voice of the prophet that assures us of God’s blessing in this life and the next, assurance that sustains us even when we do not see its reality in our present circumstances. We must take opportunities to celebrate the blessing of the fullness of life we have received in and through Jesus Christ, both corporately and individually. When we do not see evidence of such blessing in our lives, we must be open to the fact that God may be crying for our attention, while not losing sight of the fact that he may have other reasons for withholding blessing from us (see Bridging Contexts section of Hag. 1:1–11).