The Book of
Author
Haggai, whose name means “Festive,” was one of the postexilic prophets, a contemporary of Zechariah. Haggai had the qualities of a good pastor. An encourager whose word was in tune with the hearts of the people and the mind of God, he was the Lord’s messenger with the Lord’s message, bringing to his discouraged band the assurance of God’s presence.
Date
Haggai’s ministry covered a period of slightly less than four months during the second year of the reign of King Darius, who ruled Persia from 522 to 486 B.C. This fixes Haggai in history at 520 B.C.
Background
As Haggai came to his task in 520 B.C., he joined the exiles who had returned to their homeland in 536 B.C. to rebuild the temple of the Lord. They had started well, building an altar and offering sacrifices, then laying the foundation for the Lord’s house the following year. Construction had ceased, however, as enemies mocked the builders’ efforts. But the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah caused the people to rally and complete the task within five years. The rebuilt temple was dedicated in 515 B.C.
Content
The Book of Haggai addresses three problems common to all people of all times, and gives three inspired solutions to those problems. The first problem is disinterest (1:1–15). The people had returned from exile for the stated purpose of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2–4) and had made a start on their assigned task; but opposition had appeared and the work had stopped. The people had become more concerned with building beautiful houses for themselves, perhaps in an attempt to blot out the memory of their exile in a strange land (1:4). To wake them from their apathetic attitude, God speaks twice to the people. They first need to realize that they are fruitless (1:5, 6) because they have turned from God’s house to their own houses (1:7–9). All their efforts at building their own kingdom can never produce lasting results. After seeing their problem, the people then need to understand that God will accept what they do, that He will be glorified if they will only yield to Him what they have (1:8).
The second problem is discouragement (2:1–9). Some of the older people in the band of returned exiles had seen Solomon’s temple when they were children, so that no building, however beautiful, could compare with the glory of that former temple (2:3). The discouragement of the older people had quickly influenced the younger ones until, less than a month after the rebuilding began, work on the temple had ceased. But again Haggai brings a message designed to deal decisively with discouragement. The solution has two parts: one to deal with the immediate problem, the other to bring a long-range resolution. For the present it is enough for the people to “be strong…be strong…be strong…and work” (2:4). The other key to overcoming discouragement is for the builders to know that they are building for the day when God will so fill this house with glory that it will surpass the glory of Solomon’s temple (2:9).
The final issue that Haggai has to face is the problem of dissatisfaction (2:10–23). Now that the people are working, they expect an immediate reversal of all their years of inactivity. So the prophet comes with a question for the priests (2:12, 13) about clean and unclean things and their influence on one another. The response of the priests is that uncleanness is infectious while holiness is not. The application is obvious: Do not expect the work of three months to undo the neglect of sixteen years. The Lord’s next word to the people is a surprise: “But from this day I will bless you” (2:19). The people needed to understand that God’s blessings cannot be earned, but come as gracious gifts from a giving God. God has chosen Zerubbabel to be a sign (2:23), that is, to represent the servant nature to be fulfilled ultimately in Zerubbabel’s greatest Son, Jesus. Note Zerubbabel’s name in both the genealogical lists in the Gospels (Matt. 1; Luke 3), indicating that God’s final, highest blessing is a Person, His Son Jesus Christ.
Personal Application
Haggai issues a clear call to his own people and to us that we should set ourselves to the task assigned to us by God. We should not allow difficulties, enemies, or selfish pursuits to turn us aside from our divinely given responsibilities. The noble nature of our calling and the promised presence of God and His Holy Spirit encourage us to fulfill our commission.
By emphasizing the cooperative roles of prophet, priest, prince, and people, Haggai also demonstrates the necessity for teamwork in carrying out God’s purposes on Earth.
Christ Revealed
Two references to Christ in the Book of Haggai are highlighted. The first is 2:6–9, which begins by explaining that what God will do in the new temple will one day gain international attention. After an upheaval among the peoples of the Earth, the nations will be drawn to the temple to discover what they had been looking for: the One whom all the nations have desired will be displayed in splendor in the temple. The presence of this One will cause the memory of Solomon’s glorious temple to fade so that only Christ’s glory remains. Along with the glory of Christ’s presence will come great peace, since the resplendent Prince of Peace Himself will be there.
The second reference to the coming Messiah is 2:23. The book closes with a mention of Zerubbabel, which ties this book, near the end of the Old Testament, with the first book in the New Testament: Zerubbabel is one of the people listed in the genealogies of Jesus. Two things make Zerubbabel significant and link him to Christ:
1. Zerubbabel is a sign of a man chosen by God, from whose yielded nature God causes to flow life, leadership, and ministry. What Zerubbabel did in part, Jesus did in full as the Servant of the Lord.
2. Zerubbabel is also in the line of the Messiah. The lists of Jesus’ ancestors in Matthew and Luke include the name of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, whose own personal significance was surpassed by his role as one who pointed ahead to the coming Savior of the world.
The Holy Spirit at Work
A brief but beautiful reference to the Holy Spirit is found in 2:5. The previous verses show the people of God discouraged as they compare the temple they are now building with the glorious temple of Solomon, which the new temple is meant to replace. The word of the Lord to them is: “Be strong…and work.” The motivation to do this is also stated: “For I am with you.”
Haggai 2:5 then explains how the Spirit of God is meant to interact with the spirit of the people in order to get the work accomplished. Verse 5 includes these significant points:
1. The Holy Spirit is a vital part of God’s covenant with His people, “according to the word that I covenanted with you.”
2. The Holy Spirit is an abiding gift to the people of God: “My Spirit remains among you.”
3. The presence of the Holy Spirit removes fear from the hearts of God’s people. Therefore, “Do not fear!”
These principles remain the same for the people of God today. At the heart of God’s covenant with His people is the constant operation of the Holy Spirit, working to release them from fear, so that they may move boldly in fulfilling the divine commission.
Outline of Haggai
I. The Lord’s first message: Consider your ways 1:1–15
A. Consider what you have done: neglected God’s house 1:1–6
B. Consider what you should do: build God’s house 1:7–11
C. Results of considering your ways 1:12–15
II. The Lord’s second message: Be strong and work 2:1–9
A. Comparison of the new temple withSolomon’s temple 2:1–3
C. Coming glory of the new temple 2:6–9
III. The Lord’s third message: I will bless you 2:10–23
A. A question for the priests 2:10–19
B. A promise for Zerubbabel 2:20–23
The Command to Build God’s House
1 IN athe second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by bHaggai the prophet to cZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to dJoshua the son of eJehozadak, the high priest, saying,
2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s *house should be built.” ’ ”
3 Then the word of the LORD acame by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 “Is it atime for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this 1temple to lie in ruins?”
5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: a“Consider your ways!
6 “You have asown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And bhe who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!
8 “Go up to the amountains and bring wood and build the 1temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD.
9 a“You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, bI blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.
10 “Therefore athe heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
11 “For I acalled for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on ball the labor of your hands.”
The People’s Obedience
12 aThen Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, 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 the presence of the LORD.
13 Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, a“I am with you, says the LORD.”
14 So athe LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, bgovernor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; cand they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,
15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
The Coming Glory of God’s House
1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the LORD came 1by Haggai the prophet, saying:
2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying:
3 a‘Who is left among you who saw this 1temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, bis this not in your eyes as nothing?
4 ‘Yet now abe* strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the LORD; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the LORD of hosts.
5 a‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so bMy Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: a‘Once more (it is a little while) bI will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
7 ‘and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to athe 1Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this 2temple with bglory,’ says the LORD of hosts.
8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts.
9 a‘The glory of this latter 1temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give bpeace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
The People Are Defiled
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
11 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Now, aask the priests concerning the law, saying,
12 “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?” ’ ” Then the priests answered and said, “No.”
13 And Haggai said, “If one who is aunclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?” So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.”
14 Then Haggai answered and said, a“ ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.
Promised Blessing
15 ‘And now, carefully aconsider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the LORD—
16 ‘since those days, awhen one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty.
17 a‘I struck you with blight and mildew and hail bin all the labors of your hands; cyet you did not turn to Me,’ says the LORD.
18 ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from athe day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider it:
19 a‘Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bbless* you.’ ”
Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet
20 And again the word of the LORD came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,
21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, agovernor of Judah, saying:
b‘I will shake heaven and earth.
22 aI will overthrow the throne of kingdoms;
I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms.
bI will overthrow the chariots
And those who ride in them;
The horses and their riders shall come down,
Every one by the sword of his brother.
23 ‘In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the LORD, a‘and will make you like a signet ring; for bI have *chosen you,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
1:1 The precise dating given for the messages of God to Haggai sets Haggai’s ministry among the returned exiles during a four-month period in 520 B.C. The message is from the LORD through Haggai to Zerubbabel and Joshua for all the people, thus calling for a unique collaboration of the prophetic, priestly, and political leadership in seeing that God’s will is accomplished in His people.
1:2 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hag.
1:2 Haggai’s favorite designation for God is the LORD of hosts, which occurs 14 times in this short book. “Hosts” means either “angels,” “stars,” or “the armies of Israel” and is used by the prophet to emphasize God’s greatness and might. This people says sets the scene for God’s dispute against the people of Jerusalem.
1:3–11 See section 4 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hag.
1:4 Paneled houses: The people, though neglecting the temple, beautified their own homes by covering the walls with expensive paneling, as in Solomon’s temple where “all was cedar; there was no stone to be seen” (1 Kin. 6:18).
1:5, 7 Consider your ways! in Hebrew is literally, “Set your heart on your ways!” (see 2:15, 18).
1:6 The people were apparently using their poverty, food shortages, and inflation as excuses not to finish the temple. In actuality, they are judgments for failing to build (vv. 9–11). Somewhat similarly, when God’s people fail to tithe and honor the Sabbath in an effort to have enough money and enough time for themselves, their efforts are in vain because they deny themselves God’s blessing on their efforts. God was not denying houses for the people; He was asking that they prioritize the building of His house and thereby trust Him for the building of theirs.
1:8 Lacking the resources of Solomon, who built with cedar from Lebanon and gold from Ophir, they can still glorify God by the use of common materials at hand.
1:10, 11 Nature itself reflects divine judgment when the will of God is ignored.
1:12 Disobedience is always a sign of lack of reverence for God.
1:13 Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message defines Haggai’s character and his mission.
1:14 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hag.
1:14 The message of the prophet (v. 13) is complemented by the direct activity of God who stirred up in cold hearts a renewed desire for doing His will. The result is that the builders begin working again with renewed energy.
1:15 The twenty-fourth day of the sixth month: Twenty-three days passed between Haggai’s proclamation of his first message and the people’s beginning work on the temple.
2:1 Haggai’s second message (“Be strong … and work,” v. 4) comes approximately two months after the first and about one month after work on the temple had begun.
2:3 Temple in its former glory refers to Solomon’s temple. Some of the elderly had been children at the time of Jerusalem’s fall.
2:5 The same Spirit of God who launched Israel into existence as His people continues to be with them. The One who provided special protection in their past offers identical protection for their present and future. Similarly, the same Spirit of God who launched the church into existence as His people continues to be with them. The One who provided special empowerment for the church’s past offers identical empowerment today and tomorrow.
2:6–9 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hag.
2:6–9 This passage is best seen as referring to God’s final inbreaking into history, the culmination of “the day of the LORD” (see note on Obad. 15).
2:6 It is a little while denotes how identifiable the event is for God; thus, how certain it is. This shaking is referred to in Heb. 12:26–28, and God’s kingdom is identified as the one thing that cannot be shaken.
2:7 I will shake all nations is God’s final dealing with evil just before the world to come. Desire of All Nations: This may be messianic, but it also may be interpreted “the desired/wealth of all nations will come,” referring to an influx of people or treasures as was prophesied in Is. 60:5, 9–11. I will fill this temple with glory refers in part to the dedication of Zerubbabel’s actual temple, but also prophesies God’s indwelling of human temples through Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 6:19, 20).
2:9 In Jewish tradition this latter temple is called “The Second Temple,” Solomon’s temple being the former temple. This is the temple that would be standing in the time of Jesus, though enlarged and beautified under Herod. See note on v. 7 for the importance of “latter temple.” See Introduction to Haggai: Christ Revealed.
2:10 Haggai’s third message (“I will bless you,” v. 18) comes approximately two months after the second message (v. 1).
2:11–14 Before Haggai’s message of blessing, he reminds them that holiness is not transferable. Its intent is to teach that three month’s work, even on the temple, will not undo the effects of the years of neglect. The temple is not magical. The people still lack reformed lives.
2:12 Holy meat refers to a sacrifice.
2:15–19 See section 4 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hag.
2:15–19 By asking the people to look backward God reinforces the blessings of putting His purposes first (from this day …).
2:19 But from this day I will bless you are words of God’s sure, and yet unmerited, provision.
2:20–23 See note on v. 7. See also note on Zech. 4:7.
2:22 Sword of his brother: God will turn the powers opposing His people against each other so that they end up destroying themselves.
2:23 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Hag.
2:23 A signet ring represented an article of special value to its owner. Zerubbabel’s name remains recorded for all to see as a sign of the special place granted him by God, for he is listed in the genealogies of our Lord Jesus (see Matt. 1:12, 13; Luke 3:27). See also Introduction to Haggai: Christ Revealed.
CHAPTER 1
* See WW at 2 Sam. 7:11.
1 Lit. house
a Deut. 28:38–40; Hos. 8:7; Hag. 1:9, 10; 2:16, 17
1 Lit. house
a Lev. 26:19; Deut. 28:23; 1 Kin. 8:35; Joel 1:18–20
* See WW at 1 Sam. 3:20.
CHAPTER 2
1 Lit. by the hand of
1 Lit. house
a Deut. 31:23; 1 Chr. 22:13; 28:20; Zech. 8:9; Eph. 6:10
b 1 Kin. 8:11; Is. 60:7; Zech. 2:5
1 Or desire of all nations
2 Lit. house
b Ps. 85:8, 9; Luke 2:14; [Eph. 2:14]
1 Lit. house
a Lev. 10:10, 11; Deut. 33:10; Mal. 2:7
a [Titus 1:15]
a Hag. 1:6, 9; Zech. 8:10
a Deut. 28:22; 1 Kin. 8:37; Amos 4:9
b Ps. 128:1–6; Jer. 31:12, 14; [Mal. 3:10]
a Ezra 5:2; Hag. 1:1, 14; Zech. 4:6–10
b Hag. 2:6, 7; [Heb. 12:26, 27]
b Ps. 46:9; Ezek. 39:20; Mic. 5:10; Zech. 9:10
* See WW at 1 Kin. 11:34.