1Haggai encourageth the people to the work by promise of greater glory to the second temple than was in the first. 10Under the type of things holy and unclean he showeth that their sins had kept back God's blessings, which he promiseth them from that time. 20God's promise to Zerubbabel.
1IN1 the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, 2came the word of the LORD 3by the prophet Haggai, saying,
1 Namely, of the year of which is spoken in the last verse of the previous chapter.
2 Namely, to the Jewish people and the most important ones among them. Also verse 10.
3 Hebr. by the hand of Haggai, etc. Also verse 10.
2Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,
3Who is left among you that saw this house 4in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it 5as nothing?
4 Namely, in that glory wherein it stood before it was destroyed by the Chaldeans.
5 Namely, compared to the temple which Solomon has built. See Ezra 3:12. David had been gathering provision of gold, silver, copper and other materials for the building of the temple a long time, and besides Solomon added a great deal of treasure to it when he fell to the building of it; but the Jews, who first came out of the Babylonian captivity, were poor and had no such means and provisions to build this temple as glorious. Other, Is not this by that as nothing, etc.
4Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, 6all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and 7work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
6 This he speaks to the common man among the Jews.
7 That is, continue with the building. See of the word to work Ruth 2 on verse 19; Prov. 31 on verse 13.
5According to 8the word that I covenanted with you when 9ye came out of Egypt, so 10my spirit 11remaineth among you: fear ye not.
8 Namely, with that Word, by Whom the heavens are made, Psalm 33:6, 9, that is, with Christ, in Whom I, that is, in and by which Christ I have made a covenant with you, wherefore Christ, Mal. 3:1, is called the Angel of the covenant; and the apostle says in 2 Cor. 1:20, that this promise in Christ is only yea, and in him Amen. Other, According to the word, when I, etc., that is, according to the promise which I made to your fathers, and yourselves that I would be their God, and the God of their seed after them, Gen. 15:18.
9 Namely, being comprehended in the loins of your fathers. See a similar phrase Acts 7:53.
10 Understand the Holy Spirit, Who assists us in our weakness, Rom. 8:26. This verse contains a clear proof of the three Persons in the Holy Trinity.
11 That is, being present with you by His powerful operation. Other, and my spirit shall abide in the midst of you, that is, He shall powerfully assist you in the great work of this building, giving you wisdom and ability; and therefore, fear not, the matter shall have good progress.
6For thus saith the LORD of hosts; 12Yet once, it is a little while, and I will 13shake 14the heavens, and 15the earth, and 16the sea, and 17the dry land;
12 That is, it shall shortly come to pass, that I shall move again or for the second time the heavens and the earth. See Heb. 12:26. What seems to be a long time to us, is but as a moment with God, Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8.
13 All these creatures shall be moved at the time of the birth, the suffering, the death, the resurrection and the ascension of Christ, and when His apostles shall go throughout the entire world and preach all this.
14 With the angels, the inhabitants of heaven.
15 With men upon the earth.
16 Together with the inhabitants in the islands.
17 With the men who inhabit the high and dry land.
7And 18I 19will shake all nations, and the 20desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill 21this house 22with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
18 This is a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, when the Gospel shall be preached throughout the world.
19 Or, tremble, quake, namely such that it shall make them to come unto the Lord. Compare Hosea 3:5; 11:10, 11, with the annotations.
20 Namely, Christ, Whom all heathens or nations would desire to embrace, and joining themselves to His church. Compare Gen. 49:10. Others thus: and they shall come to the wish of all heathen, understanding it of the future of the Messiah. Other, then shall come the desired ones of all the heathen, that is, My elect, My dear and pleasant children out of all nations and people shall come to Me and believe in Me. See Isa. 2:3.
21 That is, this temple.
22 For, Christ, the King of glory (Psalm 24:7, 8), the Savior of the Gentiles (Who is greater than Solomon, Mat. 12:42), was to appear bodily in His own person to preach and work miracles (as Malachi clearly predicted this in Mal. 3:1), and consequently He shall dwell in His church by His grace and Spirit. Compare Ezek. 43:5, 7.
8The silver is 23mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
23 As if the Lord said: If I would have this temple to be more glorious outwardly and bedecked with silver and gold, it would be easy for Me to bring it so to pass, for all the silver and gold in the world is Mine, and at My disposing, so that I could soon find it for you, but My pleasure is to adorn this place with a far greater gloriousness, namely, with the visible presence of the Messiah, the King of all kings, and with the abundant treasure of spiritual gifts wherewith I shall adorn and beautify the church of the New Testament.
9The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give 24peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
24 Namely, in or through Christ Jesus, the Prince of peace. See Rom. 5:1; 14:17; Phil. 4:7. See also Isa. 11:6; John 14:27.
10¶In the four and twentieth day 25of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,
25 This month is called Chisleu, Zech. 7:1, agreeing in part with our December.
11Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now 26the priests concerning the law, saying,
26 To whom it belongs to interpret and declare the law. See Lev. 10:10, 11; Deut. 33:10; Mal. 2:7.
12If 27one bear 28holy flesh in the 29skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall 30it be holy? And the priests answered and said, 31No.
27 In this 12th verse the prophet propounds two questions by way of similitude, teaching first that a man acquires no holiness by touching anything that is holy. In verse 13 he teaches that a man, being unclean, does not only get no holiness by it, but on the contrary, by his touch he makes unclean that which is holy; by which similitudes the Lord intimates the causes why for such a long time He had chastised the Jews and why their sacrifices were not acceptable to God, namely, because they were as unclean of heart as those were outwardly, who had defiled themselves by the touch of the dead body or carcase. See Lev. 21:1; Num. 5:2.
28 Hebr. flesh of holiness, that is, such as has been consecrated to the Lord by sacrifice. See Lev. 7:15.
29 Hebr. wing.
30 Other, he. The sense is: Shall anything else, which he touches, be hallowed by him?
31 For, the garment comes indeed to be hallowed by such a touch, Lev. 6:27, but not that which is touched by the garment.
13Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean 32by a dead body touch 33any of these, shall 34it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, 35It shall be unclean.
32 Hebr. of a soul. See Lev. 19 on verse 28, the annotation; Num. 19:11.
33 Of which is spoken in verse 12.
34 Namely, that which it has touched.
35 See the law in Lev. 11:24, 25, etc.; 15:4, etc.; Num. 9:10; 19:11, 13.
14Then answered Haggai, and said, 36So is this people, and so is this nation 37before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer 38there is unclean.
36 The sense is: Even if it was just so with the people or nation of the Jews, which polluted whatsoever they came to or undertook, while their consciences were defiled, which manifested itself by their great neglect and contempt of My command, concerning the building of the temple. Compare Titus 1:15.
37 These Jews were in their own estimation indeed a holy people, but not at all in God’s sight.
38 Namely, upon the altar of burnt offering, and which was built many years before the temple was completed, Ezra 3:2. God the Lord had indeed sternly commanded the offerings of sacrifices, but here He declares by His prophet that, as all their other works were unclean, even were their offerings also (for which sake they thought themselves to be in favor with God), as long as they neglected to build the house of the Lord, and because they were themselves unclean, that is, wicked and hypocritical, and without faith, for whatsoever is done without faith, is sin, Rom. 14:23.
15And now, I pray you, 39consider from this day and 40upward, from 41before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:
39 The meaning here seems to be this: Before this, when you neglected the building of the temple, God punished you with times of high prices, verse 17, but since you took the work cheerfully in hand, God’s blessing has been apparent. Therefore take to heart that which happened to you in former times, that, so understanding the cause of the calamities which pressed you before, you may now also understand the cause of God’s blessing you may experience thus and later, and therefore go on courageously in the building of the house of the Lord. Some translators, to facilitate the sense with some insertion, render thus: And now set, I pray, your heart upon it how it went with you before from this day, etc. See verse 18; Hag. 1:5.
40 That is, on the days which have been before this time.
41 That is, before the building of the temple was reassumed, before ye went on with the superstructure upon the foundation laid many years before) and advanced it is some measure. The foundation was laid by them in king Cyrus’ time, but the building intermitted until the second year of Darius, verse 10. See Ezra 4:5, 24.
1642Since those days were, when one came to an heap 43of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfata for to draw out fifty 44vessels out of the press, 45there were but twenty.
42 That is, before they continued with the building of the temple.
43 That is, which one supposed that it would or should properly yield twenty fold according to what was sown.
a vat of a winepress
44 Either forage, or amen or other vessels, large or small.
45 The sense is: The harvest of corn and of wine proved very meager and small, since the Lord had withdrawn from you His blessing, being wroth about your neglect in the building of His house.
1746I smote 47you with blastingb and with mildew and with hail in allc the labours of your hands; 48yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.
46 This is a broader account of the plagues which God has sent to them because their remissness of building the temple. Compare Deut. 28 on verse 22, etc. See also 1 Kings 8:37, and especially Hag. 1:1; Psalm 78:47; Amos 4:6, 7, 8, 9.
47 That is, your fruits.
b a plant disease which causes foliage death
c Hag. 1:11.
48 Other, and there is none with you that to me, saith the LORD, with the suppression of the word, turned.
1849Consider now from this day and 50upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day 51that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, consider it.
49 Or, Set now, etc. As if He said: Until ye began to build again at the temple, the times were very bad and calamitous, but mark and give heed now, how things are altered since ye have cheerfully reassumed the work.
50 That is, the times past.
51 That is, when they began to build upon the foundation, which was laid in the second year after their return out of the Babylonian captivity, when the altar was built. See Ezra 3:11. However some take these words according to the letter, being of the opinion that the foundations of the temple, which were laid right after their return from Babylon, were destroyed by their enemies; so that they had to lay down new foundations.
1952Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet 53the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I 54bless you.
52 The sense is: Is there yet any seed left in the barns to be sown, I will bless the same from this very day, yea, even unto the trees also, which were barren and unfruitful for many years, will I give My blessing.
53 All the trees and fruits here mentioned, used to grow very plentifully in the Jewish land. See Deut. 8:8.
54 That is, make fruitful.
20¶And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day 55of the month, saying,
55 Namely, the ninth month, to wit, on the same day when the word of the Lord was come to Haggai in verse 18. See also verse 10.
21Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, 56I will shake the heavens and the earth;
56 See verse 6.
2257And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy 58the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, 59every one by the sword of his brother.
57 The sense is: I will confound and bring to nothing all the power and might, that shall lift up itself against Christ and His Kingdom. See 2 Cor. 10:5; 2 Thes. 2:8. Yet others understand this as spoken in relation to the rebuilding of the temple, which none would be able to hinder, to the end that the Jews might be the more encouraged and quickened to go on cheerfully in the work begun; both meanings may stand well enough together.
58 That is, strength, power.
59 Hebr. the man into the sword of his brother.
23In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take 60thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as 61a signet: for I have chosen 62thee, saith the LORD of hosts.
60 This is to say figuratively: Thee, O Christ, Who, according to the flesh, was in the loins of Zerubbabel, Mat. 1:12, 13. Thus Christ is called David, Ezek. 34:23. Compare Heb. 7:9.
61 See Cant. 8:6; Jer. 22:24. The sense is: I shall dearly and tenderly love thee; I shall keep and preserve thee, as one who keeps his signet, wherewith he uses to seal his most secret things.
62 Compare 1 Peter 1:20.