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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Part II. THE SECOND ADDRESS: THE GLORY OF THE NEW TEMPLE.
Hag_2:1-5—§ 1. The prophet comforts whose who grieve at the comparative poverty of the new building with the assurance of the Divine protection and favour.
Hag_2:1
In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month. The seventh month is Ethanim or Tisri, answering to parts of September and Ootober. The twenty-first was the last and great day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Le 23:34, etc.), when It was the custom to celebrate the ingathering of the harvest. The joyous nature of this festival was sadly marred on this occasion. Their crops were scanty, and they had. no temple in whose courts they might assemble to pay their vows and offer their thank offerings. The building which had begun to make some progress only the mere showed its poverty. Everything tended to make them contrast the present with the past. But God mercifully relieves their despondency with a new message. By the prophet Haggai (see note on Hag_1:1).
Hag_2:2
Speak now to Zerubbabel. The message is addressed to the heads of the nation, temporal and spiritual, and to all the people who had returned (see notes on Hag_1:1 and Hag_1:12).
Hag_2:3
Who is left among you! etc. It is quite possible that there should be some old people present who had seen Solomon's temple. Many have thought that Haggai himself was of the number. It was sixty-eight years ago that the temple was destroyed, and we can well believe that its remarkable features were deeply impressed on the minds of those who as boys or youths had loved and admired it. Ezra tells us (Ezr_3:12) that "many of the priests and Levites" [when the foundation first was laid] and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house,… wept with a loud voice." This house. The prophet identifies the present with Solomon's temple, as being adapted for the same purposes, to fill the same place in the national life, built on the same hallowed spot, and partly with the same materials. In the Jews' eyes there was one only temple, whatever might be the date of its erection or the comparative worth of its decorations and materials. First; former, as verse 9. How do ye see it now? (Num_13:18). In what condition do ye see this house now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? The words, "in comparison of it," ought to be omitted, as not required by the Hebrew idiom. Does it not seem in your eyes as if it had no existence? If the injunction of Cyrus (Ezr_1:3, etc.) had been carried out, the dimensions of. the new temple would have exceeded those of the old; but Zerubbabel seems to have been unable, with the small resources at his disposal, to execute the original design, though even so the proportions were not greatly inferior to those of the earlier temple. But the chief inferiority lay in the absence of the splendour and enrichment with which Solomon adorned his edifice. The gold which he had lavished on the house was no longer available; the precious stones could not be had. Besides. these defects, the Talmudists reckon five things wanting in this second temple, viz. the ark of the covenant, with the cherubim and mercy seat; the holy fire; the Shechinah; the spirit of prophecy; the Urim and Thnmmim. It was, according to Josephus, only half the height of Solomon's-sixty cubits ('Ant.,' 15:11, 1), and it appears to have been in many respects inferior to the first building ('Ant.,' Ezr_4:2). Hecabaeus of Abdera gives the dimensions of the courts as five hundred feet in length and a hundred cubits in breadth (double the width of the court of the tabernacle), and the size of the altar as twenty cubits square and ten cubits high.
Hag_2:4
Be strong. This is repeated three times for emphasis' sake. The same exhortation was given by David to Solomon before the building of the first temple (1Ch_28:10; comp. Jos_1:6, Jos_1:7, Jos_1:9). Haggai seems to suggest comfort in the thought that such admonition was needed at that time as well as now when they are so depressed (comp. Zec_8:9). And work; literally, and do; ποιεῖτε : facite, The word is used absolutely, as often (camp. Isa_44:23; Amo_3:6, and note there). Here it means, "Work on bravely, finish what you have begun." I am with you (see Hag_1:13, and note there). The consciousness of God's presence gives confidence and strength.
Hag_2:5
According to the word that I covenanted. The Hebrew is simply, "the word that I," etc. Hence some have connected it with the verb "do" in the preceding verse, the intervening words being parenthetical. But there is intended no injunction respecting the observation of the old covenant, but a consolatory message under present despondency. Others take it with the verb that fallows: "the word and my Spirit remain among you." but it is best to leave the clause in the abrupt fashion in which it is introduced: "(Here is, here stands) the word that I covenanted with you." If anything is supplied, we might insert, "I will confirm." The promise of present help is confirmed by the remembrance of God's former covenant with Israel, that they should be his peculiar people and possess the right of access to him and a claim on his help (Exo_19:5, Exo_19:6; Exo_29:45, Exo_29:46; Deu_7:6; Jer_7:23). This clause is entirely omitted by tile Septuagint. So my Spirit remaineth among you; Revised Version, and my Spirit abode among you. But the clause refers to God's presence among them now, which was shown by the revelations made to the prophets, as Haggai and Zechariah, and which exhibits itself in his providential ordering of events, the removal of obstacles, the furthering of the good work. Wordsworth notes that "Christ was with the ancient Church in the wilderness (see 1Co_10:9; Heb_11:26); and now, when the eternal Word became incarnate, and when the Holy Spirit was sent to be in the midst of God's faithful people, then this prophecy was fulfilled. Fear ye not. If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom_8:31; and comp. Zec_4:6).
Hag_2:6-9
§ 2. The prophet, to reconcile the people to the new temple, and to touch them to value it highly, foretells a future time, when the glory of this house shall far exceed that of Solomon's, adumbrating the Messianic era.
Hag_2:6
Yet once, it is a little while; ἔτι ἅπαξ ; Adhuc unum modicum est (Vulgate), The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (12:26, 27) quotes and founds an argument on this rendering of the LXX. The expression is equivalent to "once again within a little time." I will shake, etc. Some difference of opinion exists as to the events here adumbrated. All, however, agree in seeing an allusion to the promulgation of the Law on Mount Sinai, which was accompanied with certain great physical commotions (see Exo_19:16; Psa_68:7, Psa_68:8), when, too, the Egyptians were "shaken" by the plagues sent on them, and the neighbouring nations, Philistia, Edom, Moab, were struck with terror (Exo_15:14 :16). This was a great moral disturbance in the heathen world; the next and final "shaking" will be under the Messianic dispensation for which the destruction of heathen kingdoms prepares the way. The Israelites would soon see the beginnings of this visitation, e.g. in the fall of Babylon, and might thence conclude that all would be accomplished in due time. The prophet calls this interval "a little while" (which it is in God's eyes and in view of the vast future), in order to console the people and teach them patience and confidence. The final consummation and the steps that lead to it in the prophet's vision are blended together, just as our Lord combines his prediction about the destruction of Jerusalem with details which concern the end of the world. The physical convulsions in heaven and earth, etc; spoken of, are symbolical representations of political revolutions, as explained in the next verse, "I will shake all nations," and again in Hag_2:21, Hag_2:22. Other prophets announce that Messiah's reign shall be ushered in by the overthrow or conversion of heathen nations; e.g.. Isa_2:11, etc.; Isa_19:21, Isa_19:22; Dan_2:44; Mic_5:9, etc.
Hag_2:7
All nations (Luk_21:25, where our Lord refers to the end of this world). But before Christ's first advent there was a general shaking of empires. Persia fell; Alexander's dominion was divided and gradually shattered before the might of Rome; Rome herself was torn with civil wars. The faith in the power of national gods was everywhere weakened, and men were prepared to receive the new revelation of one Supreme Deity, who came on earth to teach and save. Now is mentioned the object or consequence of this shaking of nations. The desire of all nations shall come. This is the rendering of the ancient Jewish expositors, the Chaldee Targum, and the Vulgate, which gives, Veniet desideratus cunctis gentibus. Tile words in this case point to a person, and this person can be no one else than the Messiaih for whom "all nations consciously or unconsciously yearn, in whom alone all the longings of the human heart find satisfaction" (Perowne). But there is difficulty in accepting this view. The word rendered "the desire" (chemdath) is singular, the verb "shall come" (bau) is plural, as if it was said in Latin, Venient desiderium omnium gentium. The LXX. translates, Ηξει τὰ ἐκλεκτὰ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν , "The choice things [or, 'portions'] of all the nations shall come." The plural verb seems fatal to the idea of a person being spoken of; nor is this objection answered by Dr. Pusey's allegation that the object of desire contains in itself many objects of desire, or Bishop Wordsworth's refinement, that Messiah is regarded as a collective Being, containing in his own Person the natures of God and man, and combining the three offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. Every one must see that both these explanations are forced and unnatural, and are conformed rather to theological considerations than to grammatical accuracy. Chemdah is used for "the object of desire," as 2Ch_32:27, where it refers to Hezekiah's treasures, and 2Ch_36:10, "the goodly vessels" of the temple (comp. Jer_25:34; Nah_2:9). Nowhere is any intimation given that it is a name applied to the Messiah; nowhere is any such explanation offered of the term so applied. The word is a common one; its meaning is well ascertained; and it could hardly have been understood in any but its usual acceptation without some preparation or further definition. This acceptation is confirmed by the mention of "the gold and silver" in 2Ch_36:8. The Revised Version cuts the knot by rendering, "the desirable things;" Perowne affirms that the plural verb denotes the manifoldness and variety of the gifts. This seems scarcely satisfactory. May it not be, as Knabenbauer suggests, that "the desire of all nations" forms one notion, in which the words, "all nations," have a predominating influence, and so the plural ensues by constructio ad sensum? The meaning, then, is that all nations with their wealth come, that the Gentiles shall devote their treasures, their powers, whatever they most highly prize, to the service of God. This is what is predicted elsewhere (e.g. Isa_55:5-7, Isa_55:11, Isa_55:13, 17), and it is called, metaphorically, coming with treasures to the temple. To hear of such a glorious future might well be a topic of consolation to the depressed Israelites. (For a further development of the same idea, see Rev_21:24, Rev_21:26.) I will fill this house with glory. There is a verbal allusion to the glory which filled Solomon's temple at the dedication (2Ch_7:1), but the especial mode in which it is to be manifested in this case is not here mentioned. The previous clause would make the reference rather to the material offerings of the Gentiles, but a further and a deeper signification is connected with the advent of Messiah (as Mal_3:1), with which the complete fulfilment commenced.
Hag_2:8
The silver is mine. All the riches of the world are the Lord's, and he disposes of them as he wills; if he has promised that the Gentiles shall offer their treasures for his service, be sure he will perform his word. There may also be intended a word of comfort for the desponding; they need not grieve because they had but poor offerings to bring to the house; he wanted not gold or silver, for all was his.
Hag_2:9
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former. Revised Version, following the Septuagint, "The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former." "This house" means the temple at Jerusalem, regard not being paid to the special building (Hag_2:3), whether of Solomon, or Zerubbabel, or Herod. As understood by the hearers, this promise referred to the material fiches, the precious things offered by the Gentiles. To us it speaks of the promise of Christ, God incarnate, in the holy city and in the temple itself, and of his presence in the Church, wherein he abides forever. Here is the complete answer to the complaint of Hag_2:3. In this place will I give peace. Primarily this means in Jerusalem, the place where the temple stood, God would grant peace from enemies, freedom from danger, and quiet enjoyment of promised blessings (comp. Isa_55:1-13 :18; Joe_3:17; Mic_5:4, Mic_5:5). But the promise is not fulfilled by this; the peace promised to the spiritual temple is that peace of heart and conscience which is given by him who is the Prince of Peace (Isa_9:6), and which includes all the graces of the Christian covenant (Eze_34:25). The first temple was built by the king whose name is "Peaceful;" the second is glorified by the presence of the "Peace bringer" (Gen_49:10). At the end of this verse the LXX. has an addition not found in the Hebrew, "even peace of soul for a possesion to every one who buildeth, to raise up this shrine."
Hag_2:10-19
Part III. THE THIRD ADDRESS; THE CAUSE OF THE CALAMITIES WHICH HAD BEFALLEN THE PEOPLE, AND A PROMISE OF BLESSING.
Hag_2:10-17
§ 1. By an analogy drawn from the Law, Haggai shows that residence in the Holy Land and the offering of sacrifice do not suffice to make the people acceptable, as long as they themselves are unclean through neglect of the house of the Lord. Hence comes the punishment of sterility.
Hag_2:10
In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month. The ninth month is Chisleu, answering to parts of November and December. It was now three months from the time the people had commenced to build, and two from the day when the second address was delivered. On the weather at this time depended the hope of the yearly crops. Between the second and third address Zechariah's first prophecy wag uttered (Zec_1:2-6).
Hag_2:11
Concerning the Law. Others translate, "for instruction." Ask the priests these two legal questions, such as they were appointed to expound (Deu_17:8, etc.; Deu_33:10; Mal_2:7). By this appeal the prophet makes his lesson sink deeper into the people's mind.
Hag_2:12
If one bear; literally, behold, one beareth, which is equivalent to "suppose a man bears." Perowne compares Jer_3:1, "Lo, a man puts away his wife;" and 2Ch_7:13. Holy flesh. The flesh of animals sacrificed to God, which was set apart from profane uses, and might be eaten only by the priests or persons ritually pure (Le 2Ch_6:26; 2Ch_7:15-20; 2Ch_10:13; comp. Jer_11:15). The skirt of his garment; literally, wing of his garment, as Deu_22:12; 1Sa_15:27. Any meat; παντὸς βρώματος : anything eatable. And said, No. The priests answered correctly according to Le 6:27. Whatever touched the hallowed flesh became itself holy, but it could not communicate this holiness to anything else.
Hag_2:13
Unclean by a dead body; Septuagint, ἀκάθαρτος ἐπὶ ψυχῇ : Vulgate. pollutus in anima. These versions are closer to the Hebrew, "unclean by a soul," than the Authorized Version, but not so intelligible. "Soul" (nephesh) is used to mean a person, and, with the attribute "dead" understood, a corpse, as Le 21:1. The full phrase is found in Num_6:6, Num_6:11. Contact with a dead body produced the gravest ceremonial uncleanness, which lasted seven days, and could be purged only by a double lustration and other rites (Num_19:11, etc.). This uncleanness was doubtless connected with the idea that death was the result of sin. Any of these. The things mentioned in the preceding verse. It shall be unclean. In accordance with Num_19:22 A polluted human being communicated his pollution to all that he touched. It was owing to the defilement that accompanied contact with the dead that the later Jews used to whiten the sepulchres every year, that they might be seen and avoided (Mat_23:27, and Lightfoot, 'Her. Hebr.' in loc.).
Hag_2:14
Then answered Haggai, and said; then Haggai continued and said. He applies the principles just enunciated to the ease of the Jews, taking the communication of uncleanness first. So is this people. Not, my people, because by their acts they had disowned God (Hag_1:2). This people is defiled in my sight like one who has touched a corpse, and not only they themselves, but so is every work of their hands; all their labour, all that they put their hands to, is unclean, and can win no blessing. Their pollution was their disobedience in not building the house of God. They had calmly contemplated the lifeless symbol of the theocracy, the ruined temple, and made no determined effort to resuscitate it, so a blight had rested on all their work. That which they offer there (pointing to the altar which they had built when they first returned, Ezr_3:2) is unclean. They had fancied that the sanctifying influence of the altar and its sacrifices would extend to all their works, and cover all their shortcomings; but so far from this, their very offerings were unclean, because the offerers were polluted. They who come before the Holy One should themselves be holy. Neither the altar nor the Holy Land imparted sanctity by any intrinsic virtue of their own, but entailed upon all an obligation to personal holiness (Wordsworth). The LXX. has an addition at the end of the verse. Ενεκεν τῶν λημμάτων αὐτῶν τῶν ὀρθρινῶν ὀδυνηθήσονται ἀπὸ προσώπου πόνων αὐτῶν καὶ ἐμισεῖτε ἐν πύλαις ἐλέγχοντας "On account of their morning gains [or, 'burdens'] they shall be pained in the presence of their labours, and ye hated those who reproved in the gates." This is expounded by Theodoret thus: As soon as morning dawned ye employed yourselves in no good work, but sought only how to obtain sordid gain. And ye regarded with. hatred these who reproved, you, who sitting at the gate spake words of wisdom to all who passed by. The passage is found in no other version.
Hag_2:15
The prophet bids the people look backwards, and consider how their neglect had been visited by scanty harvests; their own experience would teach them this lesson. From this day; viz. the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, when this address was delivered (Hag_2:10; comp. Hag_2:18). And upward; i.e. backward. He bids them go back in thought fourteen years when they first intermitted building. Before a stone, etc. This does not mean before the building was first begun, but before they began to build on the foundation already laid.
Hag_2:16
Since those days were. The word "days" is supplied. Revised Version, "through all that time," viz. the fourteen years spoken of in Hag_2:15. Septuagint, τίνες ἦτε , "what ye were;" the Vulgate omits the words. When one came to an heap of twenty measures. The word "measures" is not in the Hebrew: it is supplied by the LXX; σάτα (equivalent to scabs), and by Jerome, modiorum. But the particular measure is of no importance; it is the proportion only on which stress is laid. The prophet particuiarizes the general statements of Hag_1:6, Hag_1:9. The "heap" is the collection of sheaves (Rth_3:7). This when threshed yielded only half that they had expected. There were (in fact) but ten; καὶ ἐγένετο κριθῆς δέκα σάτα , "and there were ten measures of barley." The press fat; the wine fat, the vat into which flowed the juice forced from the grapes when trodden out by the feet in the press. A full account of this will be found in the 'Dict. of the Bible,' arts. "Wine press" and "Wine." Fifty vessels out of the press. The Hebrew is "fifty purah." The word purah is used in Isa_63:3 to signify the press itself, hence the Authorized Version so translates it here, inserting "out of," and supplying "vessels," as "measures" above; but it probably here denotes a liquid measure in which the wine was drown. LXX; μετρητάς (equivalent to Hebrew baths). Jerome, lagenas; and in his commentary, amphoras. They came and examined the grapes and expected fifty purahs, "press measures," but they did not get even half that they had hoped. There were but twenty. Knabenbauer suggests that the meaning may be—looking at the crop of grapes, they expected to draw out, i.e. empty (chasaph), the press fifty times, but were egregiously deceived.
Hag_2:17
I smote you with blasting and with mildew. It was God who inflicted these calamities upon them judicially, according to the threats in Deu_28:22 (comp. Amo_4:9, and note there). These two pests affected the corn; the vines were smitten with hail (Psa_78:47). In all the labours (work) of your hands. All that you had cultivated with toil, corn, vines, fruit of every sort. Yet ye turned not to me. The clause is elliptical, "yet not ye to me." The LXX. and Syriac translate as the Authorized Version, supplying the verb from the parallel passage in Amo_4:9. The Vulgate (not according to precedent), Non fuit in vobis qui revertetur ad me. In spite of these visitations there was not one among them who shook off his idle inaction and worked for the Lord.
Hag_2:18, Hag_2:19
§ 2. On their obedience the blessings of nature shall again be theirs.
Hag_2:18
Consider now from this day and upward (see note on Hag_2:15.) For "upward" Jerome has here in futurum, though he translated the same word supra in Hag_2:15. Such a rendering is allowable, and affords a good sense, the prophet directing the people's attention to the happy prospect in the future announced in Hag_2:19. But it seems, best to keep to the same interpretation in two passages so closely allied. The prophet bids the people consider the period from the present, the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, when this prophecy was uttered (Hag_2:10), to the other limit explanatory of the term "upward" or "backward." Even from the day that the foundation, etc.; rather, since the day that, etc. This is obviously the same period as that named in Hag_2:15, after the foundation was completed, but before "stone was laid upon stone" of the superstructure (comp. Zec_8:9).
Hag_2:19
Is the seed yet in the barn? Is there any of your poor crop still left in your granaries? Is it not already expended? "The seed" is here the produce of the seed, the grain (1Sa_8:15; Job_39:12). The corn crop is mentioned first, then the fruit harvest. The Vulgate has, Numquid jam semen in germine est? Has the seed begun to grow? Is there any sign of abundance? Yet the harvest shall be prolific. But there is no doubt that megurah means "barn," not "sprout." LXX; Εἰ ἐπιγνωσθήσεται ἐπὶ τῆς ἅλω , "If it shall be known upon the threshing floor." Jerome must have read γῆς for τῆς , as he renders, "Si ultra cognoscetur super terram area." He expounds it thus: So abundant shall be the produce that the threshing floor shall not recognize its own corn. or that the threshers shall be forced to join floor to floor to make room for all the grain, "et arearnm separatio nesciatur in terra" Yea, as yet; καὶ εἰ ἔτι ; et adhuc (Vulgate); as Jdg_3:26; Job_1:18. Others translate, "as regards.'' Though there was no sign of leaf or fruit on the trees, nothing by which one could judge of the future produce, yet the prophet predicts an abundant crop, dating from the people's obedience (Le Job_26:3, etc.; Deu_28:2, etc.). From this day will I bless you. "This day" is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (Job_1:10). From now the improvement in the season should begin and make itself evident. "Bless" is a term often used for sending fruitful seasons (Deu_28:8; Mal_3:10).
Hag_2:20-23
Part V. THE FOURTH ADDRESS: PROMISE OF THE RESTORATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID, WHEN THE STORM BURSTS ON THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD.
Hag_2:20
Temporal blessings had been promised to the people generally; now spiritual blessings are announced to Zerubbabel as the head of the nation and the representative of the house of David. And again; and a second time; ἐκ δευτέρου . This revelation took place on the same day as the preceding one.
Hag_2:21
Zerubbabel (see note on Hag_1:1). I will shake the heavens and the earth. He repeats the prediction of Hag_2:6 in this chapter (where see note). This is the general statement, expanded and explained in the next verse.
Hag_2:22
I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms. No events in Zerubbabel's time satisfied this prediction, which waits for its fulfilment in the Messianic age (Luk_1:52). "The throne" is used distributively for "every throne of kingdoms;" Septuagint, "thrones of kings." Of the heathen; of the nations. Chariots, etc. Emblems of the military power by which the nations had risen to eminence (Psa_20:7; Zec_10:5). Shall come down. Be brought to the ground, perish (Isa_34:7). By the sword of his brother. The heathen powers shall annihilate one another (Eze_38:21; Zec_14:13).
Hag_2:23
In that day. When the heathen nations of the earth are overthrown, Israel shall be safe, and be the more exalted by the Divine favour and protection. Will I take. The verb simply serves to introduce the following act as one of importance, and does not signify, "take under my protection" (comp. Deu_4:20; 2Ki_14:21; Keil). My servant. An honourable title used especially of David (1Ki_11:13, etc.; Jer_33:21, etc.), and his future successors (Eze_34:23, etc.; Eze_37:24). Make thee as a signet. I will make thee most precious in my sight (comp. Son_8:6). Among Orientals the signet ring was an article of great importance and value (see Rev_5:1; Rev_9:4; and 'Dict. of the Bible,' art. "Seal"). The allusion is particularly appropriate here, because Zerubbabel is set at the head of the nation in the place of his grandfather (?) Jeconiah, whose rejection from the monarchy had been couched in these terms: "As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim King of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence" (Jer_22:24). The Son of Sirach, in his praise of great men, refers to this premise," How shall we magnify Zorobabel? even he was as a signet on the right hand" (Ecclus. 49:11). The signet, too, is the sign of authority (Gen_41:42; Est_3:10); so Zerubbabel has authority delegated to him from God, the type of him who said, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father" (Mat_11:27). "The true Zerubbabel, i.e. Christ, the Son and Antitype of Zerubbabel, is the signet in the hand of the Father, both passively and actively, whereby God impresses his own majesty, thought, and words, and his own image, on men, angels, and all creatures" (Corn. a Lapide ap. Pusey). I have chosen thee. This is not a personal assurance only to Zerubbabel, for neither he nor his natural seed reigned in Jerusalem, or rose to any special eminence in the kingdoms of this world. The fulfilment must be looked for in his spiritual progeny and in Christ. Promises are often made in Scripture to individuals which are accomplished only in their descendants; witness those made to Abraham and the other patriarchs, the prophecies of Jacob to his sons, and many others of a similar nature in the Old Testament, Those large promises made to David in old time, that his seed should endure forever, that hie throne should be as the sun before God (Psa_89:36, Psa_89:37; 2Sa_7:16), were now passed on to Zerubbabel and to his line, because of him was to spring Messiah, in whom alone these wide predictions find their fulfilment, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luk_1:32, Luk_1:33).
II. AN ILLUSTRATION—Of the tendency to glorify the past at the expense of the present. "Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do you see it now? asks the prophet; is it not in your eyes as nothing?" In certain respects this depreciation of the post-exilic temple, in comparison with the Solomonic, was justifiable—the material splendour of the second building was vastly inferior to that of the first; but in other respects the glory of the latter house would ultimately far eclipse that of the former (verse 9)—it would be the centre and scene, the instrument and support of a purer worship than had been maintained in the former, and would be honoured by the visit of a greater potentate than Solomon himself, even by the Messenger of the covenant and the Lord of the temple, after whom were going out the desires, not of Israel alone, but of all nations (verse 7). And upon the foundation of the old structure of cedar wood and gold, and to glorify the old which seventy years before had perished in the going down of their nation before the might of Babylon, so does it seem to be a tendency in human nature to exalt the past and to depress the present, to extol the men and institutions, the characteristics and occurrences of other days at the expense of the present, even when there is as little ground for doing so as there was for the depreciatory remarks of the builders. It is not difficult to account for either this laudation of the past or this disparagement of the present. On the one hand, lapse of years allows the memory of past discomforts, irritations, deficiencies, imperfections, blemishes, to fade away, while present evils obtrude themselves upon the notice and press upon the hearts of the passing generation; on the other hand, the present is too near for its peculiar excellences to be rightly gauged, while the glories of the past, like distant mountains, shine out with augmented splendour. Yet the verdict which prefers the past to the present is incorrect (Ecc_7:10). Unless the world is a hopelessly bad world, which it is not (Rom_8:20), and the grace of God that bringeth salvation is effete, which is not the mind of Scripture (Tit_2:11); unless the predictions of the Word of God are to be falsified (Isa_11:9; Hab_2:14; Rev_11:15), which cannot be (Isa_4:1-6 :11; Mat_24:35), and the aspirations of good men's hearts are to be disappointed, which would be clean contrary to what God has led them to expect (Psa_145:19);—there can be little doubt that the world is and must be surely but slowly becoming better.
"For I doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs;
And the thoughts of men are widened by the process of the suns."
(Tennyson.)
To the widening of the thoughts add the purifying of the hearts and the elevation of the lives of men.
III. AN EXHORTATION—to earnest diligence in discharge of present duty. "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord," etc. The duty of the builders was to prosecute the work in which they were engaged, the erection of the temple, even though the temple should be inferior to its predecessor, and the circumstances for its erection less favourable than had been those for the construction of the former—perhaps all the more their duly on that account. So were the present age inferior to the ages which had gone before, the same duty would be incumbent on all ranks and classes—the duty, viz. of working with earnest diligence at one's daily calling, "the trivial round, the common task," if assigned by God, and more especially at the upbuilding of God's spiritual temple in the individual soul and in the world at large. Without this the present age cannot grow better than the past, and is certain to grow worse.
IV. A CONSOLATION—in the guaranteed fellowship of God. Jehovah would be with them—always, of course, conditionally if they continued with him (2Ch_15:2).
1. Not merely externally, as through his immanent presence he is with all, but internally, by his Spirit abiding amongst them as a community, and in their hearts as individuals, as he still does in the midst of his Church and in the souls of believers, when these remain true to him, no matter how degenerate the age may be in which their lot is cast.
2. Not now for the first time, but as he had ever been since the day when they came forth from Egypt; without which, indeed, they had never become a nation having access to Jehovah through their priests and sacrifices, and receiving from him revelations and spiritual quickenings through the medium of their prophets (Heb_1:1); and without which they could not now be prospered in their undertaking. God's Spirit is the secret source and ultimate cause of all good in either Church or nation.
3. Not of constraint, but willingly, according to his own covenant engagement, which are never imposed on him by any of his creatures, but always freely proposed and executed by himself—whence they are rightly styled covenants of grace. It is the existence of such a covenant that guarantees the indestructibility and perpetuity of the Christian Church.
4. Not as an unseen presence only, but as an actively cooperating power, imparting to them strength for their work as well as boldness in it (see homily on Hag_1:13, Hag_1:14), both of which would be theirs in proportion u they realized the cheering truth that they were fellow labourers with God. In like manner also, and for similar ends and purposes, is Christ, by his Spirit, present with his Church (Mat_28:20; Joh_14:6).
LESSONS.
1. The inheritance of the past a cause of thankfulness.
2. The imperfections of the present a stimulus to duty.
3. The glorious times of the future a reason for cheerfulness and hope.
Hag_2:6, Hag_2:7
1. At Sinai, when Jehovah manifested himself to Israel (Exo_19:16-19; Psa_68:7, Psa_68:8). Preparatory and prophetical.
2. At the birth of Christ, when Jehovah appeared on earth in the Person of his Son (Joe_2:30, Joe_2:31 : Luk_2:8-14; Act_2:19, Act_2:20). Furthering and fulfilling.
3. At the end of time, when Jehovah will a third time appear, in the Person of the glorified Christ, to save his people and judge his foes (Isa_24:19, Isa_24:20; 2Pe_3:10). Culminating and completing.
II. SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATIONS. According to the writer to the Hebrews, "This word, Once more, signifieth the removing of the things that are shaken, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain" (Heb_12:27). In other words, the object of each successive Divine interposition has been and will be the abrogation of institutions that have served their day, the correction of errors that have hindered the truth, the alteration of circumstances and conditions that are no longer suited to the new era about to be introduced.
1. At Sinai were shaken and removed
(1) the polytheism which Israel had in large measure brought with her from Egypt;
(2) the individualism which had hitherto prevented Israel from forming herself into a nation; and
(3) the serfdom which had rendered the realization of Israel's calling impossible;
while the things that could not be shaken and remained were
(1) the unity of God, or the monotheistic element which still survived in Israel's religion;
(2) the covenant relationship in which Jehovah stood towards Israel; and
(3) the capacity for religion which no amount of oppression had been able utterly to destroy.
2. At the birth of Christ were shaken and removed
(1) the Mosaic institute which had then served its day, and was even ready to vanish away (Heb_8:13);
(2) the partition wall between Jew and Gentile (Eph_2:14), which had repelled each from, rather than attracted each to, the other; and
(3) the externalism and literalism in worship, which had converted it into mere mechanism;
while the unshakable things that remained were
(1) the covenant of grace which underlay the Mosaic institute, and shone the brighter when that was removed which for centuries had been superimposed upon it;
(2) the brotherhood of man, which was henceforth to be placed in the forefront of the gospel message (Act_17:26; Rom_2:11; Rom_3:29; Col_3:11; Gal_3:26); and
(3) the spirituality of religion, which was no more to be confined to either places or seasons, persons or forms, but to find its seat in the heart and its priest in the renewed soul (Jon_4:1-11 :21-24).
3. At the end of time will be shaken and removed
(1) the present state and condition of things (1Co_7:31; 1Co_15:50-57; 2Pe_3:10, 2Pe_3:12; 1Jn_2:17);
(2) the presence and power of sin (Rev_22:3); and
(3) the mediatorial sovereignty of Christ (1Co_15:23);
while as things that cannot be shaken, shall remain
(1) the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (2Pe_3:13);
(2) the redeemed family of believers (1Jn_2:17); and
(3) the eternal supremacy of God, who shall then be all in all (1Co_15:23).
Learn:
1. That nations and individuals mostly advance by means of struggle and commotion.
2. That peace and quietness may often mean stagnation and death rather than progress and life.
3. That truth and right will eventually prevail over falsehood and wrong.
Hag_2:7
II. ALL NATIONS HAVE DESIRED AN ATONEMENT FOR SIN; AND SUCH ATONEMENT HAS BEEN PROVIDED AS NOWHERE ELSE BY CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY. It is not meant that everywhere and always men have possessed the same clear, definite, exalted, and correct ideas on the subject of sin, sacrifice, propitiation, atonement, as are presented in the Hebrew or the Christian Scriptures. The most affirmed is that while everywhere men have possessed a deep instinctive longing after God, along with this they have always been more or less conscious of unworthiness and unfitness to enter into fellowship with him, have had a secret conviction that the Deity whom they wished to serve was displeased with them, and that they could not enjoy his favour without the intervention of some atonement or propitiation. Hence, wherever man has been found to have a god, there also he has owned an altar. The practice begun at the gate of Eden, of worshipping the Deity by means of sacrifices, and carried forward in the altar building of Abraham and the patriarchs, and finally developed in the Mosaic ritual of priest and victim, has been discovered, on investigation, not to have been confined to these, but to have been followed, with more or less closeness of adherence to the primitive pattern, by every nation under heaven that has shaped for itself a religion. In religions of the most rudimentary type, as well as in those of the highest culture, a place has been reserved for the practice of sacrificing and for the notion of expiation. "The sense of impurity and of the need of expiation," writes Pressense, "are manifested in the most barbarous modes of worship. We admit that the atonement to which they have recourse is often as cruel as the wrath of the deity whom the worshippers seek to appease. There is a phase in which sacrifice is nothing more than food offered to the gods. But a higher idea soon manifests itself. Remorse comes in, the consciousness of guilt prompts the sacrifice, and the priest who at first was regarded in the light of an enchanter becomes a mediator between man and the deity". In addition it might easily be shown that the same ideas of sin, penitence, forgiveness, propitiation, sacrifice, atonement, were present in the religions of ancient Chaldea and of Egypt. And the inference from all is that, irrespective of age or country, and however overlaid with superstition, the deep conviction of the human heart is that man has sinned against God and requires the assistance of a Mediator who shall in some way make peace with the offended Deity, and secure for the offender forgiveness of his transgressions. Well, here again Christianity steps in to supply this demand of the human heart, to answer this pathetic wail for a Deliverer, for One who can make peace and bring forgiveness—steps in as no other religion known to man does, by exhibiting Jesus Christ as Son of God and Son of man (Joh_1:49, Joh_1:51), and therefore as possessed of authority to act as Daysman or Mediator between God and man, laying his hand upon both (Job_10:1-22 :33; 1Ti_2:5), by discovering him as standing in the room of sinful man (Rom_5:6), and as making peace by the shedding of his blood (Eph_2:14), by presenting him to view as One whose blood is able both to wipe away the guilt of sin and to break its enslaving power. And this, again, is a high certificate in favour of Christianity as the only true religion. For what is a religion worth if it cannot or dare not meet the demands of the human heart and conscience?
III. ALL NATIONS HAVE DESIRED A DIVINE REVELATION, OR AN AUTHENTIC COMMUNICATION OF THE DIVINE WILL; AND THIS CHRISTIANITY MEETS IN A WAY THAT NO OTHER RELIGION HAS DONE OR CAN DO. Not only have men in every age and country believed that God is, and that by means of sacrifices it might be possible to appease his anger and secure his favour; they have also supposed it within their reach to receive trustworthy information from God as to his will and their duty. In the rudest forms of religion, the media through which such Divine communications have been conjectured to come have been signs in the sky above or on the earth beneath. In unusual phenomena of nature, in unaccustomed sights and sounds, in dreams and visions, men have been wont to see indications of a higher will than their own made known to them for the guidance of their earthly lives. As religion has advanced in intelligence and refinement, special persons have come to be regarded as oracles through whom responses from the heavenly world might be obtained, and messages from the unseen received. Priests and priestesses, seers and sages, have been viewed as standing in immediate connection with the Deity, and as serving to transmit to men the utterances he might wish to make known. Then, too, in many of the world's religions, as in those of Egypt and Persia, India and Arabia, that is to say, in the most developed religions of which we have any knowledge, but especially in Parseeism, Brahminism, Mohammedanism, there have been sacred books in which the revelations vouchsafed to mankind through the founders of these religions have been preserved. Now, in all this, irrespective of the truth or falsehood of these religions, a signal testimony arises to the strength and depth of the desire on the part of man to possess some authorized expounder of the Divine will in the shape of man, or book, or perhaps both; and there is no need to say that God has never gratified this desire outside of the Hebrew or the Christian Church; but of this one may be certain, that the longing for a Heaven-sent teacher was not confined to the Hebrews, with their Moses who spake with God face to face as a man talketh with his friend, but existed as well among the Greeks, Plato, in one of his dialogues, putting into the mouth of one of his disputants the ever-memorable words, "It is therefore necessary to wait until one teach us how to behave towards the gods and men," and into that of another, "And when shall that time arrive? and who shall that teacher be? for most glad would I be to see such a man." Just such a man was felt to be one of the world's greatest wants before Christ came; and when he came just such a man appeared. The verdict pronounced by the officers on Jesus, "Never man spake like this Man," has never been reversed; nor is there the least likelihood that it ever will.
IV. ALL NATIONS HAVE DESIRED AN ASSURANCE OF IMMORTALITY; AND THAT ASSURANCE HAS BEEN GIVEN BY CHRIST IN A WAY THAT HAS BEEN DONE BY NO OTHER. Whether apart from Divine revelation the reality of a future life beyond the grave can or could be demonstrated, may be doubtful; but this much is undoubted, that in all ages men have believed in the existence of such a life, and have expressed that belief in their religions. The lowest races by their worship of ancestors, the Egyptians by their elaborate ritual of the Book of the Dead, and the ancient Chaldeans by their mythological narrative of the descent of Ishtar into Hades, each in turn showed that they clung to the idea of the persistence of the human soul after death. But, indeed, the notion that death ends all, though the assertion of some philosophers, and though supposed to be the teaching of science, has never at any period been the faith of the generality of mankind, and has never won the assent of the human heart in its inmost and truest convictions. Nor must it be overlooked that this universal belief in a future state is a clear testimony to the heart's longing for a continued existence beyond the grave, and to the heart's wish for some authentic tidings about that unknown land; and nothing surely can be less in need of demonstration, than that Jesus Christ answers man's inquiries about the future life with a clearness and fulness of information in comparison with which the teaching of all other religions, the Hebrew Scriptures not excepted, is as darkness,
LESSONS.
1. The pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, and of the Christian religion.
2. Gratitude for God's unspeakable Gift.
3. The duty of seeking in Christ satisfaction for the soul's true desires.
Hag_2:8
1. Of God's making. They belong to him as part of that earth and its fulness which he hath created (Psa_24:1; Psa_50:12), as David acknowledged in his prayer, "All that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;" and again, "Of thine own have we given thee" (1Ch_29:12, 1Ch_29:14).
2. Of God's giving. God claimed that he had multiplied Judah's silver and gold (Hos_2:6); and David owned that "all things," including "riches and honour," were of him (1Ch_29:12). The same sentiment is involved in the words of the Baptist (Joh_3:27), in those of Paul (1Ti_6:17), and in those of James (Jas_1:17).
3. Of God's keeping. As no man can obtain wealth from other than God, so with no help but his can man retain the wealth he has got. "Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watcheth in vain" (Psa_127:1). Nor can any one keep it longer than God chooses. At any moment can he recall what he has given.
II. AN IMPORTANT INFERENCE DEDUCED. That no man is the owner of his money, but merely its selected steward, its casual recipient and temporary holder. What Benhadad of Syria said to Ahab of Israel, "Thy silver and thy gold is mine" (1Ki_20:3), expresses God's thought concerning millionaires and paupers alike; while the answer of Ahab, "My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have," exactly utters the response which every one possessed of silver and gold, whether much or little, should give to the Divine declaration. Few things are more difficult for men to realize than that that is not their own for which they have laboured, sometimes like galley slaves, and not unfrequently sinned The habitual attitude of men towards their silver and their gold is that of the rich farmer in the Gospels, "my fruits," "my barns," "my goods" (Luk_12:17, Luk_12:18). A recognition of man's stewardship in respect of silver and gold would secure three things of immense consequence, both for the religious life of the individual, and for the moral welfare of the world.
1. A just estimate of money. As one of God's gifts, it would be highly valued, but as only a gift it would never be regarded as a permanent endowment, or preferred above the Giver.
2. A proper use of money. As a trust it would be carefully kept, wisely used (Mat_25:16), faithfully administered (1Co_4:2), and correctly accounted for (Luk_16:2). It would not be prodigally squandered (Luk_15:13), or in miser fashion hoarded (Mat_25:25), or selfishly expended (Hos_10:1), but skilfully, lovingly, and unweariedly employed for the Master's glory.
3. A right feeling with regard to money. Neither inordinate desire after it (1Ti_6:10), nor over esteem of one's self on account of it (Hos_12:8), would arise in one's besom; but feelings of contentment with what one has received (Php_4:11; 1Ti_6:6), and of gratitude that one has received any (Gen_32:10).
Hag_2:9
1. The temple of Zerubbabel, then building, which, however, was regarded as a continuation of and as one with the temple of Solomon (cf. Hag_2:3).
2. The Christian Church, which on a similar principle of interpretation was viewed as an outcome and development of the Hebrew temple (cf. Joh_2:20, Joh_2:21).
II. THE GLORY. Called by Haggai "the latter glory" of this house, in contradistinction to the earlier or former glory which belonged to it before the Captivity, this can only signify the glory which, in Messianic times, should pertain to the temple when it should have reached its ideal form in the Christian Church, whose "glory," in comparison with that of the Solomonic structure, should be a glory that excelleth.
1. The glory of spiritual magnificence, as opposed to that of merely material splendour. Tin. temple of Solomon was, alter all, but an "earthly hour" of polished stone, carved cedar, and burnished gold; but the temple of Jesus Christ is a spiritual house, constructed of lively stones, or believing souls (1Pe_2:5), "an holy temple" erected out of quickened and renewed hearts "for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Eph_2:21).
2. The glory of an indwelling Divinity, in contrast with that of a merely symbolic residence therein. The ark with its mercy seat overshadowed by the cherubim, between whose outstretched wings shone the visible glory or the Shechinah—this ark which occupied the holy of holies in the Solomonic temple, was not Jehovah, but only the material token of his presence. Though in the Christian Church there is, as in Zerubbabel's temple there was, no ark, yet the Divine presence fills it. Not only does Paul describe it as a temple which God inhabits (see above), but he represents it as the body of the glorified Christ, the fulness of him that filleth all in all (Eph_1:23), and even speaks of individual believers as temples of the Holy Ghost (1Co_6:9) and of the living God (2Co_6:16); while Christ expressly promises to his Church a perpetual indwelling in their midst, not collectively alone, but individually as well (Mat_18:20; Mat_28:20; Joh_14:17, Joh_14:23; Joh_15:4; Joh_16:7, Joh_16:22).
3. The glory of diffusing spiritual and eternal peace, as distinguished from a peace which should be merely temporal and temporary. The Solomonic temple was indeed built by one whose name was Peace, whose reign was undisturbed by foreign or domestic wars, and whose spirit was neither military nor aggressive; but it is doubtful if the whole period during which the Solomonic temple stood could with truthfulness be characterized as one of peace (see the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles). Nor could it be asserted that the era of the temple of Zerubbabel was throughout peaceful. "Temporal peace they had now, nor was there a