Haggai 2 King James Version (KJV)
2 In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying,
2 Speak 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,
3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:
5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.
9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.
10 In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,
11 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,
12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.
13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
15 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord:
16 Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.
17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord.
18 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord‘s temple was laid, consider it.
19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
20 And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,
21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the 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, every one by the sword of his brother.
23 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.
Commentary
A message of encouragement (2:1-9)
Although the foundation of the temple had been laid sixteen years earlier, it had no doubt been damaged during the years of neglect. More work was necessary before construction could begin on the building itself. After the people had been at work for about a month, they could see enough of the rebuilt foundation to form an idea of the size of the proposed temple. Some of the very old people, remembering Solomon’s magnificent temple, may have commented that this new temple was not very impressive by comparison. Haggai saw that this would discourage the builders, so he brought them a message of encouragement (2:1-3). As God’s spokesman, Haggai passed on God’s assurance that he was with them, just as he had been with their ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt (4-5).
Just as God shook the earth with the giving of the law at Mt Sinai, so through this temple he would ‘shake’ heaven and earth in a far greater way. Through the temple, he was reconstructing the religious centre of the Jewish nation, for this was the nation from which the Messiah was to come. Israel’s temple would receive greater splendour than the discouraged workmen imagined. God, who was the real owner of the world’s wealth, would direct rulers of other nations to bring their silver and gold to beautify it (6-8; cf. Ezra 6:8-12).
However, far greater glory would come through the multitudes from many nations who would join with Israel in the true temple. The Messiah’s real dwelling place would be among all the redeemed in a living temple that he would establish in the world in glory. The temporary hardships of the Jewish builders would appear as nothing compared with the splendour of that day (9).
Promises of blessing (2:10-19)
At the end of three months all the foundation work was finished (cf. 1:14-15; 2:18). Zechariah had successfully urged the people to repent (Zech 1:1-6), and now Haggai emphasized again that spiritual cleansing was the only way by which they could enjoy God’s blessing (10).
Haggai reminded the people that their wrong attitudes in the past had been the cause of all their troubles. He gave an illustration to show that contact with unclean things made a person unclean, but contact with holy things did not make a person holy. As long as they had neglected the temple and let it lie as a ruined ‘dead’ thing in their midst, they had been unclean and therefore unacceptable to God. All their religious activity had not made them holy, no matter how much it brought them in contact with holy things (11-14).
The people’s selfishness and disobedience had brought God’s judgment upon them in damage to their crops and a shortage of food. Now that they had turned from their selfish ways and obeyed God, things would change (15-17). God would reverse the unfavourable agricultural conditions and give them fruitful crops again. His promise would begin to come true from that very day; for on that day, by completing the foundations of the temple, they had given visible proof that their obedience was genuine (18-19).
A personal message for Zerubbabel (2:20-23)
Later the same day Haggai delivered another encouraging message, this time to Zerubbabel the governor (20). Zerubbabel was a descendant of David in the line of kings who reigned in Jerusalem, and he was entitled to the throne of Israel (Matt 1:6-12). But because Israel was still under Persian rule he was allowed to be only governor.
Despite these restrictions, Haggai encouraged Zerubbabel with the assurance that he was still God’s specially chosen representative. Through him God would not only re-establish the nation Israel, but would overthrow all nations and establish God’s worldwide kingdom. Zerubbabel did not live to see the fulfilment of Haggai’s words, but the promise passed on to one of his descendants, Jesus the Messiah, in whom the prophecy will find its fullest meaning (21-23; cf. Matt 1:12-16).