Haggai

1Chapter

The Command to Rebuild the Temple

1In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2“Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

The People Obey the Lord

12Then 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 Lord. 13Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
2Chapter

The Coming Glory of the Temple

1In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 9The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

Blessings for a Defiled People

10On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 11“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: 12‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.” 13Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” 14Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. 15Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 18Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider: 19Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”

Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet

20The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother. 23On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
Study
Chapter 1
CSB

To acknowledge the Lord as God has implications for ordinary decisions of life. It is to live before One who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and who has an agenda. He has a plan that impinges on the details of our lives. The people who had returned from Babylon through God’s grace and leadership soon tried to put him at the edge of their awareness. They had their own agenda, building comfortable homes for themselves while God’s house lay in ruins (v. 4). Through Haggai’s preaching, the people were moved to respond to the Lord’s command to build his house for his glory.

ESV

Introduction: Reluctant Rebuilders. The opening establishes the characters and context of the book. The Lord, prophet, king, priest, and people figure prominently as the major problem is presented, namely, that the Lord’s house is in ruins and the people do nothing about it.

ESV

Characters. second year … sixth month … first day. August 29, 520 B.C. As the first of the month, it is the day of a new moon festival, and thus of public worship (1 Chron. 23:31); it is also three weeks after the anniversary of the destruction of the first temple (2 Kings 25:8; Jer. 52:12). At this point most of the harvesting is finished, with only dates and summer figs left to be harvested. Darius. Persian king 522–486 B.C. by the hand of (cf. Hag. 1:3; 2:1). A phrase unique to Haggai among the writing prophets, though common in the books of Moses. Zerubbabel was a grandson of Jehoiachin, heir to the Davidic throne, and governor of Judah (see Ezra 3:2, 8; 4:2–3; 5:2). Joshua. High priest and son of Jehozadak, whose line is traced through Zadok to Aaron (1 Chron. 6:11–15; Zech. 3:1, 8; 6:11).

ESV

Context. LORD of hosts. Highlights the Lord as the leader of heavenly or earthly armies. Approximately one-third of all biblical occurrences of the phrase are found in Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (see chart); it emphasizes the Lord’s universal rule (see note on 1 Sam. 1:3). not yet come. The people claim that the time for temple restoration has not yet arrived: they want to postpone the work until sometime later.

ESV

Consider Your Ways: Fruitless Prosperity. In the second word to Haggai, the Lord asks his hearers to consider whether their prosperity, such as it is, brings about the intended satisfaction, and he exhorts them to supply materials for “my house” (vv. 3–11). A general response follows (v. 12).

ESV

Work without Satisfaction. On the date of this oracle the people can reflect on the disappointing harvest season (cf. vv. 10–11). They struggle mightily for personal gain at the neglect of the Lord’s house. God evaporates their gain in order to teach them that the building of his house will bring him glory and must be their priority.

ESV

paneled … ruins. The inattentive people focus on comfortable personal dwellings (v. 9) while the Lord remains “homeless” (2 Sam. 7:2; 1 Kings 6:9; Jer. 22:13–15).

CSB

For the prophets before the Babylonian exile, the major issues were the people’s tendency to worship false gods and the social injustice that created severe inequalities between rich and poor. For prophets whose message was focused on the postexilic Judean community, the issue was different. The great need was the restoration of the institutions of Israelite worship centering in the sanctuary. Ezekiel drew up a blueprint for the restored temple and its ceremonies (Ezk 40–47); Malachi called for the purification of the priesthood (Mal 3:1-4) and faithfulness in the tithe (Mal 3:8-10). Zechariah, likewise, was concerned with the honor of the priesthood (Zch 3:1-5). Haggai also turned to this emphasis on worship. It was because the people had neglected their responsibilities, including the rebuilding of the Lord’s house, that their efforts to prosper came to nothing. His message was a precursor to Jesus’s teaching, “you will be measured by the same measure you use” (Mt 7:2). One cannot open the hand to receive while clutching what he already has.

ESV

Consider your ways. Ponder your actions and the resulting experiences.

ESV

sown much … harvested little. This describes the hard work the people have done, and the frustrating yield. God has not blessed their crops because of their preference for personal comfort over the rebuilding of the temple (v. 4). eat … drink … clothe … earns wages. Their efforts to care for themselves and their families lead only to frustration, so the Lord wants them to “consider their ways” (v. 5).

ESV

Go up … bring … build. The people are commanded to bring wood to build a proper house. As the Lord takes pleasure in acceptable sacrifice (Ps. 51:19), the sacrifice of temple-building will result in his pleasure and glory.

ESV

The word “house” is used three times with three different meanings: home (a place to store goods); my house (the Lord’s temple); his own house (one’s personal dwelling). busies himself with (lit., “is running for”). As compared with the implicit critique of v. 4, the misplaced priorities of the people are now made explicit.

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Therefore. There is a causal link between the ruin (Hb. khareb) of the Lord’s house (vv. 4, 9) and the drought (Hb. khoreb).

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General Response: Obedience and Fear. To the admonition of vv. 3–11, people render a general response of hearing and alarm. The remnant (v. 14; 2:2) is the same as the people addressed in 1:2; 2:4, 14. feared the LORD. See note on Acts 9:31.

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a Promise and Progress. The obedience and fear characterizing the general response of v. 12 provokes the third statement from the prophet. The promise of the Lord’s presence (v. 13) engenders the actual response of “work” in vv. 14–15a.

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messenger (Hb. mal’ak) … message (Hb. mal’akut) … worked (Hb. mela’kah). This play on words makes a direct connection between the speaker (Haggai), the content of what was spoken (statement of assurance), and the desired effect upon the people (lit., “and they performed work”).

ESV

God’s Promise. I am with you (cf. 2:4). This is the great promise of covenantal assurance (cf. Num. 14:9; Josh. 14:12; Judg. 1:19; Isa. 43:5; cf. Matt. 28:20). The task before them will be undertaken with the promise of God’s aid.

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a Specific Response: Work Begins. In this fine example of divine prompting and human response, the Spirit of the Lord moves in the people and the people take action.

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the LORD stirred up the spirit. God awakens in the people an intense desire to work on repairing his house. Progress on the house arises only by means of the enabling power of the sovereign God (Ex. 35:21, 26, 30–35). their God. The companion statement of covenantal assurance (e.g., Jer. 24:7; 31:33; Ezek. 11:20; 37:27).

ESV

a twenty-fourth day … sixth month. September 21, 520 B.C.

ESV

b–2:9 The Former and Latter Glory of This House. Haggai bolsters flagging spirits in this fourth message. Comparing the past glory of the temple with the present ruins brought inevitable discouragement (2:1–3). The people are called to act based on the past (2:4–5). As God moved Israel to build the tabernacle, so he will now move among the nations to provide for the restoration of his house (2:6–9).

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b–2:3 Comparing Past and Present. The Lord challenges those who remember to compare the past glory of the temple with its present status.

ESV

b–2:1 second year … seventh month … twenty-first day. October 17, 520 B.C. (cf. 1:1), and the next-to-last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kings 8:2). It is likely that the people celebrated with limited resources (Hag. 1:10–11).