Haggai 2

The Builders Encouraged

1 On the twenty-first * of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by ¹Haggai the prophet saying,

2 "Speak now to ²Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ³governor of Judah, and to ⁴Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ⁵remnant of the people saying,

3 'Who is ⁶left among you who saw this ^[a]temple in its ⁷former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not ^[b]seem to you like nothing ^[c]in comparison?

4 'But now ^[d]8take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD, 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,' declares the LORD, 'and work; for ⁹I am with you,' declares the LORD of hosts.

5 'As for the ^[e]10promise which I ^[f]made you when you came out of Egypt, ^[g]My ¹¹Spirit is abiding in your midst; ¹²do not fear!'

6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, '¹³Once more ^[h]in a ¹⁴little while, I am going to ¹⁵shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.

7 'I will shake ¹⁶all the nations; and ^[i]they will come with the ¹⁷wealth of all nations, and I will ¹⁸fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of hosts.

8 'The ¹⁹silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the LORD of hosts.

9 'The latter ²⁰glory of this house will be greater than the ²¹former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will give ²²peace,' declares the LORD of hosts."

10 On the ²³twenty-fourth * of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying,

11 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, '²⁴Ask now the priests for a ^[j]ruling:

12 'If a man carries ²⁵holy meat in the ^[k]fold of his garment, and touches bread with ^[l]this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?' " And the priests answered, "No."

13 Then Haggai said, "²⁶If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?" And the priests answered, "It will become unclean."

14 Then Haggai said, " '²⁷So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,' declares the LORD, 'and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

15 'But now, do ²⁸consider * from this day onward: before * one ²⁹stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,

16 from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty.

17 'I smote you and every work of your hands with ³⁰blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,' declares the LORD.

18 'Do ³¹consider * from this day onward, from the ³²twenty-fourth * day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was ³³founded, consider *:

19 'Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will ³⁴bless you."'

20 Then the word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the ³⁵twenty-fourth * day of the month, saying,

21 "Speak to ³⁶Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, 'I am going to ³⁷shake the heavens and the earth.

22 'I will ³⁸overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ³⁹power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will ⁴⁰overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ⁴¹horses and their riders will go down, ⁴²everyone by the sword of another.'

23 'On that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like a ⁴³signet ring, for ⁴⁴I have chosen you,' " declares the LORD of hosts.

Haggai 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

Greater glory promised to the second temple than to the first. (1-9) Their sins hindered the work. (10-19) The kingdom of Christ foretold. (20-23)

Verses 1-9 Those who are hearty in the Lord's service shall receive encouragement to proceed. But they could not build such a temple then, as Solomon built. Though our gracious God is pleased if we do as well as we can in his service, yet our proud hearts will scarcely let us be pleased, unless we do as well as others, whose abilities are far beyond ours. Encouragement is given the Jews to go on in the work notwithstanding. They have God with them, his Spirit and his special presence. Though he chastens their transgressions, his faithfulness does not fail. The Spirit still remained among them. And they shall have the Messiah among them shortly; "He that should come." Convulsions and changes would take place in the Jewish church and state, but first should come great revolutions and commotions among the nations. He shall come, as the Desire of all nations; desirable to all nations, for in him shall all the earth be blessed with the best of blessings; long expected and desired by all believers. The house they were building should be filled with glory, very far beyond Solomon's temple. This house shall be filled with glory of another nature. If we have silver and gold, we must serve and honour God with it, for the property is his. If we have not silver and gold, we must honour him with such as we have, and he will accept us. Let them be comforted that the glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, in what would be beyond all the glories of the first house, the presence of the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lord of glory, personally, and in human nature. Nothing but the presence of the Son of God, in human form and nature, could fulfil this. Jesus is the Christ, is He that should come, and we are to look for no other. This prophecy alone is enough to silence the Jews, and condemn their obstinate rejection of Him, concerning whom all their prophets spake. If God be with us, peace is with us. But the Jews under the latter temple had much trouble; but this promise is fulfilled in that spiritual peace which Jesus Christ has by his blood purchased for all believers. All changes shall make way for Christ to be desired and valued by all nations. And the Jews shall have their eyes opened to behold how precious He is, whom they have hitherto rejected.

Verses 10-19 Many spoiled this good work, by going about it with unholy hearts and hands, and were likely to gain no advantage by it. The sum of these two rules of the law is, that sin is more easily learned from others than holiness. The impurity of their hearts and lives shall make the work of their hands, and all their offerings, unclean before God. The case is the same with us. When employed in any good work, we should watch over ourselves, lest we render it unclean by our corruptions. When we begin to make conscience of duty to God, we may expect his blessing; and whoso is wise will understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. God will curse the blessings of the wicked, and make bitter the prosperity of the careless; but he will sweeten the cup of affliction to those who diligently serve him.

Verses 20-23 The Lord will preserve Zerubbabel and the people of Judah, amidst their enemies. Here is also foretold the establishment and continuance of the kingdom of Christ; by union with whom his people are sealed with the Holy Ghost, sealed with his image, thus distinguished from all others. Here also is foretold the changes, even to that time when the kingdom of Christ shall overthrow and occupy the place of all the empires which opposed his cause. The promise has special reference to Christ, who descended from Zerubbabel in a direct line, and is the sole Builder of the gospel temple. Our Lord Jesus is the Signet on God's right hand, for all power is given to him, and derived from him. By him, and in him, all the promises of God are yea and amen. Whatever changes take place on earth, all will promote the comfort, honour, and happiness of his servants.

Cross References

• 1. Haggai 1:1
• 2. Haggai 1:1
• 3. Haggai 1:1
• 4. Haggai 1:1
• 5. Haggai 1:12
• 6. Ezra 3:12
• 7. Haggai 2:9
• 8. Deuteronomy 31:23; 1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Zechariah 8:9; Ephesians 6:10
• 9. 2 Samuel 5:10; Acts 7:9
• 10. Exodus 19:4-6; Exodus 29:45, 46; Exodus 33:12-14; Exodus 34:8-10
• 11. Nehemiah 9:20; Isaiah 63:11, 14
• 12. Isaiah 41:10, 13; Zechariah 8:13
• 13. Hebrews 12:26
• 14. Isaiah 10:25; Isaiah 29:17
• 15. Haggai 2:21
• 16. Daniel 2:44; Joel 3:9, 16
• 17. Isaiah 60:4-9
• 18. 1 Kings 8:11; Isaiah 60:7
• 19. 1 Chronicles 29:14, 16; Isaiah 60:17
• 20. Zechariah 2:5
• 21. Haggai 2:3
• 22. Isaiah 9:6, 7; Isaiah 66:12
• 23. Haggai 2:20
• 24. Deuteronomy 17:8-11; Malachi 2:7
• 25. Exodus 29:37; Leviticus 6:27, 29; Leviticus 7:6; Ezekiel 44:19; Matthew 23:19
• 26. Leviticus 22:4-6; Numbers 19:22
• 27. Proverbs 15:8; Isaiah 1:11-15
• 28. Haggai 1:5, 7; Haggai 2:18
• 29. Ezra 3:10; Ezra 4:24
• 30. Deuteronomy 28:22; 1 Kings 8:37; Amos 4:9
• 31. Deuteronomy 32:29; Haggai 2:15
• 32. Haggai 2:10
• 33. Ezra 5:1, 2; Zechariah 8:9, 12
• 34. Psalms 128:1-6; Jeremiah 31:12, 14; Malachi 3:10
• 35. Haggai 2:10
• 36. Ezra 5:2; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 4:6-10
• 37. Haggai 2:6; Hebrews 12:26, 27
• 38. Ezekiel 26:16; Zephaniah 3:8
• 39. Micah 7:16
• 40. Psalms 46:9; Ezekiel 39:20; Micah 5:10
• 41. Amos 2:15
• 42. Judges 7:22; 2 Chronicles 20:23
• 43. Song of Songs 8:6; Jeremiah 22:24
• 44. Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 43:10

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "house"
• [b]. Lit "in your eyes"
• [c]. Lit "like it"
• [d]. Lit "be strong"
• [e]. Lit "word"
• [f]. Lit "cut with"
• [g]. Or "while...was standing"
• [h]. Lit "it is a little"
• [i]. Or "the desire of all nations will come"
• [j]. Lit "law"
• [k]. Lit "wing"
• [l]. Lit "his wing"
• [m]. Lit "soul"
• [n]. Lit "set your heart"
• [o]. Or "backward"
• [p]. Lit "since they were"
• [q]. Or "troughs full"
• [r]. Or "but what did we have in common?"
• [s]. Lit "set your heart"
• [t]. Or "backward"
• [u]. Lit "set your heart"
• [v]. Or "Gentiles"
• [w]. Or "seal"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO HAGGAI 2

This chapter contains three sermons or prophecies, delivered by the prophet to the people of the Jews. The design of the first is to encourage them to go on with the building of the temple, though it might seem to come greatly short of the former temple, as to its outward form and splendour. The time of the prophecy, Hag 2:1 an order to deliver it to the governor, high priest, and all the people, Hag 2:2. A question is put concerning the difference between this temple and the former; between which it is suggested there was no comparison; which is assented to by silence, Hag 2:3 nevertheless, the prince, priest, and people, are exhorted to go on strenuously in the work of building; encouraged with a promise of the presence of the Lord of hosts, and of his Word, in whom he covenanted with them at their coming out of Egypt, and of the blessed Spirit, and his continuance with them, Hag 2:4,5 and, the more to remove their fears and faintings, it is declared that in a very short time a most wonderful thing should be done in the world, which would affect all the nations of the earth; for that illustrious Person would come, whom all nations do or should desire; and, not only come into the world, but into that temple they were building, and give it a greater glory than the former; yea, a greater glory than if all the gold and silver in the world were laid out upon it, or brought into it; which being all the Lord's, could have been easily done by him; but he would give in it something infinitely greater than that, even the Prince of peace, with all the blessings of it, Hag 2:6-9 then follows the second sermon or prophecy, the time of which is observed, Hag 2:10 and it is introduced with some questions concerning ceremonial uncleanness, by an unclean person's touching holy flesh with the skirt of his garment; and other things, which is confirmed by the answer of the priests, Hag 2:11-13 the application of which is made to the people of the Jews, who were alike unclean; they, their works, and their sacrifices, Hag 2:14 and these are directed to consider, that, during the time they had neglected to build the temple, they were attended with scarcity of provisions; their fields and vineyards being blasted with mildew or destroyed by hail, and their labours proved unsuccessful, Hag 2:15-17 but now, since they had begun the work of building, it is promised they should be blessed with everything, though they had nothing in store, and everything was unpromising to them; which is designed to encourage them to go on cheerfully in their begun work, Hag 2:18,19 and the chapter is concluded with the last discourse or prophecy, the date of which is given, Hag 2:20 an instruction to deliver it to Zerubbabel, Hag 2:21 foretelling the destruction of the kingdoms of the heathen; and the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah, of whom Zerubbabel was a type, precious and honourable in the sight of God, Hag 2:22,23.