Haggai 2

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month: This was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a celebration of the summer harvest (see Leviticus 23:34–43). Hundreds of years earlier, people dedicated Solomon’s Temple during this festival (1 Kings 8:2). Haggai’s message aimed to give the people hope and encouragement during their current distress and discouragement.

Haggai’s second message assures the community that God remembers his promises, made by earlier prophets, to bless and restore them (for example, Isaiah 35; 40:1–11; 52:1–12; Jeremiah 32:36–44; 33:6–26).

The former splendor belonged to Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:38). Some older people of Judah had seen it in their youth before they went into exile in Babylon. They wept when they saw the new foundation laid (Ezra 3:12–13) because it seemed insignificant in comparison.

But now be strong: This marks a shift from criticism and challenge to encouragement and support (see Joshua 1:6–7).

• My Spirit remains among you: See Exodus 29:46; Isaiah 63:11; Ezekiel 36:26–27.

• This is the promise I made to you (literally the word I cut with you): The phrase “cut a covenant” is a Hebrew expression for making a covenant (see Genesis 15:18; Exodus 34:27). Haggai’s phrase, “cut a word,” is unique in the Old Testament. It uses language that intentionally links his prophecy to God’s covenant with his people.

  By making this connection, Haggai emphasized the continuity of God’s actions in saving his people, first from Egypt and then from Babylon (see Ezekiel 20:33–38).

God will once more shake the heavens and the earth on the coming day of judgment (see Isaiah 2:19–21; 30:28). The previous shaking was the judgment on Egypt during the exodus (Haggai 2:21–22; Exodus 14:31).

The New Testament connects this to the return of Jesus Christ in a short time (Hebrews 12:26–27). Haggai likely saw God's ultimate judgment hinted at in events after his time, such as the fall of Persia to Greece and Greece to Rome (see Daniel 2:39–45).

The nations will bring their valuable gifts to the temple. They will offer these gifts as tribute and honor to the God of Israel.

• latter glory: Haggai might refer to the Messiah coming to his temple (see Malachi 3:1). Jesus was presented in the Lord’s temple as a baby (Luke 2:22), and he taught there as an adult (Luke 19:45–47). Jesus, the human Word of God, is greater than the temple (Matthew 12:6; see John 2:13–22). Although only a few recognized it, the presence of Jesus in the temple surpassed the glory in the tabernacle during the time of Moses and in Solomon’s Temple (compare Luke 2:29–32).

• in this place I will provide peace: The priestly blessing (Numbers 6:24–26) was part of the temple ceremonies. In the last days, God would make a covenant of peace with Israel (Ezekiel 34:25; 37:26). Rebuilding the temple guaranteed that future peace.

The third message focuses on the law's rules about ceremonial purity. These rules were still in effect. God wants his people to be holy, just as he is holy (Leviticus 11:44–45).

Ask the priests: Their job was to teach and explain the law (Deuteronomy 33:10; Malachi 2:7–9), so the message about ceremonial purity was for them.

does that item become holy?: This question refers to meat from a holy sacrifice and how ceremonial purity and impurity could be transferred (see “Clean, Unclean, and Holy” Theme Note).

Carrying the holy sacrifice (the meat set aside and prepared for the offering) made one’s robe holy (compare Leviticus 6:18). However, this holiness could not be passed on to a third object.

Ceremonial uncleanness spreads more easily than ceremonial purity. Anyone touching a dead body became defiled and thus unclean. Anything touched by an unclean person also becomes impure (see Numbers 19:11–13, 22). Haggai discusses this in Haggai 2:14.

So it is with this people: Simply returning from exile to the land God promised Israel did not make the people of Judah holy. They were still unclean because they did not follow God's covenant instructions. Their work and worship were tainted by impurity. The ruins of the Lord’s temple symbolized their disobedience. Rebuilding the temple was a clear sign of changed hearts and renewed obedience to God's covenant.

consider carefully (see study note on Haggai 1:5): God gives blessing, whether spiritual or material, when his people obey him (Deuteronomy 30:6–10).

Haggai urged the people to continue examining their own actions. This careful self-examination leads to repentance (turning back to God). He also called them to continue living in the fear of the Lord (respect and obedience toward God), which his first message had already begun to produce (see Haggai 1:7, 12).

• turn to Me: This often means repentance.

• you did not: The Hebrew people were stubborn and rebellious from the time of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:27) to the time of Jesus (Matthew 17:17).

• blight, mildew: These events happened because of disobedience to God's covenant (see Deuteronomy 28:22).

Consider carefully … from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: Some think "this day" means when they first cleared rubble from the temple site and gathered building materials, which was September 21, 520 BC (see Haggai 1:14–15).

• Is there still seed in the barn?: This promise of a plentiful harvest highlights God's faithfulness to his covenant people. The temple was not yet finished, but God promised to extend its blessings immediately.

• But from this day on, I will bless you: God graciously responded right away to his people's efforts toward spiritual renewal and obedience (see Psalm 111:4–5).

Haggai's final message is perhaps the most important. It focuses on the importance of David's descendant in Israel's religious and political life. After the Babylonian exile, the family line of David, in which kings came from the same family, was essential to Israel’s hope of restoration (see Jeremiah 23:5; Ezekiel 37:24).

God had cursed David's descendant, King Jehoiachin, during the exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 22:24–30), but Haggai's last message lifts that curse. It restores the covenant with David (see 2 Samuel 7:4–17) as the way God will fulfill his promises to bless and restore Israel.

Zerubbabel, the governor, was a descendant of David through Jehoiachin (1 Chronicles 3:19). Haggai’s statement reverses the curse on Jehoiachin (Jeremiah 22:24–30). However, Zerubbabel suddenly disappears from the biblical record. He might have been removed as Judean governor or even executed by King Darius, who was trying to control his new empire. The expectations placed on Zerubbabel and his lineage as a descendant of David might have made him a political threat to Darius.

I will overturn chariots and their riders: The prophet's words remind Israel of their escape from the Egyptian army (see Exodus 15:1–21). It is unclear if Haggai refers to future events or something closer, like the Persian Empire's conflicts. This could include the Greek-Persian wars during the reigns of Darius I and Xerxes or the later Peloponnesian War.

The signet ring was a symbol of kingship. It was a finger ring made of gold or silver with an engraved stone. People used it to seal or approve official documents.

This image shows the divine authority that God gave to Zerubbabel. It assured God’s people that the Lord was still involved in political life, even after the failures of the kings of Judah.

Calling Zerubbabel the Lord’s signet likely renewed hope for the Messiah (God's chosen leader), since Zerubbabel was a descendant of King David. However, this promise ultimately points beyond Zerubbabel (see study note on Haggai 2:21). It points to one of his descendants, the Messiah, who would come later (see Matthew 1:12; Luke 1:32–33; 3:27).