Commentary - Haggai 2:1-9

Bird's-eye view

In this second oracle from the prophet Haggai, the Lord addresses the discouragement of the returned exiles. They had begun the work of rebuilding the temple, but it was plain to all, especially the older generation, that this new house would not hold a candle to the glorious temple of Solomon. It is easy for the people of God to get bogged down in the day of small things, comparing their meager efforts to a golden age in the past. But God does not despise the day of small things (Zech. 4:10); rather, He uses them as the foundation for a far greater glory to come. This passage is a potent encouragement to all believers who are tempted to discouragement by the apparent smallness of their work. God's economy is not like ours. He promises that the latter glory of His house, the Church of Jesus Christ, will far surpass the former. This is a foundational text for a robustly optimistic, postmillennial eschatology. The glory is yet to come, and we are building it now.

The Lord commands His leaders, Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest, and all the people to be strong and to work, grounding their efforts not in their own abilities or resources, but in His presence and His unshakeable covenant promise. He then promises to do something astounding. He will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. He will shake all nations, and the desirable things, the very wealth of the nations, will flow into His house. This is not about a physical building in Jerusalem, but about the gathering of the elect from every tribe and tongue into the true temple, the body of Christ. The glory of this new covenant temple will not be in gold and silver, though God claims ownership of all that as well, but in the presence of Christ Himself and the peace He establishes.

Outline

Context In Haggai

Haggai's ministry, along with Zechariah's, was to the remnant that had returned from the Babylonian exile under the decree of Cyrus. They had laid the foundation of the temple some sixteen years prior but had quit the work due to opposition and a misplaced focus on their own domestic comforts (Hag. 1:4). Haggai's first message in chapter one was a sharp rebuke that successfully roused the people from their lethargy. They repented and got back to work. This second message comes about a month later. The initial zeal has perhaps worn off, and the people are now facing the hard reality of the task. The scale of the project compared to their limited resources was daunting, and the memory of Solomon's magnificent temple only served to highlight the poverty of their present undertaking. This prophecy is God's direct answer to that corporate discouragement.

Key Issues

Commentary

(1) On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet saying,

The Lord is precise. He gives us the date, which places this prophecy during the Feast of Tabernacles, a time of celebrating God's provision in the wilderness and looking forward to the final ingathering. The timing is itself a sermon. As the people are celebrating God's past faithfulness in a temporary booth, God speaks to them about the construction of His permanent dwelling and its future glory. The "word of Yahweh" is the driving force here. It doesn't just float down; it comes "by the hand of Haggai," indicating instrumentality. God uses men to deliver His authoritative word. Haggai is simply the messenger, the vessel. The power is in the word of Yahweh, not in the prophet's eloquence.

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

God's word is directed to the leadership first, and then to everyone else. The civil magistrate, Zerubbabel, and the high priest, Joshua, are addressed by name. Order is important to God. He establishes authorities, and He speaks to them and through them. But the word is not for them alone; it is for the "remnant of the people." This is a covenant community, and the encouragement is for all of them. They are a "remnant," a small shoot from a felled tree, but they are the seed of a great forest to come. God is about to tell this remnant that their smallness is no obstacle to His grand purposes.

(3) "'Who among you remains who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?'"

The Lord puts His finger directly on the source of their discouragement. He asks a rhetorical question that He knows the answer to. There were old men among them who had seen Solomon's temple before its destruction by the Babylonians. They remembered its grandeur, the sheer scale, the gold, the craftsmanship. And now they look at this new foundation, this pile of rocks and timber, and their hearts sink. "How do you see it now?" God asks. He knows how they see it: "like nothing." God is not afraid of our honest assessments. He doesn't tell them to pretend the new temple is something it's not. He acknowledges their reality. Yes, in their eyes, it is nothing. But the crucial distinction is "in your eyes." Their perspective is not God's perspective.

(4) "'But now, be strong, Zerubbabel,' declares Yahweh, 'be strong also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land, be strong,' declares Yahweh, 'and work; for I am with you,' declares Yahweh of hosts.'"

In the face of this acknowledged reality, the command is not to despair, but to be strong. This command is repeated three times for emphasis, addressed to the governor, the priest, and the people. This is the same command God gave to another Joshua as he was about to lead the conquest of Canaan (Josh. 1:6-9). It is a command for leaders and followers in every generation. And what is the basis for this strength? It is not a pep talk about their hidden potential. The basis is a promise: "for I am with you." This is the bedrock of all Christian endeavor. The reason to be strong and to work is not the likelihood of success from a human point of view, but the guaranteed presence of Almighty God, "Yahweh of hosts," the Lord of armies. He is with them. That changes everything.

(5) "'As for the promise which I cut with you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is standing in your midst; do not fear!'"

God now grounds His presence with them in His covenant history. He reminds them of the great covenant He "cut" with them at Sinai. This is not a new thing. God is not making it up as He goes along. His faithfulness is ancient and enduring. The same God who delivered them from Egypt, who led them by a pillar of cloud and fire, is with them now. And how is He with them? "My Spirit is standing in your midst." The Holy Spirit is not a fleeting influence but a constant, standing presence among His people. The result of recognizing this covenant presence is the banishment of fear. "Do not fear!" This is the great imperative that flows from a right understanding of who God is and what He has promised. Fear is the enemy of faith and work. God commands courage based on His covenant faithfulness.

(6) "'For thus says Yahweh of hosts, 'Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.'"

Here the prophecy takes a dramatic, cosmic turn. The reason they should not fear is that God is about to do something far bigger than they can imagine. He is going to "shake" everything. The author of Hebrews quotes this very passage to explain the transition from the Old Covenant to the New (Heb. 12:26-27). This shaking is the upheaval of the old world order to make way for the unshakable kingdom of Christ. This is not just political turmoil; it is a complete reordering of the cosmos. God is going to rattle the cages of all human institutions and every created thing to demonstrate their instability and transience. He is clearing the deck for what is to come.

(7) "'And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the desirable things of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,' says Yahweh of hosts."

The shaking has a purpose. It is to dislodge the nations from their pagan moorings and bring them, along with their treasures, to God. The phrase "desirable things of all nations" has often been interpreted messianically as "the desire of all nations," referring to Christ. While Christ is certainly the ultimate desire of every human heart, the grammar more naturally points to the wealth, the glory, the treasures of the nations. This is a prophecy of the Great Commission. As the gospel goes forth, the nations are shaken, and they bring their tribute to the true King. They bring their cultural treasures, their intellectual achievements, their artistic glories, and lay them at the feet of Christ, consecrating them to His service. And the result? "I will fill this house with glory." God Himself will do the filling. The glory is His, not ours.

(8) "'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' declares Yahweh of hosts.'"

The people were discouraged by their lack of resources. They looked at their empty coffers and then at the task before them and concluded it was impossible. God reminds them who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. All the silver and gold in the world already belongs to Him. He is not dependent on their building fund. If He wanted a temple overlaid with gold like Solomon's, He could arrange it in a heartbeat. This declaration is meant to liberate them from their resource-driven anxiety. The success of God's work never depends on our balance sheets. It depends entirely on Him. He owns everything, and He can fund His projects however He sees fit.

(9) "'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says Yahweh of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace,' declares Yahweh of hosts.'"

This is the climax of the prophecy and the great reversal of their expectations. They were looking backward at a former glory they could not hope to replicate. God tells them to look forward to a future glory that will completely eclipse the past. The "latter glory" will be "greater than the former." How could this be? The second temple was, by all historical accounts, less magnificent than the first. The glory was not in the architecture but in the occupant. The glory of the second temple was that the Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, would walk in its courts. But even that is just a type and shadow. The "house" here is ultimately the Church, the new temple built of living stones (1 Pet. 2:5). The glory of this new covenant house is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every believer and the triumphant, global advance of the gospel. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). And the final gift is peace, shalom. In this glorified house, God will give His comprehensive peace, a peace that comes through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. This is the peace of sins forgiven, of reconciliation with God, and ultimately, the peace of a restored creation under the reign of its rightful King.

Application

The church today is often in the same position as that remnant in Haggai's day. We look at the ruins of Christendom around us, we see the cultural ascendancy of paganism, and we compare our small, struggling churches to a perceived golden age of the past. We are tempted to discouragement. Haggai's message is God's word to us. Stop looking backward with nostalgia and stop looking at your own meager resources with despair.

The command is the same: "Be strong and work." Our strength comes not from our numbers, our budgets, or our cultural influence, but from the promise, "I am with you." The Spirit of God is standing in our midst. Therefore, we are not to fear. God is shaking the nations today just as He promised. The tottering institutions of secularism are being rattled to their foundations. And what is our job in the midst of this shaking? To work. To build the house. To preach the gospel, disciple the nations, and build faithful Christian households and communities. The desirable things of the nations will be brought into the kingdom. God is sovereign over all wealth and resources.

And we must fix our eyes on the promised glory. The future of the Church is not decline and retreat, but ever-increasing glory. The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former. We are on the winning side of history. Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and His kingdom will not fail. Therefore, take heart. Be strong. Do the work set before you, no matter how small it seems in your own eyes. For in this place, in the Church of Jesus Christ, God gives His peace.