Haggai 2:14
Ver. 14. Then answered Haggai, and said,.... To the priests, and before the people; and made an application of these things to them, which was the thing in view in putting the questions:
So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before me, saith the Lord; not only those people that were present and at work at the temple, but those that were absent, even the whole body of the people; who, though they were pure in their own eyes, yet were not so before the Lord; who knew their hearts, and the spring of all their actions; what were their ends and views in all they did: as a garment carrying in it holy flesh could not sanctify other things touched by it that were common and profane, but left them as they were; so their ritual devotions, and externally holy actions, did not and could not sanctify their impure hearts, but left them as unclean as before; nor did they sanctify their common mercies, their bread, pottage, wine, and oil: and, on the other hand, as an impure person made everything impure he touched; so they, being impure in heart, all their actions, even their religious ones, were impure also, as follows:
and so [is] every work of their hands; and that which they offer there [is] unclean; pointing at the altar, which they had built, and offered sacrifice on ever since they came out of Babylon, though the temple was not yet built, Ezr 3:3 but all their outward religious services, and all the sacrifices they offered up, were in the Lord's account impure and abominable, as well as themselves; coming from an unsanctified heart, and offered up with unclean hands, and without repentance towards God, and faith in Christ; and living in other respects in disobedience to God, and especially while they neglected the building of the temple; satisfying themselves with offering sacrifices on the altar, when the house of God lay desolate; which is the principal thing respected, as appears by what follows. Haggai 2:15Ver. 15. And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward,.... This being their case, and they so polluted with sin, particularly through their neglect of building the temple; they are most earnestly and importunately entreated to "lay" it "to their hearts", to ponder it in their minds, and thoroughly consider how it had fared with them from this twenty fourth day of the ninth month, in which the prophet was sent unto them to encourage them in their work, and upwards or backwards, for some years past: evenfrom before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord: the foundation of the temple was laid quickly after the Jews returned from Babylon, upon the proclamation of Cyrus, Ezr 3:10 but, through difficulties and discouragements they met with, they desisted from the work, and went no further; a stone was not laid upon it; or, as the Targum, a row, or course upon course, until this time: and now all the intermediate space of time between the first laying the foundation of the temple, and their present going to work upon it, the prophet would have them take particular notice of; how it had been with them, as to their outward circumstances; whereby it would appear, they had sinned, and the Lord had been offended with them. Haggai 2:16Ver. 16. Since those [days] were,.... From the time the foundation of the temple was laid, unto the time they began to work again, which was a space of about fifteen or sixteen years:when [one] came to an heap of twenty [measures], there were [but] ten; when the husbandman having gathered in his corn, and who was generally a good judge of what it would yield, came to a heap of it on his corn floor, either of sheaves not threshed, or grain not winnowed, and expected it would have produced at least twenty measures, seahs, or bushels; afterward it was threshed and winnowed, to his great disappointment he had but ten out of it; there were so much straw and chaff, and so little grain; or when he came to a heap of grain, wheat, or barley, in his granary, where he thought he should have twenty bushels of it; but when he had measured it, proved but ten; being either stolen by thieves, or eaten by vermin; rather the latter:when [one] came to the wine vat for to draw out fifty [vessels] out of the press, there were [but] twenty; by the quantity of grapes which he put into the press to tread and squeeze, he expected to have had fifty measures, or baths, or hogsheads of wine; but, instead of that, had but twenty; the bunches were so thin, or the berries so bad: there was a greater decrease and deficiency in the wine than in the grain. Haggai 2:17Ver. 17. I smote you with blasting,.... That is, their fields and vineyards, with burning winds, which consumed them; with blights by east winds: this shows the reason of their disappointment, and that it was from the Lord, and for their sins, by way of chastisement and correction:and with mildew; a kind of clammy dew, which corrupts and destroys the fruits of the earth; and is a kind of jaundice to them, as the word signifies; see Am 4:9:and with hail; which battered down the corn and the vines, and broke them to pieces; see Ex 9:25:in all the labours of your hands; in the corn they sowed, and in the vines they planted:yet ye [turned] not to me, saith the Lord; did not consider their evil ways as the cause of all this; nor repent of them, and turn from them to the Lord; to his worship, as the Targum; or to the building of his house, the thing chiefly complained of. Afflictions, unless sanctified, have no effect upon men to turn them from their sins to the Lord. Haggai 2:18Ver. 18. Consider now from this day and upward,.... Or forward; for time to come, as the Vulgate Latin version:from the four and twentieth day of the ninth [month]; before observed, Hag 2:10:even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider [it]; not from the time it was first laid after their return upon the proclamation of Cyrus, but from the time they began to clear that foundation, and to build upon it; and which having lain so long neglected, the renewal of it is represented as a fresh laying of it: now the prophet, as he had directed them to consider what adversity and calamities had attended them from the time of their neglect unto this time; so he would have them particularly observe what blessings they would enjoy from henceforward; by which it would appear how pleasing it was to the Lord that they had begun and were going on with the building. Haggai 2:19Ver. 19. Is the seed yet in the barn?.... The seed for sowing the land, in order for the next harvest: this is by some answered in the affirmative, it was in the barn, it was not yet sown; this being the ninth month, the month Chisleu, which answers to part of our November; rather it should be in the negative, no, it was just sown; and therefore no conjecture could be made, whether it would be a good harvest, or not; yet the prophet, in the name of the Lord, promises them a good one so long before hand: for the month Chisleu, which was the ninth month, was the last for sowing, and even the first half of that; for so say {r} the Jews,"half Tisri, all Marchesvan, and half Chisleu, is seed time;''so that this being that month, seed time must have been just over; and the sense, is there any seed in the barn? no, it is sown; and so, is there any remaining in the granary for the support of families until the next harvest? they knew there were none, or very little: and yet the Lord promises to bless them, so that they should have enough:yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth; their various fruits; this not being the time of their bearing fruit, for it was winter time; and it could not be said what they would bring forth in their season so long before hand; yet it is suggested by the prophet that they would be very fruitful; which were the principal fruit trees the land of Israel abounded with, De 8:8 and on which their comfortable subsistence depended. Kimchi observes, that it may be wondered at that the olive tree should be mentioned, because the time of its bearing fruit were the months of Marchesvan and Chisleu; but perhaps the time of its bearing fruit was delayed (as he says) because of the curse upon it:from this day will I bless you; with plenty of all good things, in their fields and gardens, in their vineyards and olive yards; so that a difference between former and present times, and those to come, would easily be discerned, and the reasons of it.{r} T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 106. 2. Haggai 2:20Ver. 20. And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai,.... Or a "second" {s} time, even on the same day as the former:in the four and twentieth day of the month; of the ninth month Chisleu, Hag 2:10:saying; as follows:{s} tynv "secundo", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "secunda vice", Burkius. Haggai 2:21Ver. 21. Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah,.... The former discourse or prophecy chiefly related to the people, for their encouragement in building; this is directed to the prince over them, to support him under all the changes and revolutions made in the world; that he should be regarded by the Lord in a very tender manner, and his government continued, as a type of Christ and his kingdom:saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; make great commotions, changes, and revolutions in the world, by wars, and otherwise: the Persian kingdom being subdued by the Grecian; the Grecian by the Romans; the Roman empire by the Goths and Vandals; and the antichristian states, both Papal and Mahometan, by the vials of God's wrath poured out upon them, by means of Christian princes: such revolutions are often designed by the shaking of the heavens, especially by earthquakes in the book of the Revelation; see Re 6:14. Haggai 2:22Ver. 22. And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms,.... The Persian monarchy, which consisted of various kingdoms and nations, and was destroyed under Darius Codomannus by Alexander the great, who fought with him three pitched battles, and overcame him; but the thing was of the Lord, according to his purpose and will, and by his power and providence; and therefore the overthrow is ascribed to him. The Jews {t} say that the Persian monarchy fell by the Grecians thirty four years after the building of the temple; but very wrongly, it lasted longer:and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; the empire of Alexander, which was a very strong one, and contained in it many kingdoms and nations, even the whole world, at least as he thought; and which was divided after his death into several kingdoms; the strength of which was greatly weakened by one another, and at last entirely destroyed by the Romans as instruments:and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down; which may refer either to the chariots and horses, and their riders, belonging to the Grecians, and used in their wars; or else this may describe the empire of the Romans, which in its turn should be destroyed, famous for their triumphal chariots:everyone by the sword of his brother; by civil wars, which was remarkably true of the successors of Alexander, as appears from Josephus {u} and Justin {w}: this may be applied to all the kingdoms of this world, which will all be demolished, and be brought into subjection to Christ, and his kingdom shall be set up in the world, the son and antitype of Zerubbabel, of whom the following words are to be understood; see Da 2:44. Abendana interprets it of the army of Gog and Magog, who shall fall everyone by the sword of his brother.{t} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 30. p. 91. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 18. 1. {u} Antiqu. l. 12. c. 1. sect. 1. {w} E. Trogo, l. 13. c. 6. Haggai 2:23Ver. 23. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts,.... When all these kingdoms, and their thrones and strength, are destroyed; which shows that what follows cannot be understood literally of Zerubbabel, who lived not to see these things done:will I take thee, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord; that is, the Messiah, as is owned by Abarbinel; who says {x},"the King Messiah shall come, who is of the seed of Zerubbabel; and he shall be the seal of the structure, and the end of the kingdoms; as it is said, "I will make thee as a signet, for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts"; for this no doubt is said concerning the days of the Messiah:''and another Jewish writer {y}, quoting the above author for the sense of this passage, and Eze 37:25, adds,"for the King Messiah he will be David, and he will be Zerubbabel, that he may be a rod going out of their stem;''and another {z} on these words observes,"without doubt this is said concerning the expected Messiah, who will be of the seed of Zerubbabel; and therefore this promise was not at all fulfilled in him; for in the time of this prophecy he was but governor of Judah, and he never rose to greater dignity than what he then had:''indeed these writers wrongly suppose the Messiah yet to come, and whom they in vain expect; and apply this, as they do many other prophecies, to the coming of Christ in the flesh, which belong to his spiritual appearance in his churches, or to his personal coming at the last day: however, this shows the conviction on their minds of the application of this and such like prophecies to the Messiah, who may be called Zerubbabel, as he is sometimes David, because he sprung from him, was of his lineage, and because he was a type of him, in bringing the people of the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity, in rebuilding the temple, in the government of the people, and in being chosen of God, and precious; as well as a servant of the Lord, as here expressed, and which is often mentioned as a character of the Messiah, Isa 49:3:and will make thee as a signet; preserve, protect and defend, love, value, and esteem, and advance to great honour and dignity, power and authority: the signet or seal on a man's right hand, being what he always wears, is ever in sight, and he is careful of; as well as is what he greatly esteems, and is dear unto him, and he highly values; and by which a prince signs his decrees and edicts; see Isa 49:2 So 8:6:for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts; to be the Redeemer and Saviour of his people; to be their King and Governor, and the Judge of the world. Christ is peculiarly God's elect, and in whom all his people are chosen; be is the chosen of God, and precious, Ps 89:19. The Targum is,"for in thee I am well pleased;''which is said by God the Father concerning Christ more than once, Mt 3:17. It is a prophecy of the exaltation of Christ after he had done his work, as the Lord's servant, and especially in the latter day, when he shall be King over all the earth; all which cannot be so well applied to Zerubbabel; unless with Reinbeck we understand it of the time of his resurrection from the dead at the last day; when great honour shall be put upon him as a faithful servant, and great love and affection expressed to him; but that will be no other than what will be common to all the saints and chosen of God; Christ, in whom all prophecies terminate, and so this, is doubtless intended.{x} Mayene Jeshuah, fol. 13. 4. Vid. & Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 67. 2. {y} Abendana in Miclol Yophi in loc. {z} R. Isaac, Chizzuk Emunah, par. 1. c. 34. p. 289, 290.