Haggai
2
§ 1. The prophet
comforts whose who grieve at the comparative poverty of the new
building with the assurance of the
Divine protection and favor. (vs. 1-5)
1 “In the
seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month,
came the word of the LORD by the prophet
Haggai, saying,”
The seventh month is Ethanim or Tisri, answering to parts of
September and October. The twenty-first was the last and great day of the
Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34-36), when It was the
custom to
celebrate the ingathering of the harvest. The joyous nature of this
festival
was
sadly marred on this occasion. Their crops were scanty, and they had.
no
temple in whose courts they might assemble to pay their vows and offer
their thank offerings. The building which had begun to make some
progress
only the more showed its poverty. Everything tended to make them
contrast the present with the past. But God mercifully relieves
their
despondency with a new message. By
the prophet Haggai (see note on ch.1:1).
2 “Speak
now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
governor of
and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the
residue of the people, saying,” Speak now to Zerubbabel.
The message is
addressed to the
heads of the nation, temporal and spiritual, and
to all the people
who had returned (see notes on ch.1:1 and 12).
3 “Who is
left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and
how do ye see it now? is it not in your
eyes in comparison of it as
nothing?” Who is left among
you! etc. It is quite possible that there
should be some old people present who had seen Solomon’s
temple. Many
have thought that Haggai himself was of the number. It was
sixty-eight
years ago that the temple was destroyed, and we can well
believe that its
remarkable features were deeply impressed on the minds of
those who as
boys or youths had loved and admired it. Ezra tells us
(Ezra 3:12) that
“many of the
priests and Levites” [when the foundation
first was laid] and
chief of the
fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house,…
wept with a loud
voice.” This house. The prophet identifies the present
with Solomon’s temple, as being adapted for the same
purposes, to fill the
same place in the national life, built on the same hallowed
spot, and partly
with the same materials. In the Jews’ eyes there was one
only temple,
whatever might be the date of its erection or the
comparative worth of its
decorations and materials. First; former, as
v. 9. How do ye see it now?
(Numbers 13:18). In what condition do ye see this house
now? Is it
not in your eyes
in comparison of it as nothing? The words, “in
comparison of it,” ought to be omitted, as not required by
the Hebrew
idiom. Does it not seem in your eyes as if it had no
existence? If the
injunction of Cyrus (Ezra 1:3-11) had been carried out, the
dimensions of. the new temple would have exceeded those of
the old; but
Zerubbabel seems to have been unable, with the small resources at his
disposal, to execute the original design, though even so
the proportions
were not greatly inferior to those of the earlier temple.
But the chief
inferiority lay in the absence of the splendor and
enrichment with which
Solomon adorned his edifice. The gold which he had lavished
on the house
was no longer available; the precious stones could not be
had. Besides.
these defects, the Talmudists reckon five things wanting
in this second
temple, viz.
It was, according to Josephus, only half the height of
Solomon’s-sixty cubits
(‘
the first building (‘
of the courts as five hundred feet in length and a hundred
cubits in breadth
(double the width of the court of the tabernacle), and the
size of the altar
as twenty cubits square and ten cubits high (see Josephus,
‘Cont. Ap.,’
1:22; Conder, ‘Handbook to the
Bible,’ p. 370).
4 “Yet now
be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith
the LORD; and be strong,
O Joshua, son of Josedech,
the high priest; and be strong, all ye
people of the land, saith
the LORD, and work: for I am with you,
saith the LORD of hosts:” Be strong. This is repeated three times for emphasis’
sake. The same exhortation was given by David to Solomon before the
building of
the first temple (I Chronicles 28:10; compare Joshua 1:6-7,
9).
Haggai seems to suggest comfort in the thought that such
admonition was
needed at that time as well as now when they are so
depressed (compare
Zechariah 8:9). And
work; literally, and do; ποιεῖτε - poieite: facite, The
word is used absolutely, as often (compare Isaiah 44:23;
Amos 3:6,
and note there). Here it means, “Work on bravely, finish
what you have
begun.” I am with
you (see ch. 1:13, and note there). The
consciousness of God’s presence
gives confidence and strength.
5 “According
to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came
out of
According to the
word that I covenanted. The Hebrew is
simply, “the word that I,” etc. Hence some have connected
it with the verb
“do” in the preceding verse, the intervening words being
parenthetical. But
there is intended no injunction respecting the observation
of the old
covenant, but a consolatory message under present
despondency. Others
take it with the verb that follows: “the word and my Spirit
remain among
you.” but it is best to leave the clause in the abrupt
fashion in which it is
introduced: “(Here is, here stands) the word that I covenanted with you.”
If anything is supplied, we might insert, “I will confirm.”
The promise of
present help is confirmed by the remembrance of God’s
former covenant
with
access to Him and a claim on His help (Exodus 19:5-6;
29:45-46;
Deuteronomy 7:6; Jeremiah 7:23). This clause is entirely
omitted by
tile Septuagint. So
my Spirit remaineth among you; Revised
Version,
and my Spirit abode among you. But the clause refers to God’s
presence
among them now, which
was shown by the revelations made to the
prophets, as Haggai and Zechariah, and which exhibits
itself in His
providential ordering of events, the removal of obstacles,
the furthering of
the go od work. Wordsworth notes that “Christ was with the ancient
Church in the wilderness (see I Corinthians 10:4,9; Hebrews
11:26);
and now, when the eternal Word became incarnate, and when the Holy
Spirit was sent to be in the midst of God’s faithful
people, then this
prophecy was fulfilled. Fear ye not. If God be for us, who can be against
us?” (Romans 8:31; and compare Zechariah 4:6).
Past and Present. (vs. 3-5)
question assumes that the structure then erecting was not a new
edifice
(which
it really was), but the old building set up again, though in faded
splendor, which also it was, inasmuch as it was based on the
foundations
of the earlier pile. “This house in its former glory”
meant that the prophet
looked on the two houses as one, and the two eras represented by
these
houses, not as two distinct and separate periods, but as one
continuous
period. As it were the national life, for seventy years
interrupted by the
exile, again flowed on,
restoring the temple, reinstituting the religion of
Jehovah, and pervading the whole
fabric of society. The present was not
so
much a fresh commencement as a prolongation of the past. And
this is true
of human history and life in general. No age or individual is
entirely
disconnected from and independent of the ages and individuals that have
gone before. A perfectly new beginning in human history or in
individual
life has never yet taken place. Even in the Incarnation, the
second Adam
was connected with the first through his human nature. The
civilization of
the twenty-first century is built upon the foundations laid by
preceding
centuries. The maturity of
manhood in wisdom or virtue is developed from
the gains in knowledge and goodness made in youth.
expense of the present. “Who is left among
you that saw this house in its
former glory? and how do you see it now? asks the prophet; is it
not in
your eyes as nothing?”
In certain respects this depreciation of the postexilic
temple, in comparison with the Solomonic,
was justifiable — the
material splendor of the second building was vastly inferior to
that of the
first; but in other respects the glory of the latter house would
ultimately far
eclipse that of the former (v. 9) — it would be the center and
scene, the
instrument and support of a purer worship than had been maintained in
the
former, and would be honored by the visit of a greater potentate
than
Solomon himself, even by the Messenger of the covenant and the Lord of
the temple, after
whom were going out the desires, not of
of all nations (v. 7). And upon the foundation of the old
structure of
cedar wood and gold, and to glorify the old which seventy years
before had
perished in the going down of their nation before the might of
does it seem to be a tendency in human nature to exalt the past
and to
depress the present, to extol the men and institutions, the
characteristics
and occurrences of other days at the expense of the present,
even when
there is as little ground for doing so as there was for the
depreciatory
remarks of the builders. It is not difficult to account for either
this
laudation of the past or this disparagement of the present. On the one hand,
lapse of years allows the memory of past discomforts,
irritations,
deficiencies, imperfections, blemishes, to fade away, while
present evils
obtrude themselves upon the notice and press upon the hearts of
the
passing generation; on
the other hand, the present is too near for its
peculiar excellences to be rightly gauged, while the glories of the
past, like
distant mountains, shine out with augmented splendor. Yet the
verdict
which prefers the past to the present is incorrect (Ecclesiastes
7:10).
Unless the world is a hopelessly
bad world, which it is not (Romans 8:20),
and the grace of God that bringeth salvation
is effete, which is not
the mind of Scripture (Titus 2:11); unless the predictions of
the Word
of God are to be falsified (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14;
Revelation 11:15),
which cannot be (Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 24:35), and the
aspirations of good
men’s hearts are to be disappointed, which would be clean
contrary to what
God has led them to expect
(Psalm 145:19); — there can be little doubt that
the world is and must be surely but slowly becoming better.
“For I
doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose
runs;
And the
thoughts of men are widened by the process of the suns.”
(Tennyson.)
To the widening of the thoughts
add the purifying of the hearts and the
elevation of the lives of men.
duty. “Yet now be
strong, O Zerubbabel, saith
the Lord,” etc. The duty of
the builders was to prosecute the work in which they were
engaged, the
erection of the temple, even though the temple should be inferior
to its
predecessor, and the circumstances for its erection less favorable
than had
been those for the construction of the former — perhaps all the
more their
duly on that account. So were the present age inferior to the
ages which
had gone before, the same duty would be incumbent on all ranks
and
classes — the duty, viz. of
working with earnest diligence at one’s daily
calling, (Of David it is said “he had served his generation” – Acts 13:36 –
CY – 2015) “the trivial round, the common task,” if assigned by God,
and
more
especially at the building up of God’s spiritual
temple in the individual
soul
and in the world at large. Without this the present age cannot grow
better than the past, and is certain to grow worse.
would be with them — always, of course, conditionally if they
continued
with Him (II Chronicles 15:2).
Ø
Not merely externally, as through His
immanent presence He is with all,
but internally,
by His Spirit abiding amongst them as a community, and
in their hearts as individuals, as He still does in the midst
of His Church
and in the souls of believers, when these remain true to Him,
no matter
how degenerate the age may be in which their lot is cast.
Ø
Not now for the first time, but
as He had ever been since the day when
they came forth from
become a nation having access to Jehovah through their priests
and
sacrifices, and receiving from Him revelations and spiritual
quickening
through the medium of their prophets (Hebrews 1:1); and without
which they could not now be prospered in their undertaking. God’s
Spirit is the
secret source and ultimate cause of all good in either
Church or nation.
Ø
Not of constraint, but willingly, according to His own
covenant
engagement, which are never imposed on Him by any of His creatures,
but always freely proposed and executed
by Himself — whence they
are rightly styled covenants of grace. It is the existence of
such a
covenant that guarantees the indestructibility and perpetuity of
the
Christian Church.
Ø Not as an
unseen presence only, but as an actively cooperating power,
imparting to them strength for their work as well as boldness in it
(see
homily on ch. 1:13-14), both of which
would be theirs in
proportion as they realized the cheering truth that they were fellow
laborers with God. In like manner also, and for similar ends and
purposes, is Christ, by His
Spirit, present with His Church
(Matthew 28:20; John 14:6).
1. The inheritance of the past a
cause of thankfulness.
2. The imperfections of the present a stimulus to duty.
3. The glorious times of the future a reason for cheerfulness and hope.
The Real Presence. (vs. 4-5)
In contrasting the house the builders were now raising for
God with the
first temple, many a reference was doubtless made by the “ancient
men” to
“the ark of the covenant” and “the Shechinah,”
which had been the visible
symbols of the Divine presence. What, after all, they would urge,
could this
new
structure be without these precious tokens of the Lord, as being with
them in all His majesty and might? Haggai therefore most appropriately laid
great emphasis upon the glorious fact that they had with them
the spiritual
presence of the Lord Most High, who would remain with them, and
would
faithfully fulfill to them every covenant engagement made with their
sires
(vs. 4-5).
WITH HIS CHURCH.
Ø
This truth is
constantly declared in the oracles of God.
Ø
It was brought home to
the Israelites in the olden times by means of
symbolical representations.
Ø
It was impressed upon
these returned captives by the raising up of
faithful men to declare the Divine will, and to stimulate them to
renewed devotion.
Ø
It is made manifest
to us in the Incarnation of God in Christ. Not only
will God in very deed dwell with man upon the earth, but He has even
taken man’s nature into union with his own. He has come to us,
affecting us not only with the glory of His majesty, but
revealing
to us His very heart, and unveiling to us the intensity of His
infinite love.
GREAT TRUTH SHOULD EXERT UPON HIS SERVANTS.
Ø
It should be to them
in times of depression the source of strong
consolation. “Be strong” (v. 4); i.e.” Be
comforted.”
Ø
It should take from
them all craven fear, inspiring them
with holy
courage: “Fear
ye not” (v. 5).
Ø
It should impel them
to renewed consecrated endeavor: “and work”
(v. 4).
§ 2. The prophet,
to reconcile the people to the new temple, and to teach them
to value it highly, foretells a
future time, when the glory of this house shall far
exceed that of Solomon’s, adumbrating the Messianic
era. (vs. 6-9)
6 “For
thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a
little while, and
I will shake the heavens, and the earth,
and the sea, and the dry
land;”
Yet once, it is a little while; ἔτι ἅπαξ - epi hapax - yet once (Septuagint);
Adhuc unum modicum est
(Vulgate), The writer of the Epistle to
the Hebrews
(12:26-27) quotes and founds an argument on this rendering
of the Septuagint.
The expression is equivalent to “once again within a little
time.” I will
shake, etc. Some difference
of opinion exists as to the events here
adumbrated. All, however, agree in seeing an allusion to
the promulgation
of the Law on
physical commotions (see Exodus 19:16; Psalm 68:7-8), when,
too, the Egyptians were “shaken” by the plagues sent on
them, and the
neighboring nations,
(Exodus 15:14-16). This was a great moral disturbance in
the heathen
world; the next and final “shaking” will be under the Messianic
dispensation for which the destruction of heathen kingdoms prepares the
way. The Israelites
would soon see the beginnings of this visitation, e.g. in
the fall of
accomplished in due time.
The prophet calls this interval “a little while”
(which it is in God’s eyes and in view of the vast future),
in order to
console the people and teach them patience and confidence.
The final
consummation and the steps that lead to it in the prophet’s
vision are
blended together, just as our Lord combines His prediction
about the
destruction of
(Matthew 24; Luke 21)
The physical convulsions in heaven and earth, etc.,
spoken of, are symbolical representations of political
revolutions, as explained
in the next verse, “I will shake all nations,” and again
in vs. 21-22. Other
prophets announce that Messiah’s reign shall be ushered in
by the overthrow or
conversion of heathen nations; e.g.. Isaiah 2:11-23;
19:21-22; Daniel 2:44;
Micah 5:9-16.
7 “And I
will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall
come: and I will fill this house with
glory, saith the LORD of hosts.”
All nations (Luke 21:25, where
our Lord refers to the end
of this world). But before Christ’s first advent there was
a general shaking
of empires.
shattered before the might of
The faith in the power of national gods was everywhere
weakened, and
men were prepared to receive the new revelation of ONE SUPREME
DEITY who came on earth
to teach and save. Now is mentioned
the object
or consequence of this shaking of nations. The desire of all nations shall
come. This is the rendering
of the ancient Jewish expositors, the Chaldee
Targum, and the Vulgate, which gives, Veniet
desideratus cunctis
gentibus. The words in this case
point to a person, and this person can be
no one else than THE MESSIAH for whom “all nations consciously or
unconsciously yearn, in whom alone all the longings of the
human heart
find satisfaction.
But there is difficulty in accepting this view.
The word rendered “the desire” (chemdath)
is singular, the verb “shall
come” (bau) is plural, as if it
was said in Latin, Venient desiderium
omnium gentium. The Septuagint translates, Ηξει τὰ ἐκλεκτὰ πάντων τῶν
ἐθνῶν – Haexei ta eklekta panton ton ethnon - The
choice things [or, ‘portions’]
of all the nations
shall come. The plural verb seems fatal to
the idea of a person
being spoken of; nor is this objection answered by Dr. Pusey’s allegation that
the object of desire contains in itself many objects of
desire, or Bishop
Wordsworth’s refinement, that Messiah is regarded as a
collective Being,
containing in His own Person the natures of God and man,
and combining the
three offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. Every one must
see that both these
explanations are forced and unnatural, and are conformed
rather to
theological considerations than to grammatical accuracy. Chemdah is used
for “the object of
desire,” as II Chronicles 32:27, where it refers to
Hezekiah’s treasures, and ibid. ch.36:10, “the goodly
vessels” of
the temple (compare Jeremiah 25:34; Nahum 2:9). Nowhere is
any
intimation given that it is a name applied to the Messiah;
nowhere is any
such explanation offered of the term so applied. The word
is a common
one; its meaning is well ascertained; and it could hardly
have been
understood in any but its usual acceptation without some
preparation or
further definition. This acceptation is confirmed by the
mention of “the
gold and silver” in v. 8. The Revised Version cuts the knot by rendering,
“the desirable things;” Perowne
affirms that the plural verb denotes the
manifoldness and variety of the gifts. This seems scarcely
satisfactory. May
it not be, as Knabenbauer
suggests, that “the desire of all nations” forms
one notion, in which the words, “all nations,” have a
predominating
influence, and so the plural ensues by constructio
ad sensum? The
meaning, then, is that all nations with their wealth come,
that the Gentiles
shall devote their treasures, their powers, whatever they
most highly prize,
to the service of God. This is what is predicted elsewhere
(e.g. Isaiah
60:5-7, 11, 13, 17), and it is called, metaphorically,
coming with treasures
to the temple. To hear of such a glorious future might well
be a topic of
consolation to the depressed Israelites. (For a further
development of the
same idea, see Revelation 21:24, 26.) I will fill this house with glory.
There is a verbal allusion to the glory which filled Solomon’s
temple at the
dedication (II Chronicles 7:1), but the especial mode in
which it is to be
manifested in this case is not here mentioned. The previous
clause would
make the reference rather to the material offerings of the
Gentiles, but a
further and a deeper signification is connected with the
advent of Messiah
(as Malachi 3:1), with which the
complete fulfillment commenced.
The Shaking of the Heavens and the Earth. (vs. 6-7)
Ø
At Sinai, when Jehovah manifested Himself to
19; Psalm 68:7-8). Preparatory and prophetical.
Ø
At the birth of
Christ, when Jehovah appeared on earth in the
Person of
his Son (Joel 2:30-31: Luke
2:8-14; Acts 2:19-20). Furthering
and fulfilling.
Ø
At the end of time, when Jehovah will a third time appear, in the Person
of the glorified Christ, to save His people and judge His foes (Isaiah
24:19-20; II Peter 3:10).
Culminating and completing.
Hebrews, “This word, Once
more, signifieth the removing of the things
that are shaken, that those things which cannot be shaken may
remain”
(Hebrews 12:27). In other words,
the object of each successive Divine
interposition has been and will be the abrogation of institutions that
have
served their day, the correction of
errors that have hindered the truth, the
alteration of circumstances and conditions that are no longer suited
to the
new era about to be introduced.
Ø At Sinai were
shaken and removed
o
the polytheism which
her from
o
the individualism
which had hitherto prevented
forming herself into a nation; and
o
the serfdom which had
rendered the realization of
impossible; while the things that could not be shaken and
remained were:
§
the unity of God, or the monotheistic element which still
survived in
§
the covenant
relationship in which Jehovah stood towards
§
the capacity for
religion which no amount of oppression
had been able utterly to destroy.
Ø At the birth of Christ were
shaken and removed
o
the Mosaic institute
which had then served its day, and was even
ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13);
o
the partition wall
between Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:14),
which had repelled each from, rather than attracted each to,
the other; and
o
the externalism and
literalism in worship, which had converted
it into mere mechanism;while the
unshakable things that
remained were
§
the covenant of
grace which underlay the Mosaic
institute,
and shone the brighter when that was removed which for
centuries had been superimposed upon it;
§
the brotherhood
of man, which was henceforth to be
placed in the
forefront of the gospel message (Acts 17:26;
Romans
2:11; 3:29; Colossians 3:11; Galatians 3:26); and
§
the spirituality
of religion, which was no more to be
confined to either
places or seasons, persons or forms,
but to find its seat in the heart and its priest in the
renewed soul (John 4:21-24).
Ø At the end of time will be shaken and removed
o
the present
state and condition of things (I
Corinthians 7:31;
15:50-57; II Peter 3:10,
12; I John 2:17);
o
the presence and
power of sin (Revelation 22:3); and
o
the mediatorial sovereignty of Christ (I Corinthians 15:23);
while as things that cannot be shaken, shall remain
§
the new heavens and
the new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness (II Peter 3:13);
§
the redeemed
family of believers (I John 2:17); and
§
THE ETERNAL
SUPREMACY OF GOD who shall
then be ALL
IN ALL! (I Corinthians 15:28).
LEARN:
1. That nations and individuals mostly advance by means of
struggle and
commotion.
2. That peace and quietness may often mean stagnation and
death rather
than progress and life.
3.
That TRUTH and RIGHT
will eventually prevail over falsehood and
wrong.
“The Desire of All Nations.”
(v. 7)
SUCH A MANIFESTED OR REVEALED DIVINITY HAS BEEN
GIVEN TO MANKIND IN CHRIST. That all nations from the beginning
downward have believed in the existence of a Supreme Being has been
sufficiently demonstrated by the universality in man of the instinct of
worship. Nor have all nations merely wished to possess a god, but
the Deity
they have longed for has been, not a god remaining always
little more than
a conception of the mind, an infinitely exalted being with
whom they could
not enter into fellowship, but a God whom they could look
upon, or at
least think of, as not far from any one of them, a God who could not only
come near to them, but to whom they
in turn could come near. The lowest
forms of religion that have existed on the earth, the religions
of men in
most degraded conditions, have made this perfectly apparent no
less than
the elaborate rites of the cultivated and civilized nations of
antiquity. What
the savage means by putting a spirit into the various forms of
nature by
which he is surrounded, or by making an idol of wood or stone,
and setting
it up before him as an object of adoration; what the
untutored child of
nature thereby means, viz. to express his belief in a power above
himself
and above nature, and his desire to bring that invisible power
or divinity
forth into visibility or nearness; that the old religions of
and
nature, or looked upon these as instruments and embodiments of
supernatural powers. In their case it was one more
effort of the human
mind to fetch God out of the far distance and make him a distinct
object of
contemplation and worship. Then
the later religions that prevailed in
gods who assumed the likeness of men, evinced
the same longing of the
human heart for a God at hand rather than afar off, a God visible rather
than a god who remained always unseen, a God who/night be
approached
in thought, at least, if not in space, rather than a god who
so transcended
his worshippers as to be practically inaccessible. And this
longing
Christianity — whether it be
true or no may meantime be left undetermined
— meets, as no other religion
has done or is likely to do, by placing
before
man as an object of religious contemplation and worship One
who claimed
to be the Image of the invisible God, saying, “I and my Father
are One,”
and “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
AND SUCH ATONEMENT HAS BEEN PROVIDED AS NOWHERE
ELSE BY CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY. It is not meant that
everywhere and always men have possessed the same clear, definite,
exalted, and correct ideas on the subject of sin, sacrifice,
propitiation,
atonement, as are presented in the Hebrew or the Christian Scriptures.
The
most affirmed is that while
everywhere men have possessed a deep
instinctive longing after God, along with this they have always been
more
or less conscious of unworthiness and unfitness to enter
into fellowship
with him, have had a secret conviction that the Deity whom
they wished to
serve was displeased with them, and that they could not enjoy
his favor
without the intervention of some atonement or propitiation. Hence,
wherever man has been found to have a god, there also he has owned
an
altar. The practice begun at the gate of
means of sacrifices, and carried forward in the altar building
of Abraham
and the patriarchs, and finally developed in the Mosaic ritual
of priest and
victim, has been discovered, on investigation, not to have been
confined to
these, but to have been followed, with more or less closeness of adherence
to the primitive pattern, by every nation under heaven that
has shaped for
itself a religion. In
religions of the most rudimentary type, as well as in
those of the highest culture, a place has been reserved for the
practice of
sacrificing and for the notion of expiation. The sense of impurity and
of
the need of expiation are manifested in the most barbarous
modes of worship.
We admit that the atonement to
which they have recourse is often as cruel as
the wrath of the deity whom the worshippers seek to appease.
There is a phase
in which sacrifice is nothing more than food offered to the
gods. But a higher
idea soon manifests itself.
Remorse comes in, the consciousness of guilt prompts
the sacrifice, and the priest who at first was regarded in the
light of an enchanter
becomes a mediator between man and the deity (‘The Ancient World
and
Christianity,’
p. 12 by E. De Pressense). In addition it might easily be shown
that the same ideas of sin, penitence, forgiveness,
propitiation, sacrifice,
atonement, were present in the religions of ancient Chaldea and of
(ibid., pp.
47, 87). And the inference from all is that,
irrespective of age or
country, and however overlaid with superstition, the deep conviction of
the human heartis that man has sinned
against God and requires the
assistance of a Mediator who shall in some way make peace with the
offended Deity, and secure for the offender
forgiveness of his transgressions.
Well, here again Christianity steps
in to supply this demand of the human heart,
to answer this pathetic wail
for a Deliverer, for One who can make peace and
bring forgiveness — steps
in as no other religion known to man does, by
exhibiting Jesus Christ as Son of God and Son of man (John 1:49, 51),
and therefore as possessed of authority to act as Daysman or Mediator
between God and man, laying
His hand upon both (Job 9:33; I Timothy 2:5),
by discovering Him as standing in the room of sinful man
(Romans 5:6), and as
making peace by the shedding of His blood (Ephesians 2:14), by presenting
Him to view as One whose blood is able both to wipe away the guilt of sin
and to break its
enslaving power. And this, again, is a high certificate in
favor of Christianity as the only true religion. For what is a religion worth
if it cannot or dare not meet the demands of the human heart and conscience?
AN AUTHENTIC COMMUNICATION OF THE DIVINE WILL; AND
THIS CHRISTIANITY MEETS IN A WAY THAT NO OTHER
RELIGION HAS DONE OR CAN DO. Not only have men in every age
and country believed that GOD
IS, and that by means of sacrifices it
might
be possible to appease His anger and secure His favor; they
have also
supposed it within their reach to receive trustworthy information
from God
as to His will and their duty. In the rudest forms of religion, the media
through which such Divine communications have been conjectured
to
come have been signs in the sky above or on the earth
beneath. In unusual
phenomena of nature, in unaccustomed sights and sounds, in dreams
and
visions, men have been wont to see indications of a higher will
than their
own made known to them for the guidance of their earthly
lives. As
religion has advanced in intelligence and refinement, special
persons have
come to be regarded as oracles through whom responses from the
heavenly
world might be obtained, and messages from the unseen received.
Priests
and priestesses, seers and sages, have been viewed as standing
in
immediate connection with the Deity, and as serving to transmit to
men the
utterances He might wish to make known. Then, too, in many of the
world’s religions, as in those of
to say, in the most developed religions of which we have any
knowledge,
but especially in Parseeism, Brahminism, Mohammedanism, there have
been sacred books in which the revelations vouchsafed to
mankind through
the founders of these religions have been preserved. Now, in
all this,
irrespective of the truth or falsehood of these religions, a signal
testimony
arises to the strength and
depth of the desire on the part of man to possess
some authorized expounder of the Divine will in the shape of
man, or
book, or perhaps both;
and there is no need to say that God has never
gratified this desire outside of the Hebrew or the Christian Church;
but of
this one may be certain, that the longing for a Heaven-sent
teacher was not
confined to the Hebrews, with their Moses who spake
with God face to
face as a man talketh with his
friend, but existed as well among the Greeks,
Plato, in one of his dialogues,
putting into the mouth of one of his
disputants the ever-memorable words, “It is therefore necessary to
wait
until one teach us how to behave towards the gods and men,” and
into that
of another, “And when shall that time arrive? and who shall that teacher
be? for most glad would I be to see
such a man.” Just such a man was felt
to be one of the world’s greatest wants before CHRIST CAME, and when
He came just such
a man appeared. The verdict pronounced
by the officers
on Jesus, “Never
man spake like this Man,” (John 7:46) has
never been
reversed; nor is there the least likelihood that it ever will.
IMMORTALITY; AND THAT
ASSURANCE HAS BEEN GIVEN BY
Whether apart from Divine
revelation the reality of a future life beyond the
grave can or could be demonstrated, may be doubtful; but this
much is
undoubted, that in all ages men have
believed in the existence of such a life,
and have expressed that belief in their religions. The lowest races by their
worship of ancestors, the Egyptians by their elaborate ritual of
the Book of
the Dead, and the ancient Chaldeans
by their mythological narrative of the
descent of Ishtar into Hades, each in
turn showed that they clung to the
idea of the persistence of the human soul after death. But, indeed, the
notion that death ends all, though the assertion of some
philosophers, and
though supposed to be the teaching of science, HAS NEVER AT ANY
PERIOD been the faith of
the generality of mankind, and has never won
the assent of the human heart in its inmost and truest convictions. Nor must
it be overlooked that this universal belief in a future state
is a clear testimony to
the heart’s longing for a continued existence beyond the
grave, and to the
heart’s wish for some authentic
tidings about that unknown land; and
nothing surely can be less in need of demonstration, than that Jesus Christ
answers man’s inquiries about the future life with a clearness
and fullness
of information in
comparison with which the teaching of all other religions,
the Hebrew Scriptures not excepted, is as DARKNESS!
1. The pre-eminence
of Jesus Christ, and of the Christian
religion.
2. Gratitude for GOD’S UNSPEAKABLE GIFT! (II Corinthians 9:15)
3. The duty of seeking IN CHRIST satisfaction for the soul’s true desires.
8 “The
silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD
of hosts.”
The silver is mine. All
the riches of the world are THE LORD’S
and He disposes of them as He wills; if He has promised that the Gentiles
shall offer their treasures for His service, be sure He
will perform His word.
There may also be intended a word of comfort for the
desponding; they
need not grieve because they had but poor offerings to
bring to the house;
He wanted not gold or silver, FOR ALL WAS HIS!
The Silver and the Gold: A Sermon on Money.
(v. 8)
of money: “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of
hosts” (compare Joel 3:5).
The proof lies in three things; that the silver and
the gold are:
Ø
Of God’s making. They belong to Him as part of that earth and its
fullness which He hath created (Psalm 24:1; 50:12), as David
acknowledged in his prayer, “All that is in the heaven and
in the earth is thine;” and again, “Of thine own
have we given thee”
(I Chronicles 29:11, 14).
Ø
Of God’s giving. God claimed that He
had multiplied
gold (Hosea 2:8); and David owned that “all things,” including “riches
and honor,” were of
Him (I Chronicles 29:12). The same sentiment is
involved in the words of the Baptist (John 3:27), in those of Paul
(I Timothy
6:17), and in those of James (James 1:17).
Ø
Of God’s keeping. As no man can obtain
wealth from other than God,
so with no help but His can man retain the wealth he has got.
“Except the
Lord keep the city, the watchman watcheth
in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
Nor can any one keep it longer
than God chooses. At any moment can He
recall what He has given.
owner of his money, but merely its selected steward, its casual
recipient
and temporary holder. What Benhadad
of Syria said to Ahab of Israel,
“Thy silver and
thy gold is mine” (I Kings 20:3-4),
expresses God’s
thought concerning millionaires and paupers alike; while the
answer of
Ahab, “My lord, O king, according to
thy saying, I am thine, and all that I
have,” exactly utters the response which every one possessed of
silver and
gold, whether much or little, should give to the Divine declaration. Few
things are more difficult for men to realize than that that is not
their own
for which they have labored, sometimes like galley slaves, and not
unfrequently
sinned. The
habitual attitude of men towards their silver and
their gold is that of the rich farmer in the Gospels, “my
fruits,” “my barns,”
“my goods” (Luke
12:17-18). A recognition of man’s stewardship in
respect of silver and gold would secure three things of immense
consequence, both for the religious life of the individual, and for
the moral
welfare of the world.
Ø
A just estimate of money. As one of God’s
gifts, it would be highly
valued, but as only a gift it would never be regarded as a
permanent
endowment, or preferred above THE GIVER!
Ø
A proper use of money. As a trust it would
be carefully kept, wisely
used (Matthew 25:16), faithfully administered (I Corinthians 4:2), and
correctly accounted for (Luke 16:2, 10-12). It would not be
prodigally
squandered (Luke 15:13), or in miser fashion hoarded (Matthew
25:25), or selfishly expended
(Hosea 10:1), but skillfully, lovingly,
and unweariedly employed for the Master’s glory.
Ø
A right feeling with regard to money. Neither
inordinate desire after it
(I Timothy 6:9-10), nor over esteem of one’s self on account of it
(Hosea 12:8), would arise in one’s
besom; but feelings of contentment
with what one has received (Philippians 4:11-13; I Timothy 6:6), and
of gratitude that one has received any (Genesis 32:10).
9 “The
glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former,
saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will
I give peace, saith
the LORD of hosts.” The glory of this latter house
shall be greater than of the
former. Revised Version, following the Septuagint, “The latter
glory of
this house shall be greater than the former.” “This house”
means the temple
at
of Solomon, or Zerubbabel, or
Herod. As understood by the hearers, this
promise referred to the material riches, the precious
things offered by the
Gentiles. To us it speaks of the promise of Christ, God incarnate, in the
holy city and in the temple itself, and of His presence in
the Church,
wherein He abides forever. Here is the complete answer to the complaint of
v. 3. In this
place will I give peace. Primarily this means in
the place where the temple stood, God would grant peace
from enemies,
freedom from danger, and quiet enjoyment of promised
blessings (compare
Isaiah 60:18; Joel 3:17; Micah 5:4-5). But the promise is
not
fulfilled by this; the peace promised to the spiritual
temple is that peace of
heart and conscience which is given by Him who is the Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6), and which includes all the graces of the
Christian covenant
(Ezekiel 34:25). The first temple was built by the king
whose name is
“Peaceful;” the second is glorified by the presence of the
“Peace bringer”
(Genesis 49:10).
Returning Despondency and Renewed
Stimulus. (vs.
1-9)
In these verses we have the third of the earnest addresses
delivered by the
devoted seer to these temple builders. In the first (ch.1:3-11) he
reproved them for their neglect and stimulated them to the
performance of
their duty. In the second (ch. 1:13),
in few words, a single pregnant
sentence, indeed, he assured them of God’s presence with them now
that
they had repented of their negligence and were prepared to consecrate
themselves to the important enterprise. In this third address (vs.
1-9) he
expatiated upon the glory of the second temple. The people had again,
become discouraged and depressed, despondent and downcast, and he
sought to impel them to fresh endeavor by indicating the
brightness and
blessedness of the coming times. Consider:
soon again took possession
of them. They had been less than a month
engaged in earnest attempt to carry on the great work when they
gave
way once more. It was “on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth
month” that,
stirred up by the word of God through the prophet, they devoted
themselves afresh to the service of rearing the sanctuary for the
Lord, and
now on the twenty-first day of the seventh month their hands
tired and
their hearts grew faint. Why?
Ø
The failure of their harvests. This was brought
conspicuously before
them by the fact that “the Feast of Tabernacles” was now going
on. This
festival stood out amongst the Jews as “the feast,” and is
described by
Jewish writers
as “the holiest and greatest feast” of the nation. It served a
double purpose, for whilst it
commemorated the goodness of God as
manifested to the fathers during their desert wanderings, it also
commemorated his goodness in the harvest just gathered in, and was
therefore not only called “the Feast of Tabernacles,” but
likewise “the
Feast of
Ingathering.” In prosperous
times, during its celebration, the holy
city wore quite a holiday aspect. It became converted into a
vast camp for
all the people, and, with a view to make more vivid to them
the tent life of
their ancestors in the wilderness, they
dwelt for the time being in booths,
which they constructed of boughs of olive and palm, pine and
myrtle; all
the courses of the priests were employed in the religious
exercises,
bullocks were offered in sacrifice, the Law was read, the trumpets
were
sounded daily, and each who took part in the commemoration bore
in the left hand a branch of citron, and in the right a palm
branch
entwined with willows and myrtle. When we remember how that on
this occasion, in celebrating this feast, they would have, of necessity,
to dispense with many of the usual accompaniments, and also that
the blight had been upon their crops, and hence the ingathering had
been only scanty (ch.1:6), we need not be surprised at the depression
from which they were suffering.
Ø
There was, however,
another cause of their despondency, viz. the
unfavourable contrast
presented as they compared the structure they
were rearing with the first temple. (v.
3.) There were old men among
these returned exiles who had seen the
when the foundations of
this second temple were laid, conscious that
the new structure would
be very inferior in character to the former
building, gave way to
demonstrations of grief (Ezra 3:11-13). And it
would seem that, as the work of
reconstruction proceeded, these
hoary-headed men continued to
revert to the glories of the past, and
instituted so many unfavourable comparisons between
that age and
the times as they were now, that the builders
grew weary and faint-
hearted in their work.
STRENGTHEN THEIR HEARTS AND TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO
RENEWED CONSECRATION. Haggai was aged, yet, unlike his
contemporaries, instead of dwelling despondingly upon the past, he looked
on hopefully to the future. With prophetic insight he saw the
golden age as
lying, not in the days of yore, but in the coming time. His
thoughts were
centered upon Divine blessings to be bestowed richly and
bountifully upon
the true and faithful, and he sought to animate the drooping
faith and hope
of the workers by directing their minds to these. He reminded
them of:
Ø
The abiding
presence with them of the Lord of hosts,
in fulfillment of
the covenant made
with their fathers (v. 5).
Ø
The national upheavings which should take place, and which should be
overruled to their good (vs. 6-7).
Ø
The halo of glory which
should eventually rest upon the shrine they
were rearing (vs. 7, 9).
Ø
The Divine
proprietorship of all material resources
(ver. 8).
Ø
The deep and durable
tranquility which should be experienced as the
result of the development of the Divine purposes (v. 9). The
sense of
despondency is experienced still by those engaged in holy service, and
the way to get roused out of this is by anticipating the brighter days
that are in store, when
rectitude shall mark every character, and truth
be on every tongue; when holy virtue shall adorn every life; when the
heavenly fruits of “love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, meekness, temperance” (Galatians
5:22-23), shall
everywhere abound, and THE LORD OF HOSTS
shall
have a
home and dwelling place in every heart.
The Prophet’s Messianic
Prophecy. (vs. 6-9)
In studying the Old Testament, it is deeply interesting to
trace therein the
gradual development of the Messianic hope. Three distinct stages
are
observable.
1. From
the promise made at the Fall (Genesis 3:15) until
the death of
Moses. The
indefinite promise respecting “the Seed of the woman” was
made more definite in the promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3), and was
revealed still more explicitly in “the
Prophet” who was declared by Moses
as
at length to arise, and who should be Law
giver, Ruler, and Deliverer
(Deuteronomy 18:15).
2. During the reigns
of David and Solomon, the idea of the Kingship of the
Messiah was developed, and this Divine royalty was the
theme of the
Messianic psalms.
3. From Isaiah to
Malachi we have a yet further unfolding, the Incarnation
and
Passion of the world’s Redeemer Being declared.
The mission of
Haggai had special reference to encouraging the temple
builders in their
arduous toil; but the verses now before us (vs. 6-9) connect him
with this
development of the Messianic anticipation, since only in the light of
the
Christian age can the full significance of his teaching as
contained here be
realized.
TO THE JEWS OF THIS SEER’S OWN TIME.
Ø
Freedom from the
yoke of servitude. These returned
exiles were under
the power of the Persian monarch; and they would understand
their seer
(vs. 6-7)
to mean that political agitations would soon occur among the
nations, and which their God would overrule to the effecting of
their
enfranchisement.
Ø
The temple they were
rearing to become enriched with material wealth.
“And the desire of
all nations shall come,” etc. (vs. 7-8). “Chemdah
signifies desire, then the object of desire, that in which a man
finds
pleasure and joy, valuables. Chemdath
haggoyim is therefore the valuable
possessions of the heathen, or, according to v. 8, their gold and silver
or
their treasures and riches. The thought is the following: That
shaking will
be followed by this result, or produce this effect, that all
the valuable
possessions of the heathen will come to fill the temple with glory.
Ø
A time of settled
peace and prosperity (v. 9). This restricted
apprehension of the meaning underlying the prophet’s words would
cheer the hearts of the builders and impel them to renewed action.
DURING THE LATER JEWISH AGE. We know that the national
convulsions hinted at in the prophecy did arise — that
by
Alexander; and that the Eastern
world became the prey of
know also that whilst these conflicts were going on the Jews
prospered,
and material wealth flowed into their temple, the heathen,
with the decay of
their systems, coming and consecrating their possessions to the
Lord of
hosts. Nor were tokens wanting of the partial fulfillment of the
prophecy in
its spiritual significance. Rites and ceremonies retired more
into the
background; and prayer began to
assume its true place in public worship.
The religious knowledge of the
people was kept up through the regular
public reading and distribution of the Scriptures, which were
early
collected into their present canonical form. Synagogues were
established,
the people having learnt at
in their assemblies in any place or circumstances. Thus there was kept alive
throughout the nation a higher and purer type of religion than it had
known
in the days when the first temple with its outward splendor
and gorgeous
ritual excited the admiration of the people, but too seldom led
their
thoughts to the contemplation of the truths it expressed and
prefigured.
PROPHECY IN THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION. The prophecy is
Messianic. Underneath its letter there lies a deep spiritual meaning.
The
prophet saw, afar off, the day of Christ, and testified beforehand
of the
latter-day glory of the Lord and His Christ. We see its full accomplishment:
Ø
In the shaking of the
nations by the power of the Divine Spirit.
Ø
The consecration by
the good of all their gifts and endowments to the
service of the Lord.
Ø
The realized spiritual presence of God in Christ with His Church, and
which constitutes her true glory.
Ø
The inward rest and tranquility all His people shall
experience as His
bestowment.
The Latter Glory of This House; or, The Glory that Excelleth.” (v. 9)
Ø
The
as a continuation of and as one with the
Ø
The Christian Church, which on a similar
principle of interpretation was
viewed as an outcome and development of the Hebrew temple
(compare
John 2:20-21).
contradistinction to the earlier or former glory which belonged to it before
the Captivity, this can only signify the glory which, in
Messianic times,
should pertain to the temple when
it should have reached its ideal form
in
the Christian Church, whose “glory,” in comparison
with that of the
Solomonic structure, should be a glory that excelleth.
Ø
The glory of spiritual magnificence, as opposed to that of
merely
material splendor. The
house” of polished stone, carved cedar, and burnished gold; but
the
or believing souls (I Peter 2:5), “an holy temple” erected
out of
quickened and renewed hearts “for
an habitation of God through
the Spirit” (Ephesians
2:20-22).
Ø
The glory of an indwelling Divinity, in contrast with that
of a merely
symbolic residence therein. The ark with its mercy seat
overshadowed by
the cherubim, between whose outstretched wings shone the
visible glory
or the Shechinah — this
ark which occupied the holy of holies in the
Solomonic temple, was not Jehovah, but only the material token of
His
presence. Though in the Christian Church there is, as in Zerubbabel’s
temple there was, no ark, yet the Divine presence fills it. Not only does
Paul describe it as a temple
which God inhabits (see above), but he
represents it as the body of the glorified Christ, the fullness of
Him that
filleth all
in all (Ephesians 1:23), and even speaks of individual believers
as temples of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6:19) and of the
living God
(II Corinthians 6:16); while Christ expressly promises to His Church a
perpetual indwelling in their midst, not collectively alone, but
individually as well (Matthew
18:20; 28:20; John 14:17, 23; 15:4; 16:7,22).
Ø
The glory of diffusing spiritual and eternal peace,
as distinguished from
a peace which should be merely temporal and temporary. The Solomonic
temple was indeed built by one whose name was Peace, whose reign
was
undisturbed by foreign or domestic wars, and whose spirit was neither
military nor aggressive; but it is doubtful if the whole period
during which
the Solomonic temple stood could
with truthfulness be characterized as
one of peace (see the books of II Kings and II Chronicles).
Nor could it be
asserted that the era of the
Temporal peace they had now, nor was there any prospect of its being
disturbed;… (but) in later times they had
it not. The temple itself was
profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes .... Again by Pompey, by Crassus,
by
the Parthians, before it was
destroyed by Titus and the Romans. But
the
preeminence the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), who came to teach men
the
way of peace, who bequeathed to His disciples as His parting legacy
His own peace (John 14:27), who died to make
peace between
God and
man through His cross
(Ephesians 2:14), and who has since
come to men
in and through His gospel, preaching peace (Acts 10:36), and by His Spirit
shedding peace abroad in the hearts of them who believe (Romans 5:1;
8:6; 14:17; Galatians 5:22;
Philippians 4:7; Colossians
3:15).
Ø
The certainty of God’s
Word. What Haggai predicted has at length been
fulfilled. So will all God’s promises
reach realization.
Ø
The superiority of the gospel dispensation. A dispensation not of
letter
and form, but of spirit and life; not of condemnation and
death, but of
justification and glory; not of temporal duration, but of eternal
continuance.
Ø
The perfectibility of the race. Human history has
hitherto progressed
according to the law — “first that which is natural, and afterwards
that
which is spiritual” (I Corinthians 15:46). “The Lord will perfect
that which concerneth me” (Psalm 138:8). “I
shall be satisfied, when
I awake, with thy
likeness!” (Psalm 17:15)
§ 1. By an
analogy drawn from the Law, Haggai shows that residence in the
acceptable, as long as they
themselves are unclean through neglect of the
house of the Lord. Hence comes
the punishment of sterility. (vs. 10-19)
10 “In the
four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year
of Darius, came the word of the LORD by
Haggai the prophet, saying,”
The ninth month is Chisleu,
answering to parts of November and December. It
was now three months from the time the people had commenced
to build,
and two from the day when the second address was delivered.
On the
weather at this time depended the hope of the yearly crops.
Between the
second and third address Zechariah’s first prophecy was
uttered
(Zechariah 1:2-6).
11 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the
law, saying,” Concerning the Law. Others translate, “for instruction.” Ask
the priests these two legal questions, such as they were
appointed to
expound (Deuteronomy 17:8-13; 33:10; Malachi 2:7). By this
appeal the prophet makes his lesson sink deeper into the
people’s mind.
12 “If one
bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do
touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil,
or any meat, shall it be holy? And
the priests answered and said, No.” If one bear; literally, behold, one beareth,
which is equivalent to “suppose a man bears.” Compare
Jeremiah 3:1, “Lo, a
man puts away his wife;” and II Chronicles 7:13. Holy flesh. The flesh of
animals sacrificed to God, which was set apart from profane
uses, and
might be eaten only by the priests or persons ritually pure
(Leviticus
6:26; 7:15-20; 10:13; compare Jeremiah 11:15). The skirt of his garment;
literally, wing of his garment, as Deuteronomy
22:12; I Samuel 15:27.
Any meat; παντὸς βρώματος - pantos bromatos - anything eatable. And
said, No. The priests answered
correctly according to Leviticus 6:27.
Whatever touched the hallowed flesh became itself holy, but
it could not
communicate this holiness to anything else.
13 “Then
said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any
of these, shall it be unclean? And the
priests answered and said, It
shall be unclean.” Unclean by a dead body; Septuagint, ἀκάθαρτος ἐπὶ ψυχῇ -
akathartos epi psuchae - Vulgate. pollutus
in anima. These versions are closer to
the
Hebrew, “unclean by a soul,” than the
Authorized Version, but not so
intelligible. “Soul” (nephesh)
is used to mean a person, and, with the
attribute “dead” understood, a corpse, as Leviticus 21:1. The full
phrase is found in Numbers 6:6, 11. Contact with a dead body
produced the gravest ceremonial uncleanness, which lasted
seven days, and
could be purged only by a double lustration and other rites
(Numbers
19:11-13). This uncleanness was
doubtless connected with the idea that
death was the
result of sin. Any
of these. The things mentioned in the
preceding verse. It shall be unclean. In accordance
with Numbers 19:22
A polluted human being communicated his pollution to all
that he touched.
It was owing to the defilement that accompanied contact
with the dead that
the
later Jews used to whiten the sepulchers every year, that they might be
seen and avoided (Matthew 23:27).
14 “Then
answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this
nation before me, saith
the LORD; and so is every work of their
hands; and that which they offer there is
unclean.”
Then answered
Haggai, and said; then Haggai continued
and said. He applies
the principles just enunciated to the case of the Jews,
taking the communication of uncleanness first. So is this people.
Not, my
people, because by their acts they had disowned God (ch. 1:2).
This people is defiled in my sight like one who has touched
a corpse, and
not
only they themselves, but so is every
work of their hands; all
their
labor, all that they put their hands to, is unclean, and can win
no blessing.
Their pollution was their disobedience in not building the
house of God.
They had calmly contemplated the lifeless symbol of the
theocracy, the
ruined temple, and made no determined effort to resuscitate
it, so a blight
had rested on all their work. That which they offer there (pointing to the
altar which they had built when they first returned, Ezra 3:2) is unclean.
They had fancied that the sanctifying influence of the
altar and its
sacrifices would extend to all their works, and cover all
their shortcomings;
but
so far from this, their very offerings were unclean, because the offerers
were
polluted. They who come before the
Holy One should themselves be
holy. Neither the altar nor the
virtue of their own, but entailed upon all an obligation to personal holiness!
The Septuagint has an addition at the end of the verse. Ανεκεν τῶν
λημμάτων
αὐτῶν τῶν ὀρθρινῶν ὀδυνηθήσονται
ἀπὸ προσώπου
πόνων αὐτῶν
καὶ ἐμισεῖτε
ἐν πύλαις
ἐλέγχοντας
– Aneken ton laemmaton auton ton orthrtinon
odunaethaesontai apo prosopou ponon
auton kai emiseite en pulais elegchontas –
On account of their morning
gains [or, ‘burdens’] they shall be pained in the
presence of their labors,
and ye hated those who reproved in the gates.
This is expounded by Theodoret
thus: As soon as morning dawned ye
employed yourselves in no good work, but sought only how to
obtain
sordid gain. And ye regarded with hatred these who
reproved, you, who
sitting at the gate spake words
of wisdom to all who passed by. The
passage is found in no other version.
15 “And
now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from
before a stone was laid upon a stone in the
temple of the LORD:”
The prophet bids the people look backwards, and consider
how
their neglect had been visited by scanty harvests; their
own experience
would teach them this lesson. From this day; viz.
the twenty-fourth day of
the
ninth month, when this address was delivered (v. 10; compare v. 18).
And
upward; i.e. backward. He bids them go back in thought fourteen
years when they first intermitted building. Before a stone, etc.
This does
not mean before the building was first begun, but before
they began to
build on the foundation already laid.
16 “Since
those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty
measures, there were but ten: when one came to the
press fat for to
draw out fifty vessels out of the press,
there were but twenty.”
Since those days
were. The word “days” is supplied.
Revised
Version, “through all that time,” viz.
the fourteen years spoken of in v.15.
Septuagint, τίνες η΅τε -
tines aete - what ye were; the Vulgate omits the words.
When one came to an heap of twenty measures. The word “measures”
is
not in the Hebrew: it is supplied by the Septuagint, σάτα - sata -(equivalent to
scabs), and by Jerome, modiorum.
But the particular measure is of no
importance; it is the proportion only on which stress is
laid. The prophet
particuiarizes the general statements of ch.1:6, 9. The “heap” is
the
collection of sheaves (Ruth 3:7). This when threshed yielded only
half that they had expected. There were (in fact) but ten; καὶ ἐγένετο
κριθῆς
δέκα σάτα – kai egeneto krithaes deka sata
- and there were ten measures of
barley. The pressfat;
the wine fat, the vat into which flowed the
juice forced
from the grapes when trodden out by the feet in the press. A full account of
this will be found in the ‘Dict. of the Bible,’
arts. “Wine press” and “Wine.”
Fifty vessels out of
the press. The Hebrew is “fifty purah.”
The word purah is
used in Isaiah 63:3 to signify the press itself, hence the Authorized
Version so translates it here, inserting “out of,” and
supplying “vessels,” as
“measures” above; but it probably here denotes a liquid
measure in which
the
wine was drawn. Septuagint, μετρητάς
– metraetas - (equivalent
to Hebrew
baths). Jerome, lagenas;
and in his commentary, amphoras.
They came and
examined the grapes and expected fifty purahs,
“press measures,” but they
did not get even half that they had hoped. There were but twenty.
The meaning may be — looking at the crop of grapes, they
expected to draw
out,
i.e. empty (chasaph), the press
fifty times, but were egregiously deceived.
17 “I
smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the
labors of your hands; yet ye turned not to
me, saith the LORD.”
I smote you with
blasting and with mildew. It was God who
inflicted these calamities upon them judicially, according to the threats in
Deuteronomy 28:22 (compare Amos
4:9, and note there). These two
pests affected the corn; the vines were smitten with hail (Psalm 78:47).
In
all the labors (work) of your
hands. All that you had cultivated with
toil, corn, vines, fruit of every sort. Yet ye turned not to me. The clause
is
elliptical, “yet not ye to me.” The Septuagint and Syriac translate as the
Authorized Version, supplying the verb from the parallel
passage in
Amos 4:9. The Vulgate (not according to precedent), Non fuit in vobis
qui revertetur ad me. In spite of these visitations there
was not one among
them who shook off his idle inaction and worked for the Lord. (Compare
Psalm 81:11)
It never seemed to strike the people, that Jehovah had, in punishment for their
disobedience, smitten the land with blasting and mildew and hail!
§ 2. On their
obedience the blessings of nature shall again be theirs. (vs.
18-19)
18 “Consider
now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day
of the ninth month, even from the day that
the foundation of the LORD’s
temple was laid, consider it.” Consider now from this day and
upward (see note
on
v.15.) For “upward” Jerome has here in futurum, though
he translated the
same word supra in v. 15. Such a rendering is allowable, and affords
a
good sense, the prophet directing the people’s attention to
the happy
prospect in the future announced in v. 19. But it seems, best to
keep to
the same interpretation in two passages so closely allied.
The prophet bids
the
people consider the period from the present, the four and twentieth
day of the ninth
month, when this prophecy
was uttered (v. 10), to the
other limit explanatory of the term “upward” or “backward.”
Even from
the day that the
foundation, etc.; rather, since the day that, etc. This is
obviously the same period as that named in v. 15, after the
foundation
was completed, but before “stone was laid upon stone” of
the
superstructure (compare Zechariah 8:9).
19 “Is the
seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the
fig tree, and
the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not
brought forth: from
this day will I bless you.” Is the seed yet in the barn? Is there any of your poor
crop still left in your granaries? Is it not
already expended? “The seed” is here
the
produce of the seed, the grain (I Samuel 8:15; Job 39:12). The
corn crop is mentioned first, then the fruit harvest. The
Vulgate has,
Numquid jam semen in germine est? Has the seed
begun to grow? Is there
any sign of abundance? Yet the harvest shall be prolific.
But there is no
doubt that megurah means
“barn,” not “sprout.” Septuagint - Αἰ ἐπιγνωσθήσεται
ἐπὶ τῆς
ἅλω, - Ai epignosthaesetai epi taes halo - If it shall be
known upon the
threshing floor.”Jerome must have read γῆς – gaes – earth for τῆς, as he renders,
“Si ultra cognoscetur super
terram area.”
He expounds it thus: So abundant shall
be the
produce that the threshing floor shall not recognize its own corn or
that the threshers shall be forced to join floor to floor
to make room for all
the
grain, “et arearnm separatio
nesciatur in terra” Yea, as yet; καὶ εἰ ἔτι
–
kai ei eti - (Septuagint); et adhuc (Vulgate);
as Judges 3:26; Job 1:18. Others
translate, “as regards.’’ Though there was no sign of leaf
or fruit on the
trees, nothing by which one could judge of the future produce, yet the
prophet predicts an abundant crop,
dating from the people’s obedience
(Leviticus 26:3-5; Deuteronomy 28:2-5). From
this day will I
bless you. “This day” is the twenty-fourth day of
the ninth month (v. 10).
From now the improvement in the season should begin and
make itself
evident. “Bless” is a term often used for sending fruitful
seasons
(Deuteronomy 28:8; Malachi 3:10).
THE FOURTH ADDRESS:
PROMISE OF THE RESTORATION AND
ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID, WHEN THE STORM
BURSTS ON THE KINGDOMS OF
THE WORLD. (vs. 20-23)
20 “And
again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four
and twentieth day of the month, saying,” Temporal blessings had been promised
to
the people generally; now spiritual
blessings are announced to Zerubbabel as
the
head of the nation and the representative of the house of David. And again;
ἐκ δευτέρου
- ek deuterou - and a second time (Septuagint). This revelation took
place on the same day as the preceding one.
21 “Speak
to Zerubbabel, governor of
heavens and the earth;” Zerubbabel (see note on ch. 1:1). I will shake the
heavens and the earth. He repeats the prediction of v. 6 in this chapter
(where see note). This is the general statement, expanded
and explained in
the
next verse.
22 “And I
will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the
strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will
overthrow the
chariots, and those that ride in them; and the
horses and their riders
shall come down, every one by the sword of his
brother.”
I will overthrow
the throne of kingdoms. No events in
Zerubbabel’s time satisfied this prediction, which waits for its fulfillment in
the Messianic age (Luke 1:52). “The throne” is used distributively
for
“every throne of kingdoms;” Septuagint, “thrones of kings.”
Of the
heathen; of the nations. Chariots, etc. Emblems of the military power by
which the nations had risen to eminence (Psalm 20:7; Zechariah 10:5).
Shall
come down. Be brought to the ground, perish
(Isaiah 34:6-8).
By
the sword of his brother. The heathen powers shall annihilate
one another (Ezekiel 38:21; Zechariah 14:13).
23 “In
that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee,
O
Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and
will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen
thee, saith the LORD
of hosts.”
In that day. When the heathen nations of the
earth are
overthrown,
favor and protection. Will
I take. The verb simply serves to introduce
the
following act as one of importance, and does not signify,
“take under my
protection” (compare Deuteronomy 4:20; II Kings 14:21). My servant.
An honorable title used especially of David (I Kings 11:13;
Jeremiah 33:21-22),
and
his future successors (Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-25). Make thee as a signet.
I will make thee most precious in my sight (compare
Song of Solomon 8:6).
Among Orientals the signet ring was an article of
great importance and value
(see Revelation 5:1; 9:4;
and ‘Dict. of the Bible,’ art. “Seal”). The allusion
is
particularly appropriate here,
because Zerubbabel is set at the head of the nation
in
the place of his grandfather (?) Jeconiah,
whose rejection from the monarchy
had
been couched in these terms: “As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah
the son of Jehoiakim King of
yet would I pluck
thee thence” (Jeremiah 22:24). The Son of Sirach, in
his praise of great men, refers to this premise,” How shall
we magnify
Zorobabel? even he was as a signet on the
right hand” (Ecclesiasticus. 49:11).
The signet, too, is the sign of authority (Genesis 41:42;
Esther 3:10); so
Zerubbabel has authority delegated to him from God, the type of Him
who
said, “All things are delivered unto me of my
Father” (Matthew 11:27).
“The true Zerubbabel, i.e. Christ,
the Son and Antitype of Zerubbabel, is
the signet in the hand of the Father, both passively and actively, whereby
God impresses His own majesty, thought, and words, and His
own image,
on men,
angels, and all creatures.” I
have chosen thee. This is not a personal
assurance only to Zerubbabel, for neither
he nor his natural seed reigned in
The fulfillment must be looked for in his spiritual
progeny and IN CHRIST!
Promises are often made in Scripture to individuals which are accomplished
only in their descendants; witness those made to Abraham and the
other
patriarchs, the prophecies of Jacob to his sons, and many
others of a similar
nature in the Old Testament,
Those large promises made to David in old time,
that his seed should endure forever, that his throne should be as the
sun before
God (Psalm 89:36-37; II Samuel 7:16), were now passed
on to Zerubbabel and
to his line, because of
him was to spring MESSIAH, IN WHOM
ALONE
these wide predictions
find their fulfillment, “He
shall be great, and shall be
called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God
shall give unto Him the
throne of his father David: and He shall reign over
the house of Jacob
forever; AND OF HIS KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE NO END!”
(Luke 1:32-33). “THE ZEAL OF THE
LORD OF HOSTS WILL
PERFORM THIS!” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Zerubbabel the Son of Shealtiel. (v. 23)
in the words, “I have chosen thee, saith
the Lord of hosts.” By this was
meant, not merely that his birth in
manhood, high esteem and favor among his countrymen and with
Cyrus,
as well as obvious natural abilities, had all come about in
accordance with
that general providence by which God appoints to all men the
times of their
coming into life and of their going out at death (Ecclesiastes
3:1-2),
the bounds of their habitation (Acts 17:26), and the
particular
circumstances of their lot (Psalm 16:6); but, in addition to this, that
God had specially selected,
endowed, and trained him for the office into
which he had been thrust, that of leading the people forth from
and for the work he had now to do, that of laying the
foundations, not of a
second temple merely, but of a second empire. What Haggai wished
to
impress upon Zerubbabel was that the
position he occupied at the head of
the new community was one that had come to him, not by
accident, but, as
in the earlier cases of Abraham (Isaiah 41:2), Moses (Exodus
3:10),
and Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28), by
Divine appointment. One can imagine
the
inspiration a thought like that must have imparted to Zerubbabel, the
stimulus it must have given to every good impulse of his heart, the
elevation and dignity it must have lent to even the least
significant action he
performed. Similar inspiration, stimulus, and dignity might be
enjoyed by
all, were all to realize that “the steps of a good man are
ordered by the
Lord” (Psalm 37:23), and that for each man’s life there is a
plan
existing in the mind of God, into which each will be surely guided,
if only
he will meekly put himself into the hand of God (Psalm 25:9).
claimed for Zerubbabel, though not
assigned a place in the magnificent
picture gallery of Hebrews 11; because it is difficult to see how
Zerubbabel, being the man he was, a descendant of the royal line of
David,
and located where he was in the prosperous city of
as he was in the manifest enjoyment of the Persian monarch’s
favor,
would have acted as he did, had he not been possessed of faith.
In
comparison with those who remained behind in
forth to seek the land of their fathers; and it is little
probable that
Zerubbabel would have cast in his lot with the pilgrims, had he not
been
persuaded that the movement was of God, that the journey upon which
they were about to enter had been marked out for them by
Heaven, and
that the insignificant and feeble company itself was a true
representative of
Jehovah’s
Church upon the earth. That spirit, it
may be added, which was
present in Zerubbabel, the spirit of
faith, which can recognize the
superiority of things spiritual and religious to things earthly and
secular,
that is not ashamed to espouse the cause of truth and
righteousness on
earth, however humble and obscure, because it is the truth of
God, and that
is always ready, when the voice of God cries within the soul,
“Who
will go
for us?” to respond, “Here
am I, Lord; send me!” (Isaiah
6:8) lies at
the
basis of all true greatness in the soul.
even among Christians, than a fortitude that can brave all
difficulties and
defy all oppositions, especially in matters of religion. Yet is
nothing more
indispensable. Thousands of brilliant schemes, private as well as
public, in
Church as in state,
have come to nothing for want of manly
resolution to
go on with them and carry them through. Had Zerubbabel been a craven,
he never would have done so outwardly foolish a thing as join
himself with
a handful of pilgrims who proposed to quit their comfortable
homes and
prosperous estates in
a promised land on the other side of the
weakling, would he have succeeded in carrying these pilgrims in
safety to
their destination. Traced out on a modern map, it seems not a
far journey
between
Abraham had traveled by when he
departed from
moved northwards to
came down upon
comparatively small company, the feat must have been immensely easier
than it could have been to Zerubbabel,
with fifty thousand heads of families
and nearly a quarter of a million souls in all to take charge
of. But with the
help of God and his own stout heart he did it. It was a feat
only second to
that of Moses, who brought their fathers out of
the scorching and fiery wilderness, and set them down at the
gate of
discouraged, could he have brought the temple to completion, working,
as
he did, with a company of builders who became alarmed at
every menace
uttered against them by the people of the land, and who threw down
their
tools on encountering the smallest resistance. So difficult was
the task to
keep them at their work, and so formidable were the obstacles
he had to
encounter, that Zechariah, a younger prophet than Haggai, likened
the
work he had to do to the leveling of a great mountain,
encouraging him at
the same time with the assurance that it would be leveled, “Who
art thou,
O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a
plain.”
(Zechariah 4:7) And become a plain it did. Reinforced by a
fresh company
of builders who came up from
Zerubbabel and his band pushed on the work till it was finished, and
the
temple received its topstone with shoutings of “Grace, grace unto it”
(Ezra 7:6-8; Zechariah 4:7).
honor was conferred on Zerubbabel when
chosen by Jehovah to be His
servant, and as such appointed the leader of His people. A greater
when
assured that God would graciously assist him until the task
assigned to him
had been successfully carried through. The greatest when, in
reward for his
faithful service, it was promised that he
and his would be sharers in the
future Messianic glory reserved for
means, “I will make thee as a signet ring, O Zerubbabel, my servant.” It
lends a remarkable interest to this verse of Haggai to be told
that in recent
excavations upon Temple Hill, a ring has been discovered with the name
of
Haggai inscribed upon it
(‘Recent Discoveries on the Temple Hill,’ pp. 78-
80). In
the eyes of Orientals the finger ring, or signet, was regarded as a
valuable possession, to lose which was esteemed a dire calamity. To
speak
of one as a signet ring was to assure him of tender regard
and watchful
preservation. Reversing the threat pronounced against Jeconiah, the last
King of Judah, and the
grandfather of Zerubbabel (Jeremiah 22:24),
Jehovah promises that Zerubbabel shall be as a signet ring upon his own
finger, i.e. shall be indissolubly associated with Himself
and regarded with
sincere affection; and this promise may be said to have been
fulfilled, so far
as Zerubbabel was concerned, in
that he was henceforth inseparably linked
with the history of God’s people, and in fact constituted an
ancestor of
Messiah, who
afterwards sprang from his line.
But as the day when the
promised distinction should be conferred on Zerubbabel
was expressly
specified as the day when the process begun by Jehovah of shaking
the
heavens and the earth should have been brought to a completion, at
which
time Zerubbabel should have been long
dead, it becomes obvious that the
promise must be understood as having reached its highest
fulfi1ment in
Zerubbabel’s distinguished descendant, who should then be made
Jehovah’s signet ring, in reward for a greater work of emancipation and
temple building than
had been performed by Zerubbabel. And in this
reward all share who, whether before His coming or since, have
been fellow
workers with Him by serving the will of God in their day and
generation.
1. The value of great men to their own age and to the world
at large.
2. The certainty of a Divine fore-ordination in ordinary
life.
3. The impossibility of faithful work on earth losing its
reward.
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God’s Temple Filled with Glory. (v. 7)
“And I will fill this house with glory, saith
the Lord of hosts.”
OF CHRIST TO THIS PARTICULAR
SANCTUARY FOR GOD.
Ø
Thither the Child
Jesus was taken in his infancy by Joseph and Mary,
that they might present him
before the Lord. So far as material splendour
was concerned, no trace of it
was to be seen in this introduction of the
Child Jesus to that house. The
rich were required to bring a lamb as an
offering when they came to
present their children thus, but Joseph and
Mary were too poor to bring so
costly an offering, and hence they brought
the humbler gift the Law
required. But whilst earthly glory was lacking on
this occasion, a higher glory
was expressed. See those distinguished
servants of God! And as you
behold old age gazing with holy joy upon that
helpless Babe, regarding him as
the Deliverer of Israel, as in imagination
you witness the one, Simeon,
taking that infant form into his arms,
exclaiming “Lord, now lettest,” etc. (<420229>Luke 2:29), and
as you behold the
other, Anna, “giving thanks to
God, and speaking of the Redeemer to all
who looked for redemption in
Jerusalem” (<420238>Luke 2:38), do you not see
the promise realized, “I will
fill,” etc. (ver. 7)?
Ø
When he attained the
age of twelve years, we find him again in that
temple, sitting as a learner,
hearing those who gave instruction there, and
asking them questions. We can
form no idea as to the nature of the
questions he proposed to the
masters in Israel; but when we think of those
teachers as being confounded by
the questions and answers of that
Galilaean Youth, when we remember how that all who heard him were
astonished at his understanding,
and when we reflect upon the Divine light
and knowledge which was then
communicated, we see how that on the day
when the sorrowing parents were
searching diligently for their lost Son,
God was fulfilling the promise
made ages before to his people, “I will fill,”
etc. (ver.
7; <420242>Luke 2:42-51).
Ø
Whenever he entered
that temple it became filled with the glory of the
Lord. This was so, no matter whether
he approached it for the purpose of
performing some of his mighty
works, or to give utterance to his wondrous
words, or to drive from the
shrine those who were desecrating it and
causing it to become a den of
thieves. Never did he enter it without
imparting to it a glory such as
was unknown to the temple of Solomon.
That temple in all its glory
could not hear comparison with this second,
when this latter house was favoured with the visits and the holy influence
of the Christ of God; and it was
not until they who ought to have rejoiced
in the light he imparted and in
the halo his presence shed had rejected and
crucified him that the glory
departed from this temple as from the former
one, and that irreparable ruin
was brought upon the house which had been
repeatedly filled with the glory
of the Lord.
TO EVERY SANCTUARY IN WHICH GOD
IS WORSHIPPED IN
SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. Every such
structure is as much God’s temple
as the Jewish temple ever was.
The Christian worshipper may adopt, in
reference to the sanctuary to
which it is his happiness to repair, such
utterances as <198401>Psalm 84:1; 65:1, 2; 122:1, 2; and he can apply to these
modern sanctuaries the grand old
promise of his God, “And I will fill,” etc.
(ver.
7). There is but one essential in order that any sanctuary may be filled
with glory, even the presence
of Christ, not the visible, but the spiritual,
presence of the Divine Redeemer.
Let this be wanting, and it is immaterial
how magnificent may be the
structure reared or how imposing the outward
form. Vestments may be worn, the
whole assembly may assume a
reverential aspect, the music
may be of the most attractive character, the
pulpit may be occupied by one
who may charm and captivate by his
eloquence; yet if the presence
of Christ is not realized, the house will not
be lighted up with the true
glory; whereas much of this may be wanting,
but if Christ’s presence is
realized, glory shall fill the place. What a contrast
there was between this temple
and the upper chamber in which the chosen
disciples were assembled,
waiting for the fulfilment of the promise of their
risen Lord! And yet, on the
second sabbath after the Ascension, a glory
filled that upper chamber such
as was unknown to the Jewish temple,
simply because he who had been
driven from the temple, and who, during
his appearances there, had been
invariably rejected by its worshippers, was
a welcome Guest in that upper
room. His presence was fully realized there,
and hence the place was filled
with the Divine glory, and was rendered “the
very gate of heaven.” The
spiritual presence of the Divine Redeemer thus
constitutes the true
consecration of any building reared for Christian
worship and teaching; this is
what is needed in order that any sanctuary in
our own day may be filled with
God’s own glory. Then, clothed with true
sincerity of spirit, partaking
of his love, his purity, his spirituality, his
consecration, walking as he
walked, honestly, uprightly, consistently, and
so fulfilling the conditions
upon which his manifestation depends, may we
feel him near, as in the
sanctuary, dear to us by hallowed associations, we
engage in acts of worship; near
us the Imparter of a Divine life, the Inspirer
of all our songs, our prayers,
our words, our toils; the Bestower of large
blessings upon us and upon all
who come within the range of our influence.
“Now therefore arise, O Lord
God,” etc. (<140641>2 Chronicles 6:41).
The Consecration of Wealth. (v. 8)
“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Sovereign, and as such he
exercises dominion over us, and disposes of us
as it seemeth
him good. This sovereignty is exercised by him in strict
accordance with the principles
of wisdom, rectitude, and goodness. This
Divine right has reference, not
only to ourselves, but extends also to all
that we possess. “All things
come of him;” we are but stewards of his
bounty. The recognition of this
fact contributes to a man’s real welfare. If a
man views his possessions as
being his own, he is in danger of that love of
money which is the root of all
evil. Hence it is with a view to man’s
spiritual preservation, as well
as with a due regard to the benefit of the race
and the progress of his cause,
that God insists upon his right, saying, “The
silver is mine,” etc. (v. 8).
RIGHT ON THE PART OF MAN, AND
THE CONSECRATION OF
HIS SUBSTANCE TO THE SERVICE OF
GOD.
Ø
Neglect of this involves loss. The young ruler an example (<401916>Matthew
19:16-22). “He went away
sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” He
kept his wealth, but at a
terrible sacrifice, for he forfeited intercourse with
Christ, the joys of the Christly
life, and the unfading treasures with which
the Saviour
was prepared to enrich him.
“For mark
the change! Thus saith the Lord,
‘Come,
part with earth for heaven today.’
The youth,
astonished at the word,
In silent
sadness went his way.”
Ø
Regard to this ensures
gain. Cornelius an example (Acts 10:1-2).
He viewed property as a trust.
He rendered unto God his due. His prayers
and his alms “came up for a
memorial before God.” And the result was that
God blessed him, granting unto
him the ministry of angels, guiding him into
truth by his servant, imparting
to him the consciousness of his love, and
filling him with the graces of
his Spirit. Let us readily render unto God his
just claim in reference to the
possessions of earth
o
when help is required
in order to the maintenance of his worship;
o
when the cry of
distress, occasioned not by improvidence, but by
unavoidable adverse
influences, rises into our ears;
o
when fresh openings
for doing the work of God both at home and
abroad are found, and call for increased
liberality that they may be
embraced, let God’s voice be
heard in these, intimating that he has need of
those resources which have come
to us as his gifts, and let us cheerfully
give to him of his own. For who
has such right to what we possess of this
world’s goods as he whose free
gifts these are, and who in the bestowment
of them has blessed the work of
our hands?
The Peace of God. (v.9)
“And in this place will I give peace, saith
the Lord of hosts.” Various
theories have been propounded concerning how temporal peace
and
prosperity may be secured to a people. One wilt tell you
that everything
turns upon which political party happens to be in power; a
second will cry,
“Free Trade;” a third will respond, “Protection;” a fourth
will dilate upon
“the reform of the land laws;” a fifth will enlarge upon
the importance of
the maintenance of our military prestige, affirming that
peace is best
guaranteed by being prepared for war; but we may rest
assured that the
foundations of national peace and prosperity lie deeper
far, and are laid in
rectitude and righteousness. True peace, and, as a
consequence, lasting
prosperity, come to a people only in a secondary sense
through their rulers
and legislators, and men of mark in the various
departments: they come
primarily through the people themselves. In proportion as
they become
God-fearing and Christ-like, submissive to the Divine
authority and guided
by the principles of God’s Word, will he bless them and
make them
prosperous and happy. But there is a higher form of peace
than that which
is denominated temporal, and to that more exalted blessing
the Divine
promise contained in this text referred. Temporal peace was
now being
enjoyed by the returned from exile. They dwelt in quietude,
although the
subjects of a foreign power. But the Lord of hosts promised
them spiritual
peace, and assured them that, in association with the
sanctuary they were
raising to his honour, they
should experience inward tranquillity and rest.
“In this place will I give peace,” etc. (ver. 9).
THEY GATHER AT HIS SANCTUARY
BURDENED WITH A SENSE
OF SIN, In our daily life we are
continually contracting fresh sins. We
stray from God’s ways, undesignedly we err from his precepts, and as the
result are rendered restless and
disquieted. And coming thus to his house,
as we bow, in worship, and as we
listen to the story of redeeming love, we
become humbled in spirit and
filled with penitence, and we find peace in
Christ. He who controlled the
winds and the waves controls also the
passions and tumults of the
wilder human spirit as he says in gracious
tones, “Come unto me, and I will
give yon rest.”
AS THEY GATHER AT HIS SANCTUARY
OPPRESSED WITH A
SENSE OF SORROW. In every
congregation assembled for worship there
are to be found sorrowing
hearts. “Every heart knoweth its own
bitterness,” and we little know
how many and varied are the trials being
experienced by those who form
our fellow worshippers; and as such in
their deep need, and oppressed
with griefs they could not disclose to
others, turn to him who is
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, they
feel themselves divinely soothed
and succoured, and realize the fullilment
of the ancient promise, “And in
this place,” etc. (ver. 9).
AS THEY GATHER AT HIS SANCTUARY
HARASSED THROUGH A
SENSE OF MISGIVING AND MISTRUST.
Doubts arise within the
mind, problems are presented
concerning God’s truth and his providence
that baffle and perplex, and as
it was with Asaph in the olden time, so has it
been with many since — they have
found light cast upon the hidden way as
they have come to the sanctuary
of God (<197316>Psalm 73:16, 17). And so at
all times and under all our
experiences he can breathe over us the peace
that calms the troubled soul and
makes the weary heart at rest.
The Past and the Future. (vs. 10-19)
Two months had now elapsed since, stimulated by the
prophet’s glowing
words, the temple builders had resumed their labours (comp. ver. 1 with
ver. 10). These months were of great importance with reference to
agricultural interests, being the usual season for sowing
the seed and
planting the vines. That at such a time they should
manifest so much zest in
the work of rebuilding the temple proved how thoroughly in
earnest they
were; sad this earnestness is the more evident as we
remember that the
previous harvests having failed, the people must at this
time have been in
very straitened circumstances. It is not surprising if,
whilst engaged in these
combined operations, renewed depression took possession of
their hearts,
and if in sadness they asked themselves what they would do
if the next
harvest should likewise fail. The address of Haggai
recorded in these verses
(10-19) was designed either to anticipate or to meet such
gloomy
apprehensions; and we have only to hear this design in
mind, and the
meaning of his words, otherwise somewhat ambiguous, becomes
very
clear.
Ø
He traced this to
their own moral defection. The method he adopted was
peculiar — it was by means of
parables that he sought to make vivid to
them their last sinfulness, and
which had caused their sorrow.
(1) The first
parable and its application. He referred them to the priests,
bidding them ask whether, if a man carries holy flesh in
the lappet of his
garment (i.e. flesh of animals slain as sacrifices),
and he happened to touch
any food with the lappet, the food thus touched would
become
consecrated. The priests, in accordance with the ceremonial
Law
(Leveticus 6:27), answered, “No”
(vers. 11, 12), contending that the lappet
of the dress was made holy, but that it was not said in the
Law that it could
communicate this holiness. So, the prophet implied (ver. 14), was it with
his nation. God had chosen their land to set his Name
there. His worship
had been established in their midst, they had been
constituted a favoured
people, and their land had been consecrated through this
association with
the Lord. This, however, did not affect that which had been
planted in the
soil; the earth was not bound to yield an abundant increase
by virtue of
these sacred associations. It was only by their being
faithful to their high
calling, diligently cultivating the soil, and looking up to
Heaven for the
blessing, that temporal prosperity could be enjoyed, and
the lack of this
spirit had been the cause of all their sorrow.
(2) The second
parable and its application. The appeal was again made to
the priests, to know whether, if one who had been defiled
by contact with a
dead body happened to touch anything, the thing thus
touched would be
unclean. The priests unhesitatingly replied that it would,
the declarations of
the ceremonial Law upon this point being very explicit
(Numbers 19.). So
the prophet affirmed that his people, neglecting the claims
of Jehovah, had
rendered themselves morally unclean, and the blight had
consequently
rested upon the works of their hands (ver.
14). Their adversity was
traceable to their sad defection from holy duty and
devotedness to the Lord
their God.
Ø
He intimated that
because of this defection God had visited them in
judgment. He had in chastisement
smitten them with blasting and mildew
and hail, rendering their labour so abortive that their sheaves had yielded
but a scanty return (vs. 15-17).
Ø
He recorded the fact
that, despite these judgments, they had persisted in
their neglect of duty. “Yet ye
turned not unto me, saith the Lord” (ver. 17).
The prophet’s strong faithful
speech indicates that there had been amongst
these returned captives much of
indifference, coldness, and deadness in
reference to the work of God,
and it was only right that they should be
reminded of this, and that by
the painful memory of past failure they should
be stimulated to more thorough
and entire consecration in the future, and
to which we may be sure the
devoted seer gladly turned. The past is
irrevocable and irretrievable.
No tears, no regrets, can win it back to us.
“Thou
unrelenting Past!
Strong are
the barriers of thy dark domain;
All
things, yea, even man’s life on earth,
Slide to
thy dim dominions and are bound.”
The future, however, is
available, and hence, leaving the past, with all our
shortcomings in relation to it,
and rejoicing in God’s mercy and in the
strength he is so ready to
impart, let us “go and sin no more.”
action had now completely
changed. They fully recognized God’s claims;
instead of seeking their own
personal and selfish ends, they now
consecrated themselves heart and
soul to the work of God, striving in
every way to advance his glory.
The temple rose, and “they finished it
according to the commandment,”
etc. (<150614>Ezra 6:14). And their attitude
towards God and his work being
thus changed, his attitude towards them
became likewise changed. They
must still for a while experience the effects
of their past neglect in that
time must elapse before rich fruitfulness should
appear where formerly there had
been dearth and barrenness, but they
might rest assured of the
returning favour of the Lord; yea, from that
moment this joy should be
theirs. “From this day will I bless you” (ver. 19).
So is it in our life, that
whilst the cherubim with the flaming sword sternly
guard the door of the past, so
that there is no possibility of our return
(<010324>Genesis
3:24), there is also the angel of the Lord opening up the path
before us through the
wilderness, and prepared to guide us, if we will, to
the brighter Eden that lies
beyond (<022321>Exodus 23:21, 22).
.
The Final Message. (20-23)
We gather from this last recorded message of this prophet,
and addressed
to Zerubbabel —
FROM PRESENT APPEARANCES. The
seer referred to coming
commotions and upheavings in national life (vers.
21, 22); but at the time
he gave utterance to these
intimations all was peace and tranquillity.
Rawlinson refers to the Persian empire as spreading over two
millions of
square miles, or more than half
of modern Europe, and this vast power was
at this time unassailed.
In the opening vision of Zechariah, having reference
to this time, the representation
made was, “Behold, all the earth sitteth still,
and is at rest” (<380111>Zechariah 1:11). We cannot forecast the future; we
know not what a day may bring
forth.
NATIONS. Repeatedly in vers. 21, 22, the Most High refers to his own
action in the convulsions and
revolutions to take place. “I will shake,” etc.
Whilst civil broils and
contentions and military conflicts contribute to the
effecting of such desolation,
these are but agents unconsciously fulfilling
the Divine behests. “The Lord
God Omnipotent reigneth;” “He changeth
the times and the seasons:he removeth kings and setteth up kings”
(<270221>Daniel
2:21); “This is the finger of God.”
ARE TRULY CONSECRATED TO THE
SERVICE OF THE LORD.
(Ver.
23.) The signet ring was a precious token. It was worn by the
Eastern prince on one of the
fingers of his right hand, and was prized by
him above all things. The
symbol, as used here, suggests that Zerubbabel
the prince, who had so
faithfully fuifilled his trust, should be loved and
cared for by God; that the Lord
would cherish him even as the signet ring
was cherished by its owner. Zerubbabel is regarded by some as a
symbolical character, as typical
of Christ, the Prince of Peace, who was to
come; and such regard this
assurance addressed to him as having its
application to the Messiah, and
as setting forth the Divine Father’s delight
in him. The emblem may be still
further extended in its application. All true
and loyal hearts are cared for
by him as his chosen ones, and he will
preserve them unto his
everlasting kingdom.
God’s Message to His People by Haggai. (vs. 1-5)
“In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the
month, came the
word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now
to Zerubbabel
the son of Shealtiel, Governor of
Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech,
the high priest, and to the residue of the people,” etc.
Here is the second
Divine message addressed by Haggai to Zerubbabel,
Joshua, and the
residue of the people. Observe:
1. The Divine message
often comes from one man to many. It now came
by Haggai.
2. All temples but
the temple of nature are to be built by man himself. God
could have studded the world with temples; but he has honoured human
nature by leaving it to men to do.
3. Any postponement
of duty is opposed to the will of God. All duty
requires the utmost promptitude. The Jews were now dallying
with duty.
The subject of these verses is — God requires human labour purely for
religious objects. We
have to labour for many things — for material
subsistence, for intellectual culture and scientific
information, but in all for
a religion. True labour in every
form should be religious. Whatsoever we
do in word or deed, we should do all to the glory of God.
Three thoughts
are here suggested in relation to this subject:
OF RELIGIOUS DECADENCE. The
temple, once the glory of the
country, was now in ruins, etc.
“Who is left among you that saw this house
in her first glory? and how do
ye see it now?” Into what a low state has
genuine religion sunk in our
country! It is cold, formal, worldly,
conventional.
VIGOROUS EXERTION. “Be strong, O
Zerubbabel,... be strong, O
Joshua be strong, all ye people
of the land.” All the powers of our nature
should be concentrated in this
work, the work of resuscitation. Why?
Ø
Because it is right,
and therefore you may throw your conscience into it.
Ø
Because it is worthy
of all your faculties. Call out and honour all
the
faculties of your nature.
Ø
Because it is urgent.
The highest interests of your countrymen and your
race depend upon it.
ALL. All are called upon here to
work. The men in office, and the people.
All should unite in this work.
It concerns all — young and old, rich and
poor. The energies of all should
be enlisted in this grand work of religious
revival.
“For I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts,” etc. Those who are engaged
in this work are labourers together with God. He is with them, inspiring,
directing, encouraging,
energizing. Christ says to his disciples, “Lo, I am
with you alway,
even unto the end of the world.”
The Moral Progress of the World. (vs. 6-9)
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake
the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land,”
etc. Humanity is
undoubtedly progressing in certain directions — in secular
information, in
scientific discoveries, in useful and ornamental arts, in
the extension of
commerce, in the principles of legislation. But whether it
is progressing in
moral excellence is undoubtedly questionable, and yet there
is no real
progress without this. The real progress of man is the
progress of moral
goodness. Three thoughts are suggested by the passage in
relation to this
moral progress.
MANKIND. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while,
and I will shake the heavens,
and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land.”
Perhaps the primary reference
here is to the charges which were to be
effected in the Jewish system
and commonwealth, preparatory to the
Christian dispensation. Judaism
was, as we know, shaken to its centre by
the appearance of Christ.
Revolutions in society seem to me essential to the
moral progress of the race.
There must be revolutions in theories and
practices is relation to
governments, markets, temples, Churches. How
much them is to be shaken in the
heaven and earth of Christendom before
the cause of true moral progress
can advance! May we not hope that all the
revolutions that are constantly
occurring in governments and nations are
only the removal of obstructions
in the moral march of humanity? In the
clash of arms, in the fall of
kingdoms, one ought to hear the words,
“Prepare ye the way,” etc.
CRAVINGS OF MANKIND. “The desire
of all nations shall come.”
Whether this refers to Christ or
not has been questioned. Still, philosophy
and history show that he meets
all the moral longing of humanity. The
moral craving of humanity is satisfied
in Christ, and in Christ only.
Ø Man’s deep desire
is reconciliation to his Creator.
Ø
Man’s deep desire is to have inner harmony of soul. Christ
effects this.
Ø
To have brotherly
unity with the race. Moral socialism is
what all
nations crave for. Christ gives
this. He breaks down the middle wall of
partition. He unites all men
together by uniting all men to God.
MANKIND. “I will fill this house
with glory, saith the Lord.”
Ø
God will be
recognized as the universal Proprietor. “Silver
is mine, and
gold is mine,” etc. In the good
time coming, men will feel that all is God’s,
not theirs. They will act as
trustees, not as proprietors. God will be all in
all.
Ø
God will be recognized as the universal Peace giver. “I will
give peace,
saith the Lord of hosts.”
Human Duty
(vs. 10-14)
“In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the
second year of
Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet,
saying, Thus
said the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the
Law,” etc. “On
the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of the same year,
that is to say,
exactly three months after the congregation had resumed the
building of
the temple (<370115>Haggai 1:15), and about two months after the second
prophecy (<370201>Haggai 2:1), a new word of the Lord was uttered through
Haggai to the people. [This is the prophet’s third address,
extending over
vers. 10-19.] It was now time, since the despondency which had
laid hold
of the people a few weeks after the recommencement of the
building had
been dispelled by the consolatory promises in vers. 6-9, and the work was
vigorously pursued, to confirm the people in the fidelity
which they had
manifested, by bestowing upon them the blessing which had
been
withdrawn. To this end Haggai received the commission to
make it
perfectly clear to the people that the curse, which had
rested upon them
since the building of the temple had been neglected, had
been nothing but a
punishment for their indolence in not pushing forward the
work of the
Lord; and and that from that time
forth the Lord would bestow his blessing
upon them again” (Delitzsch). The
passage suggests two facts.
BY AN APPEAL TO DIVINE
AUTHORITY. “Thus saith the Lord of
hosts; Ask now the priests
concerning the Law.” The question, of course,
implies two things.
Ø That there is a Divine written law for the regulation of
human conduct.
Though the Law here refers to ceremonial
institutes which were contained
in the Levitical
code, there is also a divinely written law of a far higher
significance — that moral law
which rises out of man’s relations, and is
binding upon man as man, here
and everywhere, now and forever.
Ø
That there are
divinely appointed interpreters of this law. “Ask now the
priests.” Under the old economy
there were men appointed and qualified
by God to expound the Law to the
people; and in every age there are men
endowed with that high moral
genius which gives them an insight into the
eternal principles of moral
obligation. They descry those principles, not
only in the words of God, but in
his works; they have that ethical and
spiritual “unction from the Holy
One,” by which they know all things
pertaining to duty. Thus, then,
the question of duty is to be decided. It
cannot be decided by the customs
of the age, the enactments of
governments, or the decrees of
Churches. “To the Law and to the
testimony.” The will of God is
the standard of moral obligation.
OBEDIENCE. It was the duty of
the Jews now to rebuild the temple; but
that duty they discharged not by
merely bringing the stones and timbers
together and placing them in
architectural order. It required further the
spirit of consecration. The
prophet sought to impress this upon the mind of
his fellow countrymen engaged in
this work by propounding two questions
referring to points in the
ceremonial law. The first had reference to the
communication of the holiness
of holy objects to other objects brought
into contact with them. “If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment,
and with his skirt do touch
bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat,
shall it be holy?” In other
words, whether, if a person carry holy flesh in a
lappet of his garment, and
touched any food with the lappet, it should
become holy in consequence? The
priests said, “No;” and rightly. Mere
ceremonial holiness cannot
impart virtue to our actions in daily life; cannot
render our efforts in the
service of God acceptable to him. Ritualism
without righteousness is morally
worthless. The second question was this:
“If one that is unclean by a
dead body touch any of these, shall it be
unclean?” The priests answered
and said, “It shall be unclean.” “The sum,”
says an old writer, “of these
two rules is that pollution is more easily
communicated than
sanctification; that is, there are many ways of vice, but
only one of virtue, and a
difficult one. Bonum oritur
ex integris; malum ex
quolibet defectu, ‘Good implies perfection; evil commences with the
slightest defect.’ Let not men
think that living among good people will
recommend them to God, if they
are not good themselves; but let them lear
that touching the unclean thing
will defile them, and therefore let them
keep at a distance from it.”
Ø
The transcendent
importance of the spirit of obedience. What
are
ceremonial observances, and what
are all intellectual or bodily efforts, in
connection with religion, apart
from the spirit of obedience? Nothing, and
worse. “Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice;” “What have I to do with
the multitude of thine oblations,” etc.?
Ø
That man can more
easily communicate evil to another than good. As a
legally unclean person could
impart his uncleanness to anything, and a
legally holy person could not
impart his sanctity to anything, so it is
suggested that evil is more
easily communicated by man to man than good.
This is a sad truth, and proved
by universal observation and experience.
Briars will grow without
cultivation, but not roses. A man can give his
fever to another easier than he
can give his health.
Man’s Temporalities (vs. 15-19)
“And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward,
from before a
stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord,”
etc. The subject of
these verses is man’s temporalities; or, in
other words, his earthly
circumstances, his secular condition. And the passage
suggests three ideas
in relation to this subject.
DISPOSAL OF GOD. Here the
Almighty is represented as at one time,
namely, the period daring their
neglect of rebuilding the temple,
withholding from the Jewish
people temporal prosperity. But after they had
commenced the work in earnest,
the stream of prosperity would begin to
flow. Here are the words:
“Before a stone was laid upon a stone in the
temple of the Lord: since those
days were, when one came to an heap of
twenty measures, there were but
ten: when one came to the press fat for to
draw out fifty vessels out of
the press, there were but twenty.” “It was I
that gave you only ten instead
of twenty measures, only twenty instead of
fifty vessels in the vat. It was
I that smote you with blasting and with
mildew and with hail.” So it
ever is. Man’s temporal circumstances are at
the disposal of God. Out of the
earth cometh all man’s temporal good; but
he can make the earth barren or
fruitful as he pleases. He can bind it with
frosts, inundate it with floods,
or scorch it with heat. Man, cease to pride
thyself in thy temporal
prosperity!
OF MAN ACCORDING TO MAN’S MORAL
CHARACTER. The
Almighty here tells the Jewish
people that in consequence of their neglect
of his command to rebuild the
temple, temporal distress would befall them.
He ‘smote them with “blasting”
and with “mildew” and with “hail in all the
“labours
of their hands” But as soon as they commenced in earnest he said,
“From this day will I bless you?
The fact that God sometimes and not
always regulates man’s
temporalities according to his moral obedience or
disobedience suggests:
Ø That the cultivation of a high moral character is important
to man eves
as a citizen of this
earth. “Godliness is profitable to all
things.”
Ø That even this occasional expression of God’s regard for moral conduct
is sufficient to justify the belief in the doctrine of a future and universal
retribution. Antecedently, we
should infer that, under the government of an
all-wise, all-powerful, and
all-just God, man’s secular circumstances would
be according to his moral worth.
It would have been so, had man not
fallen, no doubt. It is
sometimes so now, as in the case before us. It will be
universally so one day — the
great day that awaits humanity.
PROFOUNDLY TO STUDY. “Now, I
pray you, consider from this day
and upward.” This call to
consider the facts is thrice repeated. Consider
why the adversity came upon you
in the first case, and why the blessing is
promised in the second case. It
was, in one ease, because you neglected
your moral duty, and in the
second because you began to discharge it. Why
should these facts be studied?
Ø
That we may have a
practical consciousness that God is in the world. In
all the elements of nature, in
all the seasons of the year, in all the varying
temperatures and moods of
nature, we see God in all things. “The place
whereon thou standest
is holy ground.”
Ø
That we may have a
practical consciousness that God recognizes moral
distinctions in human society.
God and evil are not alike to him. The good
he sees, he approves; the evil
he beholds, he loathes.
Ø That we may have a practical consciousness that retribution
is at work
in the Divine government.
Terrible Revolutions (vs. 20-23)
“And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the
four and
twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, Governor of
Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and
I will overthrow
the throne of kingdoms,” etc. This is the fourth address.
These verses
remind us —
SOMETIMES VERY TERRIBLE. Here we
read of the “shaking of the
heavens and the earth,” the
“crash of thrones,” the “destruction of
kingdoms,” the “overthrow of
chariots,” etc. What the particular
revolutions referred to here are
cannot be determined. Alas! we know well
enough that such terrible
catastrophes have been too common in every age
and land. During the last forty
years what tremendous revolutions have
occurred in Europe and in
America! The political heavens and earth have
been shaken to their very
centre, and even now the political world
throughout Christendom is
heaving with earthquakes and thundering with
volcanoes. Such revolutions
imply the existence and prevalence of two
antagonistic moral principles in
the world — good and evil. These are the
Titanic chieftains in all the
battles, the elemental forces in all the
convulsions of the world. It is
truth against error, right against wrong,
liberty against thraldom, virtue against vice.
THESE REVOLUTIONS. “I will shake
the heavens,... I will overthrow
the throne,” etc. “I will
destroy the strength,” etc. Inasmuch:
Ø As God is eternally against the false and the wrong and the
tyrannic, he
may be said to be the
Author of these revolutions.
Ø As he can prevent them, he may be said to be the Author of
these
revolutions. He does not originate them, but he permits them. He could
annihilate all wicked doers by a
volition; he allows them to fight themselves
often to death in battling
against the right and the true. Hence God permits
and controls all human
revolutions. This should inspire us with confidence
in the most terrible scenes.
“The Lord sitteth upon the flood.” He sits in
serene majesty, controlling all
the fury of the battling forces. He “holds the
winds in his fist.”
TREMENDOUS REVOLUTIONS OF TIME.
“In that day, saith the Lord
of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel,
saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have
chosen thee, saith
the Lord of hosts” (ver. 23). What is here said of Zerubbabel
suggests
three thoughts.
Ø
That good men
sustain the highest office. Zerubbabel was not
only a
servant, but a “chosen servant,”
He was selected for the work of rebuilding
the temple. The highest honour for moral intelligence is to be the appointed
servant of Jehovah.
Ø
That good men will
receive the highest distinction. “I will
make thee as
a signet,” A signet
indicates:
o
Worth. It was a ring
with a seal on it, worn on the finger, as an
ornament of great value. Good
men are elsewhere represented as God’s
jewels.
o
Authority. The signet of
an Eastern monarch was a sign of delegated
authority. A good man is
invested with the highest authority — the
authority to fight against wrong
and to promote right, at all times and in
every place
Ø
That good men will
always be safely kept. Jehovah says this
to
Zeubbabel Amidst all evil, “God is my Refuge and Strength, a very
present
Help in trouble!”