Haggai 1

CHAPTER XXIV

EXPOSITION OF HAGGAI

THE FIRST MESSAGE. Haggai 1:1-15

RV. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet unto Zeruhbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoozadak, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, This people say, It is not the time for us to come, the time for Jehovah's house to be built. Then came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled houses, while this house lieth waste? Now therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah. Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith Jehovah of hosts. Because of my house that lieth waste, while ye run every man to his own house. Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholdeth its fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the grain, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of Jehovah their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Jehovah their God had sent him; and the people did fear before Jehovah. Then spake Haggai Jehovah's messenger in Jehovah's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith Jehovah. And Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work on the house of Jehovah of hosts, their God, in the four and twentieth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

LXX. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of the prophet Aggaeus, saying, Speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, and to Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, saying. Thus saith the Lord Almighty, saying, This people say, The time is not come to build the house of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of the prophet Aggaeus, saying, Is it time for you to dwell in your ceiled houses, whereas our house is desolate? And now thus saith the Lord Almighty; Consider your ways, I pray you. Ye have sown much, but brought in little; ye have eaten, and are not satisfied; ye have drunk, and are not satisfied with drink, ye have clothed yourselves, and have not become warm thereby; and he that earns wages has gathered them into a bag of holes. Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and cut timber; build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and there came little; and it was brought into the house, and I blew it away. Therefore thus saith the Lord Almighty, Because my house is desolate, and ye run every one into his own house; therefore shall the sky withhold dew, and the earth shall keep back her produce. And I will bring a sword upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and all that the earth produces, and upon the men, and upon the cattle, and upon all the labours of their hands. And Zorozabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, and Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people hearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of the prophet Aggaeus, according as the Lord their God had sent him to them, and the people feared before the Lord. And Aggaeus the Lord's messenger spoke among the messengers of the Lord to the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zorobabel the son Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and the spirit of Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and the spirit of the remnant of all the people; and they went in, and wrought in the house of the Lord Almighty their God, on the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

COMMENTS

The first message of Haggai to the indifferent and discouraged remnant merits special examination for the simple reason that it got results! Those whose concern is for the building of the spiritual temple of God, the church, will do well to learn from this prophet of action. (cp. Ephesians 2:19-22)

THE WORD OF JEHOVAH CAME. Haggai 1:1

It was exactly twenty-three days from the time Jehovah delivered the message through Haggai until they began to work. That kind of response to a sermon today would leave most preachers speechless!
Darius had assumed the Persian throne by assassinating his predecessor in 521 B.C. Even with his approval, there was no movement to resume building the temple. So God spoke to Haggai (and to Zechariah and Malachi) with a message for the people, beginning with the civil and religious leaders, Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest.
The name Zerubbabel means born in Babylon. no special significance. He was the son of Shealtiel, according to Haggai.

This presents a problem. In Chronicles Zerubbabel is called the son of Pedaiah, brother of Shealtiel and grandson of Assir. (1 Chronicles 3:17-19) In Luke's genealogy Zerubbabel is the son Shealtiel and the grandson of Neri. (Luke 3:27)

Zedekiah, son of King Jeconiah had no children. Assir, another son of Jeconiah (cf. Jeremiah 22:30) had a daughter, but no son. (1 Chronicles 3:16) Legally, Assir's daughter was heir to the throne, and so must marry a man from her father's tribe. (Numbers 27:8; Numbers 36:8-9)

She married Neri, of the Davidic line through Nathan's branch. Luke makes no mention of Assir who descended from David through Solomon, but traces the lineage rather through Nathan of whom Zerubbabel was the grandson. This fulfills the prediction of Jeremiah 22:30,

Neri and Assir's daughter produced a son named Shealtiel and others as mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:18. Shealtiel had no children, so, according to law, his brother, Pedaiah must marry his widow to produce an heir for Shealtiel. (cp. Deuteronomy 25:5-10)

Zerubbabel was the son of this Levirate marriage. Legally Shealtiel was Assir's son and Jeconiah's grandson. Actually he was the son of Neri. Zerubbabel was legally the son of Shealtiel, but actually was Pedaiah's son. See the diagram below.

Jeconiah

Assir

Zedekiah

(no child)

Daughter & Neri

Shealtiel, Pedaiah
(no child)

Legal Actual
Zerubbabel

Since Joshua the high priest and his father, Jehozadek, are not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible excepting for Haggai's contemporary, Zechariah, we do not know anything about them other than Joshua's influential responsibility as spiritual leader during the rebuilding of the temple.

IS IT TIME. Haggai 1:2-4

The message is not Haggai's but God'S. The claim to inspiration is unmistakable.
It is addressed to those who are responsible for the attitudes and actions (or inaction) of the people. (v. l) The civil and spiritual leaders are responsible for the spiritual and moral fibre of any nation. As water rises no higher than its source, a nation is no stronger than its leaders.

THIS PEOPLE. NOT MY PEOPLE.

The terminology seems designed to express dissatisfaction with the remnant God does not disclaim them, but He is stern. He will not tolerate the kind of attitudes which brought about the captivity from which they were so recently returned.
The message immediately attacks the excuses being made for not building the house of God. It is not time. There has not been sufficient time since our return from exile. We have built an altar as our first act upon return. It is enough until we get settled in. Seventy years have not lapsed, as Jeremiah predicted, since the destruction of the first temple. Two more years are needed, then we will build. With so much uncertainty in the international situation effecting the national economy, it is a poor time to build.

If you-'ve ever been on a fund drive for a church building, you-'ve heard all this! Our own needs are not met, we have a place of worship, the Bible doesn-'t allow for church buildings, there may be another war or an economic recession, etc.
What it all amounts to, whether in Haggai's day or our own is simply that God's people are more concerned with their own interests than with providing an adequate house of worship. Haggai tells his people this in no uncertain terms. Is it time for you to dwell in your ceiled (paneled) houses while this house lieth waste? Then as now, those who object most to building an adequate house of worship are those who spend most on their own houses.

Actually, the message becomes even more pointed in our time if we read Ephesians 2:19-22. Whereas Haggai is concerned with building a building of wood and masonry, we are concerned with building the real temple of God, the church constructed not of materials but of men. To make these excuses for not getting on with this task is to tamper with and neglect the most important work in the world Jesus Himself has spoken to this neglect, Seek ye first the Kingdom and take no thought saying What shall ye eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? After all these things do the Gentiles seek. (Luke 12:29)

CONSIDER YOUR WAYS. WHY?. Haggai 1:5-11

Stop and think, God's word through Haggai challenges the people. You have sown much, and bring in little, You work hard in the fields, you plant and till and labor for the harvest, but the harvest is scant and meager.

You eat, but you have not enough. You are not starving but you are not satisfied, there is never enough of the right food on your tables.

You drink, but you are not filled. There is a drought. Drinking water is scarce and must be used sparingly. In such dry times the vineyards do not produce properly and the wine is in scant supply.

You clothe you, but there is none warm. No one is naked; you have clothes, but they are not adequate. You are not warm. Your clothes do not provide comfort.

He that earneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes. There are jobs. Men are employed, but their wages are inadequate. No one is able to make ends meet. There is too much month left, at the end of the paycheck.

Again consider your ways, look how things are. You looked for much. Your expectations were high when you started home from Babylon. But it came to little.

You were able to bring home crops and wages, but I did blow upon it. instead of blessing and magnifying it.

WHY? SAITH JEHOVAH OF HOSTS.

Have you not wondered why things are as they are? It is because you have not put first things first. Go up into the mountain, and bring wood and build the house. my house lieth waste while ye run every man to his own house.

Therefore for your sake. to teach you a lesson. I withhold the moisture and the earth withholds its fruit.

I CALLED FOR A DROUGHT.

How many Christians do you know today who are living dull monotonous lives, who are not really rejoicing in the Lord, whose life is seemingly blessed little more than their pagan neighbors? Such people are pre-occupied with their own affairs. They have not learned that God's temple, the church, must come first. They do not believe that Jesus spoke the truth for our time when He said if we seek His kingdom first these things will be added to us.

It is our own fault if we live a humdrum life of spiritual drought and dissatisfaction.

AND JEHOVAH STIRRED UP THE SPIRIT OF ZERUBBABEL. Haggai 1:12-15

To the man who obeys the message of God in whose heart the Spirit of God has stirred there is no question of the right time, Such a one lives by eternal values. The only time he knows is now, The only thing that counts is God's work.

Zerubbabel got the message, and so did Joshua the high priest and so did God's remnant. They were still close enough to the captivity to know God was not playing games. Their fathers had refused to hear Isaiah and Amos and Micah and the rest and they had themselves grown up in exile as a consequence.
That was enough. They obeyed the voice of Jehovah as it had spoken through Haggai.
Then came the reassurance of God.

(Haggai 1:12) Haggai is careful to record that not just the leaders but the people themselves heeded His admonition. The Word of God brought about obedience, from the greatest to the least. The lack of wisdom manifest in their failure to fear God is in contrast to the response of the remnant. The fathers had refused to hear the pre-exilic prophets because they did not fear God. Fearing God, their children obeyed the message of the Lord voiced by Haggai.

I AM WITH YOU. Haggai 1:13

The very first sign of obedience was seized upon by God. He, at once, declares because of their fear and obedience that He is with them.

GOD STIRRED UP THE SPIRIT. Haggai 1:14

The Spirit stirred in both Zerubbabel and Joshua and the people. Through the preaching of His word through Haggai, God's Spirit stirred in the hearts of His covenant nation.
It is ever so. When His Word is heeded and obeyed, His -presence through the Spirit is with His people.
And the result is inevitable. The people in whom the Spirit stirred rose up and built the house of God.
And the God Who lived in Haggai's day is just the same today. When God's covenant people, both leaders and others, fear the Lord, heed and obey His Word, the Spirit always moves in their hearts and His house is built. We who are, as Christians, concerned with the building of the real temple, the church, will do well to learn this eternal lesson. We do not need to agonize and grovel and beg for His Spirit. We need rather to fear Him, even in this sophisticated age when a misunderstanding of His love often causes us to be overly familiar and without fear, We need to obey Him as He tells us through inspired writers what He would have us do. When this is done, His Spirit will move in us and His house will be built.

By the same token, we need to recognize it is His Spirit who must motivate us if what we do is to be His work. Our American overemphasis on methods and techniques for church growth often seems to deny this. As Don Atkin put it recently, We need to stop trying to get Him into our programs and become concerned for getting ourselves into His. It is one thing to know the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It is quite another to know the Spirit Himself. It is not enough to know the Word of God. We must know the God of the Word!

IN THE FOUR AND TWENTIETH DAY. Haggai 1:15

It was just twenty three days from the beginning of Haggai's preaching to the beginning of building. Surely God must always be pleased when His people are so responsive to His Word.

Chapter XXIVQuestions

Exposition of Haggai

1.

Write an outline of Haggai.

2.

Haggai's first message is concerned with?

3.

What were the results of the first message?

4.

Discuss the ancestry of Zerubbabel in light of Haggai 1:1, 1 Chronicles 3:17-19, and Luke 3:27,

5.

The message Haggai was _____________ message.

6.

Haggai's first message attacks _____________.

7.

How does the message apply to us who would build the church?

8.

How does Haggai account for the drought and austere conditions which had beset the people?

9.

Discuss Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel.

10.

What is the gist of Haggai's second message? To whom is it addressed?

11.

What was missing from the second temple?

12.

What is meant by the latter glory of the house?

13.

Discuss Haggai 2:7 in light of Hebrews 8:1 -ff and Galatians 3:29.

14.

What is meant by desire of all nations?

15.

What is the gist of Haggai's third message?

16.

What false motives might have been involved in rebuilding the temple?

17.

What malady confronting Haggai was also addressed by Jesus?

18.

Show evidence that Haggai considered his message to be God's rather than his own.

19.

Discuss the shaking of the heavens and earth (Haggai 2:21 cp. Haggai 2:6)

20.

Why could not this shaking have referred to the chaotic conditions of Darius-' early reign?

21.

Where in the Bible do we find the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy?

22.

Discuss Zerubbabel as a type of Christ. Show parallels between them.