The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

General Editor:—J. J. S. PEROWNE, D.D.

Dean of Peterborough.

HAGGAI

AND

ZECHARIAH,

With Notes And Introduction

by

THE VEN. T. T. PEROWNE, B.D.

ARCHDEACON OF NORWICH;

LATE FELLOW OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

EDITED FOR THE SYNDICS OF THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Cambridge:

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

1890

[All Rights reserved.]

Cambridge:

C. J. CLAY, M.A. AND SONS,

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

PREFACE

BY THE GENERAL EDITOR

The General Editor of The Cambridge Bible for Schools thinks it right to say that he does not hold himself responsible either for the interpretation of particular passages which the Editors of the several Books have adopted, or for any opinion on points of doctrine that they may have expressed. In the New Testament more especially questions arise of the deepest theological import, on which the ablest and most conscientious interpreters have differed and always will differ. His aim has been in all such cases to leave each Contributor to the unfettered exercise of his own judgment, only taking care that mere controversy should as far as possible be avoided. He has contented himself chiefly with a careful revision of the notes, with pointing out omissions, with suggesting occasionally a reconsideration of some question, or a fuller treatment of difficult passages, and the like.

Beyond this he has not attempted to interfere, feeling it better that each Commentary should have its own individual character, and being convinced that freshness and variety of treatment are more than a compensation for any lack of uniformity in the Series.

Deanery, Peterborough.

CONTENTS

  I.  General Introduction

Chapter  I.  The Times of Haggai and Zechariah

Chapter  II.  Chronological Table

  II.  Introduction to Haggai

Chapter  I.  The Prophet Haggai

Chapter  II.  Analysis of the Book

  III.  Notes

  IV.  Introduction to Zechariah

Chapter  I.  The Prophet Zechariah

Chapter  II.  Unity of the Book

Chapter  III.  Analysis of the Book

  V.  Notes

Appendix

Note A.  On the Title, The Lord of Hosts

Note B.  On Satan

Index

*** The Text adopted in this Edition is that of Dr Scrivener’s Cambridge Paragraph Bible. A few variations from the ordinary Text, chiefly in the spelling of certain words, and in the use of italics, will be noticed. For the principles adopted by Dr Scrivener as regards the printing of the Text see his Introduction to the Paragraph Bible, published by the Cambridge University Press.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

The Times Of Haggai And Zechariah

1. It was at a critical period of the history both of the Jewish nation and of the world at large, that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah lived and prophesied. By the taking of Babylon by Cyrus king of Persia, and the consequent development of the Persian Empire, a new era in the secular history of the world was inaugurated. With that event, as Dean Stanley has pointed out[1], we pass from the shadowy region of “primæval history,” as he has called it, to the middle period of authentic “classical history,” which intervenes between those earliest times and the “modern history” of the world. But with the taking of Babylon by Cyrus Jewish history also entered upon a new epoch. The overthrow of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, with which the previous, and as it might well have seemed the final stage of that history had closed, preceded only by a few years the capture of Babylon. The Jewish exiles were still in Babylon when Cyrus entered it[2]. It was his conquest of it, which was the immediate cause of their return to their own country and of the rebuilding of their city and temple. These last events were fraught with far weightier consequences to the world at large, than the taking of Babylon, or than any transition or advance, however great, in its merely secular history could produce. They led the way to the fulfilment of the promise in which the hope of the human race was bound up. They were a necessary step to the coming of Christ and to the introduction of Christianity, with the inestimable benefits which it has conferred upon mankind. If Jerusalem had not been rebuilt and the apparently defunct national existence of its people revived, as by a resurrection from the dead[3], then, humanly speaking, Christ could not have been born and died. The history of the world, the rise and fall of vast empires and mighty dynasties, waits upon and subserves the history of the sons of Abraham, because in the purpose of God, in the seed of Abraham all the families of the earth are to be blessed.

[1] Jewish Church, vol. III. p. 46.

[2] Daniel 5.

[3] Ezekiel 37:1-14.

To this critical and important period the two prophets with whom we are now concerned undoubtedly belong. The Book of Ezra, which contains the history of the return from Babylon, and of the events which followed immediately upon it, mentions them both by name, and describes the effect upon the people of their prophecies, of which the written records are preserved to us in these Books[4].

[4] Ezra 5:1-2; Ezra 6:14.

2. Scarcely had Cyrus added the Babylonian Empire to his dominions, and so gained for himself authority alike over the Jewish exiles in Babylon and over Palestine their country, when he issued an edict for their return. This to the Jews was no unexpected event. Not only had their captivity and the length of its duration been foretold by the voice of prophecy, but Cyrus had been spoken of by name as their deliverer[5]. The remarkable circumstances which have been commonly supposed to have attended his capture of Babylon—“the stratagems by which the water was diverted, first in the Gyndes, and then in the Euphrates,” “the hundred gates all of bronze along the vast circuit of the walls, the folding doors, the two-leaved gates, which so carefully guarded the approaches of the Euphrates, opened as by magic for the conquerors[6];” “must, it would seem, have belonged, not to the reign of Cyrus, but to that of Darius Hystaspes.… We have the express testimony of Cyrus himself that the city opened its gates to his general ‘without fighting or battle’[7].” But the capture itself and the safe conduct of the returning exiles through the vast desert that lay between Chaldea and Palestine, as by a causeway thrown up for a royal progress or the advance of a victorious army, had been announced beforehand[8]. And now the event itself was to fulfil these prophecies and satisfy the expectations based upon them. The time to favour Zion was come, and He in whose hand is the king’s heart to turn it whithersoever He will, as the streams of water are guided by the cultivator into the channels which he has prepared for the irrigation of his land[9], “stirred up the spirit of Cyrus” to perform His will.

[5] Jeremiah 25:9-13; Jeremiah 29:10-14; Isaiah 44:28.

[6] Stanley’s Jewish Church, vol. III. p. 58.

[7] Prof. Sayce, Ezra and Nehemiah, p. 16.

[8] Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 40:3-4.

[9] Proverbs 21:1.

3. The edict by which Cyrus invited the captives to return, and which he both proclaimed by heralds throughout all his kingdom and published as a written document, is preserved at the close of the second Book of Chronicles, and repeated in a fuller form in the opening verses of the Book of Ezra.

“Jehovah, the God of heaven,” so it ran, “hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel, (He is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth, in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem[10].”

[10] Ezra 1:2-4. See also 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, and 1Es 2:1-7.

By what channel this “charge” reached Cyrus we are not now concerned to enquire. It may have been, that his attention had been directed by Daniel to the prophecy of Isaiah, which pointed him out by name as the restorer of Israel. It has been thought that the monotheism of his own Persian religion would dispose him to regard with favour and sympathy a people, whose pure monotheistic creed was in this respect so nearly akin to his own. But our present knowledge derived from the recently discovered tablet and cylinder inscriptions, renders this view no longer tenable. It appears now to be certain that Cyrus was, on his own testimony, an Elamite rather than a Persian, and as we should therefore expect, a polytheist. His conduct towards the Jews was in accordance with the general policy, the reverse of that of his Babylonian and Assyrian predecessors, which he appears to have adopted towards conquered nations. Instead of removing them from their own lands, and supplying their places by alien peoples (as had been done in the case of the Ten Tribes by the kings of Assyria), and thus creating centres of sedition and disaffection throughout his dominions, he sought to secure their good will and allegiance, by restoring them to their respective countries and to the free practice of their several religions. With heathen nations he sent back the images of their gods. To the Jews, who had learned by the severe discipline of their captivity to abhor idols, he restored their sacred vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of Merodach his god, and contributed to the rebuilding of their Temple and the worship of “Jehovah, the God of heaven[11].”

[11] Ezra 1:7-11.

4. The response on the part of the Jews in Babylon to the invitation thus addressed to them, was far less general than has sometimes been supposed. The earnest supplication of Daniel for the holy mountain of his God[12], the mournful plaint of the Psalmist, as he sat down by the waters of Babylon and wept when he remembered Zion[13], have not unnaturally perhaps been taken to represent the spirit and feeling of the people at large, during the seventy years captivity. Yet the facts of the return clearly shew, that it was only in “the remnant” that the pure spirit of religion and patriotism was in reality maintained. “The most part appear, as now, to have been taken up with their material prosperity, and at best, to have become inured to the cessation of their symbolical worship, connected as it was with the declaration of the forgiveness of their sins.… Those who thought more of temporal prosperity than of their high spiritual nobility and destination, had flourished doubtless in that exile, as they have in their present homelessness, as wanderers among the nations. Haman calculated apparently on being able to pay out of their spoils ten thousand talents of silver, some £300,000,000, two-thirds of the annual revenue of the Persian Empire, into the king’s treasuries[14].” Those who returned are described as “the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirit God had raised (or stirred up)[15].” But the expression, “the priests and the Levites,” is evidently used quite generally, and must not be understood to imply that the whole, or even the greater part of those ecclesiastical orders went back. Though the proportion of priests in the caravan was large, yet of the twenty-four sacerdotal courses only four are stated to have returned. Of the Levites there were only seventy-four individuals together with 128 singers of the family of Asaph and 139 gate-keepers. Their helpers, given to them for the menial work of the Sanctuary, the Nethinim and the children of Solomon’s servants, numbered 392. The whole company that returned with Zerubbabel consisted of 42,360 free men, or some 200,000 free persons (men, women and children), together with 7,337 male and female slaves, of whom 200 were “singing men and women[16].”

[12] Daniel 9:20.

[13] Psalms 137.

[14] Pusey, Commentary on Haggai, Introd. p. 484.

[15] Ezra 1:5.

[16] Ezra 2. See also Pusey, Commentary on Haggai, Introd. Stanley, Jewish Church, vol. III. pp. 84–86.

5. But small as was the returning band when compared with the whole number of captives, a mere “remnant,” as their prophets had foretold, in comparison of the nation in its palmy days, when Israel and Judah were as the sand upon the sea shore for multitude, the spirit by which they were animated appears to have been that of high devotion to their country, their religion and their God. The joyousness of their return has been thus strikingly depicted:

“And when the day at last arrived which was to see their expectations fulfilled, the burst of joy was such as has no parallel in the sacred volume: it is indeed the Revival, the Second Birth, the Second Exodus of the nation. There was now ‘a new song,’ of which the burden was that the Eternal again reigned over the earth, and that the gigantic idolatries which surrounded them had received a deadly shock: that the waters of oppression had rolled back, in which they had been struggling like drowning men; that the snare was broken, in which they had been entangled like a caged bird. It was like a dream, too good to be true. The gaiety, the laughter of their poetry, resounded far and wide. The surrounding nations could not but confess what great things had been done for them. It was like the sudden rush of the waters into the dry torrent-beds of the south of Palestine, or of the yet extremer south, of which they may have heard, in far Ethiopia. It was like the reaper bearing on his shoulder the golden sheaves in summer which he had sown amongst the tears of winter. So full were their hearts, that all nature was called to join in their thankfulness. The vast rivers of their new Mesopotamian home, and the waves of the Indian Ocean, are to take part in the chorus, and clap their foaming crests like living hands. The mountains of their own native land are invited to express their joy: each tree in the forests that clothed the hills, or that cast their shade over the field, is to have a tongue for the occasion[17].”

[17] Stanley, Jewish Church, vol. III. pp. 78, 79.

That this high ideal was realised by the whole returning company we need not suppose. That tears of penitence and words of prayer mingled with their strains of joy we must not forget. “They shall come with weeping,” with tears of chastened if of grateful joy, “and with supplications will I lead them,” God had said by the prophet Jeremiah[18]. So again the same prophet pictures their return: “In those days and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward[19].” But the jubilant return was still the ideal with which the Spirit of God in Prophet and in Psalmist had furnished them; and if it awaited its full realisation in a yet brighter and more distant future, it was the ideal to which some, we may well believe, of those “whose spirit God had raised,” even then in measure attained, and to which as a body they aspired. The joy of the Lord was their strength. In that strength they faced and overcame the difficulties and dangers of the intervening desert, “a hard, gravel plain, from the moment they left the banks of the Euphrates till they reached the northern extremity of Syria; with no solace except the occasional wells and walled stations; or, if their passage was in the spring, the natural herbage and flowers which clothed the arid soil. Ferocious hordes of Bedouin robbers then, as now, swept the whole tract.” A journey of nearly four months, though now it is usually accomplished in about two, would bring them to their destination, “the small central strip of the country round Jerusalem, occupied by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin,” to which the larger part of the exiles belonged[20].

[18] Jeremiah 31:9.

[19] Jeremiah 50:4-5.

[20] Stanley, Jewish Church, vol. III. pp. 87, 88, 91.

6. True to the object for which they had been invited to return, the restored exiles set themselves at once to rebuild the temple and re-establish the worship of Jehovah. For this Cyrus supplied the means and furnished ample directions[21]. For this some of the chief of the Fathers on their arrival at Jerusalem offered freely[22]. Their first step was to re-construct the altar on its ancient foundation[23], that so sacrifice, the great central rite of their religion, the necessary condition of access to the Holy One, might immediately be resumed. The altar was completed and dedicated, on the first day of the seventh month of the same year in which they left Babylon. On the fifteenth day of that month the feast of Tabernacles was duly kept, and “the people,” we read, “gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem[24].” Henceforward the daily sacrifice and the stated festivals according to the law of Moses were observed. Negotiations were entered into without delay with the Tyrians and Sidonians, for the supply of timber for building the Temple. The work actually commenced, and the foundation of the Temple was laid with great rejoicing, mingled however with the lamentations of those who had witnessed the greater glory of the former Temple, in the second month of the following year. Thus far all had progressed favourably. The spirit of the people rose superior to all obstacles and hindrances, and the great work which they had in view bid fair to arrive at a speedy and prosperous issue.

[21] Ezra 6:1-4.

[22] Ezra 2:68-69.

[23] This would seem to be the meaning of the expression, “upon his bases,” Ezra 3:3; “upon his own place,” 1Es 5:50.

[24] Ezra 3:1-4.

7. But a serious check was now encountered, and a delay of some fifteen years consequently intervened. The Samaritans, their neighbours in Northern Palestine, had requested to be allowed to take part in the rebuilding of the Temple, on the plea, “we seek your God, as ye do.” But the plea was ignored and the request peremptorily and indignantly refused. “Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God,” was the uncompromising reply[25]. Offended at the refusal the Samaritans made representations at the Persian court, with a view to stop the work in which they were counted unworthy to co-operate. During the reigns of Cambyses (the Ahasuerus of the book of Ezra), who ascended the Persian throne on the death of Cyrus, and of the usurper Smerdis (the Artaxerxes of the same book), by whom he was succeeded, the representations of the enemies of the Jews prevailed, and the building of the Temple was absolutely prohibited. It was not till Darius, the son of Hystaspes, on the overthrow of Smerdis, was placed upon the throne, that the policy of Cyrus was resumed, and favour was again extended to the community at Jerusalem.

[25] Ezra 4:2-3.

8. It is at this juncture that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah appear upon the scene. With them, as we learn from the book of Ezra, the resumption of the Temple works originated. The spirit of the people had been broken by obstacles which appeared insuperable. Their zeal for the House of the Lord had grown cold through the long delay. They had come to acquiesce in what they deemed inevitable. They looked on the unfinished work, on the bare foundations, and said, “the time is not come, the time that the Lord’s House should be built.” They turned aside to selfish objects and secular pursuits. On their own houses they bestowed labour. Them they decorated with the wainscot of cedar which had once been deemed the peculiar ornament of the Sanctuary[26]. To rouse them from this state of lethargy and to prepare them to rise to the new opportunity, which the changed policy of the Persian government was about to offer them, the prophetic call came. In the name of the God of Israel which was upon them, it summoned them to arise and work. The first to respond to it were the rulers civil and ecclesiastical, Zerubbabel the Prince or Governor, and Joshua the High Priest. Whether they too had come to share in any measure the general apathy, or whether, unable any longer to communicate their own zeal to their countrymen, they had perforce been idle, we do not know. At any rate they now placed themselves at the head of the movement to resume the work. A further hindrance was threatened by the interference of the Satrap of Syria and other Persian officials, to whose immediate authority the Jews were subject. But Darius, to whom the matter was referred, not only forbade any obstacle to be offered, but by a royal decree charged the revenues of the province with the cost of rebuilding the temple and providing sacrifices. Thus encouraged the Jews set themselves heartily to the work, the prophets of God helping and inciting them still throughout. They “builded and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the Prophet and of Zechariah the son of Iddo[27].” In four years time, in the sixth year of Darius, the Temple was completed.

[26] Haggai 1:2; Haggai 1:4.

[27] Ezra 6:14. See also 1Es 6:1-2; 1Es 7:3, where Haggai is called Aggeus.

CHAPTER II

Chronological Table

The following table represents approximately the chronological position of Haggai and Zechariah, and of their prophecies, with reference to Jewish history, and to one another.

About

b. c.

  536.

  The proclamation of Cyrus for the return of the captives.

,,

  ,,

  7th month (October). The altar built. Sacrifice resumed. The feast of Tabernacles kept.

,,

  535.

  2nd month. Foundation of the Temple laid.

,,

  535–520.

  Rebuilding of the Temple stopped through the intrigues of the Samaritans.

,,

  520.

  The work resumed through the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah and the subsequent decree of Darius.

,,

  ,,

  (September) Haggai’s first prophecy, ch. Haggai 1:1-11.

,,

  ,,

  (October) Haggai’s second prophecy, ch. Haggai 2:1-9.

,,

  ,,

  (November) Zechariah’s first prophecy, ch. Zechariah 1:1-6.

,,

  ,,

  (December) Haggai’s third and fourth prophecies, ch. Haggai 2:10-19.

,,

  519.

  (January) Zechariah’s second prophecy, ch. Zechariah 1:7 to Zechariah 6:15.

,,

  518.

  (November) Zechariah’s third prophecy, ch. Zechariah 7:1 to Zechariah 8:23.

,,

  515.

  (March) The Temple completed.

The remaining prophecies in the book of Zechariah (ch. 9–14) have no date given them by their author. Their date and authorship are discussed in the chapter on the Unity of the Book, Introd. to Zechariah, ch. II.

The identification of the Jewish months with our own is of course only approximate.

The Jewish year was a solar year and its months coincided with the seasons. It ordinarily consisted of 12 months, but an intercalary month appears to have been introduced from time to time, in order to bring the month Abib into coincidence with the barley harvest. “Variations must inevitably exist between (our) lunar and the (Jewish) solar month, each of the former ranging over portions of two of the latter.” The general identification given above is sufficiently near. See Dict. of Bible, Art. Month, where the whole subject is fully discussed.

INTRODUCTION TO HAGGAI

CHAPTER I

The Prophet Haggai

Haggai was the first of the three prophets, who belong to that final stage of Jewish history which began with the return from the captivity in Babylon. Two of them, he and Zechariah, prophesied at its commencement. Malachi followed about a hundred years later. After that, the voice of prophecy was silent for four centuries till the days of John the Baptist.

Of the personal history of Haggai scarcely anything is known. His name has been thought by some to mean “festive,” and to be indicative of the joyous character of the predictions which he delivered; but the derivation and reference are alike uncertain. His tribe and parentage are not told us. It would seem most probable that he was among the captives who returned from Babylon, and there is a tradition that he was born during the exile in that city. It has been held indeed by some that he was one of that small band of survivors, who having been originally carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, lived to revisit their native country. The only ground, however, for this conjecture is the reference to the Temple “in her first glory” in ch. Haggai 2:3, of his prophecy, a reference which does not seem in itself sufficient to support the conjecture. Tradition has also made him one of the men (Zechariah and Malachi being the others), who were with Daniel when he saw his vision, “by the side of the great river which is Hiddekel[28], and a member, after his return to Jerusalem, of the Great Synagogue.

[28] Daniel 10:7.

In addition to the prophecy which bears his name, that section of the book of Ezra which extends from ch. Ezra 3:2 to Ezra 6:22 (with the exception of ch. Ezra 4:6-23, and of the mention of Artaxerxes ch. Ezra 6:14, which were added afterwards by Ezra, as the compiler of the book) has been ascribed to Haggai as its author. The minuteness of detail and the graphic description which characterise that section are thought to “bespeak an actor in the scene described,” and the supposition that Haggai was that actor is held to be confirmed, by many coincidences in style and diction between that portion of the book of Ezra, and the prophetical book of which Haggai is the acknowledged author. For a full discussion of this question the reader is referred to the article in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible on the book of Ezra, by the present Bishop of Bath and Wells.

In some of the old versions (the LXX., the Vulgate, and the Peshito-Syriac) the names of Haggai and Zechariah are connected with certain Psalms. In some cases the connection is not improbable, in so far as the Psalms in question are generally allowed to be of the date of the return from Babylon. The title for example of each of the four Psalms 145-148 is in the LXX., “Alleluia of Haggai and Zechariah.” But though the link of connection is interesting, and may possibly indicate some special use or adaptation of these Psalms by the two prophets, there is no sufficient ground for ascribing the authorship of them either to Haggai or to Zechariah. A curious account of these titles is given by one ancient writer, who says that Haggai was the first to sing Hallelujah in the restored Temple, and adds, “therefore we say, Alleluia, which is the hymn of Haggai and Zechariah[29].”

[29] Pseudo-Epiphanius, de vitis Proph. See Dict. of Bible, Art. Haggai, and Rev. C. H. H. Wright on Zechariah, Introd. p. xx.

The style of Haggai has often been described as tame and prosaic. The mantle of prophecy had fallen upon him, it is said, from the earlier prophets, but it had fallen upon him in “shreds and tatters.” It is no doubt true that the style of Haggai differs widely from that of Isaiah, for example, in his grand flights of impassioned eloquence, of fervid poetry and prophetic inspiration. But when the object of his mission is kept in view, the simplicity and severity of his style, so far from affording any reasonable ground of objection, is a proof of the wisdom of Almighty God, who adapts His means to the ends which He contemplates, and chooses and equips His workmen for the work to which He calls them. There is no need to suppose, as some have done, that the record of Haggai’s prophecies as we now possess it is fragmentary and incomplete; that we have notes and outlines rather than a full report of what he said. He may indeed, during the period of his ministry, have uttered other prophecies and exhortations which are not preserved to us. But we should be loth to think, that they differed materially from those now extant in style or subject matter. What we have is a true and sufficient sample of the whole, even if it be not itself the whole. These brief sharp sentences of his were exactly what the occasion required, better adapted than aught else would have been to the purpose which he had before him. It should ever be remembered that the Jewish prophets had a twofold function to perform. They were preachers of righteousness as well as predicters of future events. To reform, to correct, to restore, was no small part of their vocation and ministry. They had to make ready a people for the Lord, as well as to awaken and keep alive the expectation of His coming. These two branches of their work were in perfect keeping and harmony with each other. They were but different parts of one great whole, different forces in the one great onward movement which characterised the Old Testament dispensation. If the promise to Abraham, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed, was to be fulfilled, then the seed of Abraham must not be allowed to fall utterly away from God. By correction and chastisement, by stern rebuke and severe invective, they must be moved from time to time to repentance and amendment. If correction and rebuke were to be effectual, they must be accompanied by the incentive of hope, and by the renewal of the promise to the fathers. The preaching of the Baptist, only intensified by the greater nearness of the Kingdom, was in substance the preaching of all the prophets who had preceded him: “Repent ye, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” But in the prosecution of His plan, Almighty God was pleased to commit the two parts of this preaching to His Messengers in varying measure and degree. To Haggai the former and severer part was specially committed. On the latter and brighter topic he was far from silent. But it was the stern call, “Repent ye,” with which he was principally charged. And with that his subject matter it is no wonder that his style accords. “There is a ponderous and simple dignity in the emphatic reiteration addressed alike to every class of the community, prince, priest and people: Be strong, be strong, be strong[30]. ‘Cleave, stick fast, to the work you have to do.’ Or again, Consider your ways, consider, consider, consider[31]. It is the Hebrew phrase for the endeavour, characteristic of the gifted seers of all times, to compel their hearers to turn the inside of their hearts outwards to their own view, to take the masks from off their consciences, to ‘see life steadily, and to see it whole’[32].”

[30] Haggai 2:4.

[31] Haggai 1:5; Haggai 1:7; Haggai 2:15; Haggai 2:18.

[32] Stanley, Jewish Church, 111, 101. See also Dr Pusey on Haggai, Introd.

CHAPTER II

Analysis Of The Book Of Haggai

I. The First Prophecy and its effects. Haggai 1

The Introduction. The date, author and recipients of the prophecy (Haggai 1:1).

The prophecy or inspired address, Haggai 1:2-11. The excuse of the Jews for their delay in rebuilding the Temple, that the time for it had not come (Haggai 1:2), is met by the pointed rebuke that they found no such reason for delay in building costly and luxurious houses for themselves (Haggai 1:3-4).

They are called upon in the name of Jehovah seriously to lay to heart the blight and disaster that rested on all their undertakings (Haggai 1:5-6); and having traced it by consideration to its cause (Haggai 1:7), to procure its removal by resuming the building of the Temple (Haggai 1:8); for it was the neglect of this that had brought the divine displeasure in famine and drought upon them (Haggai 1:9-11).

The effects of the prophecy, Haggai 1:12-15.

Moved with godly fear, Zerubbabel and Joshua and the people who had been addressed through them, promptly obey the call (Haggai 1:12). Encouraged in their obedience by an assurance of the divine presence and favour in their undertaking (Haggai 1:13), and animated by the quickening influences of the divine Spirit within them, they flock with alacrity to the work (Haggai 1:14), and within a month from the first utterance of the prophecy the rebuilding of the Temple is being vigorously prosecuted (Haggai 1:15).

II. The Second Prophecy. Ch. Haggai 2:1-9After a month, which had been spent by the Jews in active exertions for the restoration of the Temple (Haggai 2:1), a second prophecy is addressed through Haggai, to Zerubbabel and to Joshua and to the people at large (Haggai 2:2).

Anticipating the depressing effects of a comparison of the new Temple with the old, on the minds of those who had seen them both, and through them on the community at large (Haggai 2:3), Almighty God urges them to carry on the work with unabated ardour, on the ground that He is with them (Haggai 2:4), in fulfilment of the covenant which He had made with their fathers (Haggai 2:5).

And the rather to encourage them, He foretells a shaking of the heavens and earth, a great convulsion of the kingdoms of the world (Haggai 2:6), which shall result in glory to the Temple which they now are building, greater than any which ever belonged to that earlier Temple, whose lost splendour they deplore (Haggai 2:7-9).

III. The Third Prophecy. Ch. Haggai 2:10-19Two months and three days have elapsed since the last prophecy, or inspired address, when Haggai speaks again to the people in the word of the Lord (Haggai 2:10).

By reference to the priests, as the authorised expositors of the Law (Haggai 2:11), he elicits the decision that, whereas ceremonial sanctity is conveyed by the hallowed flesh of the sacrifice only to that with which it comes into first and immediate contact, and does not extend beyond that limit (Haggai 2:12), ceremonial defilement by contact with a corpse has a wider range, and is propagated over a wider sphere (Haggai 2:13).

The moral principle which underlies the ceremonial provision applies in its full force to the returned captives. It is the gauge of their conduct, and the explanation of God’s dealings with them. Their one sin in neglecting the Temple spreads its moral pollution over “every work of their hands,” and even over the sacrifices which they offer on that altar, which they vainly hope will consecrate themselves and all their doings (Haggai 2:14).

Once again the prophet urges them to consider, to fix their attention on, the period between the day on which the foundation of the Temple was completed and the day on which he now is speaking to them. That period of supineness and neglect in the work of God’s House had been marked throughout by dearth and blight and disappointment. With the day of renewed effort and rekindled zeal, in which this prophecy is uttered, a new era of prosperity shall commence: from this day will I bless you. Haggai 2:15-19.

IV. The Fourth Prophecy. Ch. Haggai 2:20-23A second time on the same day the prophet is moved to speak in the word of the Lord (Haggai 2:20).

To Zerubbabel in his official and typical character as “Governor of Judah,” the message is addressed. The prediction of the second prophecy, “I will shake the heavens and the earth,” is repeated and enlarged (Haggai 2:21-22).

But amidst the universal commotion and overthrow, Zerubbabel shall be honoured and preserved as the object of Jehovah’s choice (Haggai 2:23).