Haggai 2 KJV
The Glory of the New Temple
Haggai Chapter 2: The Glory of the New Temple
The prophecy's dating to the 21st day of the seventh month aligns precisely with the Feast of Tabernacles, evoking God's past dwelling with Israel in the wilderness while promising a future indwelling in the rebuilt temple.
1n the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,
2 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, saying,
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?
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:
5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
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;
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.
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
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.
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,
11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,
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.
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.
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.
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:
16 Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.
17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.
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 LORDโs temple was laid, consider it.
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.
20 And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,
21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
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.
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.
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Did You Know?
The prophecy's dating to the 21st day of the seventh month aligns precisely with the Feast of Tabernacles, evoking God's past dwelling with Israel in the wilderness while promising a future indwelling in the rebuilt temple.
Verses 11-13 employ a priestly ruling on ritual contagion to demonstrate that uncleanness spreads more readily than holiness, underscoring the need for divine intervention rather than human effort to purify the community.
God's designation of Zerubbabel as a signet ring in verse 23 reverses the curse on his grandfather Jehoiachin in Jeremiah 22:24, restoring the Davidic line's authority and pointing toward messianic fulfillment.
The shaking of heavens and earth in verse 6 is quoted in Hebrews 12:26-27 to interpret the old covenant's removal, linking Haggai's temple promise to the establishment of an unshakeable kingdom through Christ.
The claim that the latter temple's glory would surpass the former (verse 9) is fulfilled not by material wealth but by the Messiah's physical presence, transforming a structurally inferior building into the site of greater divine revelation.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain seventh month โ of the Hebrew year; in the second year of Darius' reign (Hag 1:1); not quite a month after they had begun the work (Hag 1:15). This prophecy was very shortly beforeโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Haggai 2 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Second prophecy. The people, discouraged at the inferiority of this temple to solomon's, are encouraged nevertheless to persevere, because God is with them, and this house by its connection with messiah's kingdom shall have a glory far above that of gold and silver; Third prophecy. Sacrifices without obedience (in respect to God's command to build the temple) could not sanctify. Now that they are obedient, God will bless them, though no sign is seen of fertility as yet; Fourth prophecy. God's promise through zerubbabel to Israel of safety in the coming commotions.
- 1
- seventh month โ of the Hebrew year; in the second year of Darius' reign (Hag 1:1); not quite a month after they had begun the work (Hag 1:15). This prophecy was very shortly before that of Zechariah.
- 3
- Who is left... that saw... first glory โ Many elders present at the laying of the foundation of the second temple who had seen the first temple (Ezr 3:12, 13) in all its glory, wept at the contrast presented by the rough and unpromising appearance of the former in its beginnings. From the destruction of the first temple to the second year of Darius Hystaspes, the date of Haggai's prophecy, was a space of seventy years (Zec 1:12); and to the first year of Cyrus, or the end of the captivity, fifty-two years; so that the elders might easily remember the first temple. The Jews note five points of inferiority: The absence from the second temple of (1) the sacred fire; (2) the Shekinah; (3) the ark and cherubim; (4) the Urim and Thummim; (5) the spirit of prophecy. The connection of it with Messiah more than counterbalanced all these; for He is the antitype to all the five (Hag 2:9). how do ye see it now? โ God's estimate of things is very different from man's (Zec 8:6; compare 1Sa 16:7). However low their estimate of the present temple ("it") from its outward inferiority, God holds it superior (Zec 4:10; 1Co 1:27, 28).
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