HAGGAI. INTRODUCTION. HAGGAI is generally reputed to have been born in the captivity, and to have returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, Ezra ii. 2. He is reckoned as the tenth in order among the Prophets, both in the Hebrew and Greek copies; and may be considered as the first of the three Prophets who flourished among the Jews after their return to their country. He appears to have been raised up by God to exhort Zerubbabel, Ezra v. 1, and Joshua the high priest, the son of Josedech, to resume the work of the temple; which had been interrupted near fourteen years, in consequence of the intrigues of the Samaritans, and other obstructions excited to defeat the edict of Cyrus, Ezra iv. 24. He began to prophesy in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, in the year of the world 3484, about fifteen years after the foundation of the temple had been laid, Ezra v. 1. The Prophets, after the captivity, sometimes reckon by the dates of those sovereigns to whom their country was subjected. The style of Haggai is represented by the learned Bp. Lowth as entirely prosaick; but Abp. Newcome has given a translation of it on the supposition, that a great part of it admits of a metrical division. Haggai was probably of the sacerdotal race; and Epiphanius relates, that he was buried among the priests at Jerusalem. Dr. Gray. 1 Haggai reproveth the people for neglecting your heart 38. ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring a Deut. 28. N the second year of Darius the in little; ye eat, but ye have not Mic. 6.14, 15. king, in the sixth month, in the enough; ye drink, but ye are not first day of the month, came the word filled with drink; ye clothe you, but Heb, by the of the LORD † by Haggai the pro- there is none warm; and he that phet unto Zerubbabel the son of Sheal-earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag † with holes. hand of Haggai. Or, captain. tiel, || governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built. 3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell Chap. I. ver. 2. This people say, The time is not come, &c.] This prophecy seems to have been delivered before Darius had granted his decree for rebuilding the temple. Compare Ezra v. 1, with vi. 1. W. Lowth. 4. Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?] You have found means and opportunity to build fine houses for yourselves, though ye are content to let the house of God lie in ruins. It argues a great contempt of God and religion, when men think no cost or finery too much to bestow upon themselves, and the meanest accommodation good enough for the service of God. W. Lowth. 5, 6. Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, &c.] Consider well the courses that ye take, and the success of your affairs. God hath justly crossed you in all your + Heb. pierced 7 ¶ Thus saith the LORD of hosts; through. Consider your ways. 8 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 the LORD. 9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did || blow upon it. Why? Or, blow it away. hopes and endeavours. "Ye have sown much," expecting a goodly crop, but ye find little to reap, &c.; and he, that earneth wages, is never the better, never the richer; his gains do not prosper in his hands. Bp. Hall. He, that earns wages, is forced presently to lay out all he earns to supply his wants; so that his money only passes through his hands, and stays not with him to enrich him; just as if he put it into a bag with holes, through which it ran out as fast as he put it in. Dr. Wells. 8. Go up to the mountain,] The Jews had a grant from Cyrus, of cedar trees from the mountain of Lebanon, for the building of the temple. See Ezra iii. 7; vi. 3, 4. Parkhurst. 9.- I did blow upon it.] I crossed your hopes and about 520. mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. b Deut. 28. 23. b 10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, 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 labour of the hands. 12 ¶ Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. 13 Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD. 14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. designs in it. Bp. Hall. Or, I had blown upon it; I had blasted the fruits of the earth, while they were in the field, so that most of all that little crop came to nothing. W. Lowth, Dr. Wells. 12. Then Zerubbabel &c.] Compare Ezra v. 2. Chap. II. ver. 3. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?] When the foundation of the house was laid in the second year of Cyrus, many of the ancient men, that had seen the first house, wept to see how much the second temple would fall short of the glory of the first, Ezra iii. 12. The second year of Cyrus was fifty-three years after the destruction of the first temple, so the oldest men among those that returned home might very well remember how glorious that was. This prophecy was uttered fifteen years after the foundations of the second temple were laid; so there might some still survive that saw the first. W. Lowth. 5. According to the word that I covenanted with you] I will fulfil those promises which I made with you, when I delivered you out of Egypt, that upon your obedience I would not " leave you nor forsake you," but guide and prosper you in all your undertakings: see Nehem. ix. 20; Isai. lxiii. 11. W. Lowth. 6. For thus saith the Lord of hosts;] The occasion of this prophecy was the dejection of the Jews at the un Haggai encourageth the people. CHAP. II. 1 He encourageth the people to the work, by promise of greater glory to the second temple than was in the first. 10 In the type of holy things and unclean he sheweth their sins hindered the work. 20 God's promise to Zerubbabel. IN the seventh month, in the one Before CHRIST about 520. and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD + by the Heb. 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. hand of. 26. 6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; a Yet once, it is a little while, and I a Hebr. 12. will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; hopeful appearance of their new temple: the comfort in the Prophet's message was suited to this circumstance, and contains a promise of some glory to be conferred on this temple to make it exceed the glory of the former. Bp. Chandler. That it is some very great thing, which is here foretold and promised for the honour of this second temple, no man can doubt, who considers in what a solemn manner it is here expressed: this great and glorious title, "the LORD of hosts," being no less than five several times used within the compass of these four verses; the like instance to which is not perhaps in the whole Bible. So that, by the solemn manner of expressing it, we may imagine that it is some very great thing which is spoken of, and such as the like had never been before: and such was the incarnation and coming of the Messiah. Abp. Tillotson. Yet once, it is a little while,] Or, "once more," as the Seventy render it, whom St. Paul follows, Heb. xii. 26. The phrase implies such an alteration as shall not give way to any farther change, as the Apostle there expounds it. The space of time from this prophecy to the coming of the Messiah may be called "a little while," in comparison of the several ages expired since the first promise of a Redeemer. W. Lowth. I will shake the heavens, &c.] Once I did in great terrour deliver My law; and now, ere any long He sheweth their sins Before CHRIST 7 And I will shake all nations, and | Ask now the priests concerning the about 520. the desire of all nations shall come: law, saying, 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; time, I will once more work a great change in My Church, by the bringing in of My Gospel; before and in the exhibiting of which, as I did formerly in the delivery of the Law, I will do wondrous things, &c. Bp. Hall. The Hebrews have no one word, whereby to express the world, and therefore they do it by an enumeration of the principal parts of it. See Gen. i. 1; 2 Pet. iii. 13. So the Prophet here, to express the great commotions and changes, that should be in the world before the coming of the Messiah, says, that God "will shake the heavens," &c.; that is, He would cause great revolutions in the world; there should be great wars and confusions, and the empires of the world should pass from one hand to another. Abp. Tillotson. Great commotions and changes in the world are expressed by shaking the heavens and the earth; see Ezek. xxvi. 15; xxxviii. 19; Joel iii. 16. These expressions may denote here the great commotions that should be in the Roman empire, from the death of Julius Cesar, till near the birth of Christ: or it may in general signify the introduction of such a kingdom or religion, as that of which the Messiah was to be the head; which shall in the end break in pieces and destroy all the other dominions of the world. W. Lowth. 7.- and the desire of all nations shall come: &c.] Christ, who is "the desire of all nations," as the Redeemer of the world, and the guide and director to mankind in the performance of their duty, shall come under the roof of this house: and though it wants the cloud of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, which was a symbol of the Divine presence peculiar to Solomon's temple, (see Ps. lxxx. 1,) yet I will honour this second temple with a much greater glory, even the presence of the Messiah, in whom shall "dwell all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," Col. ii. 9. Bp. Hall, Dr. Wells, W. Lowth. 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; Before CHRIST about 520. one of us, desire to have him for our only Saviour and Redeemer, our only Mediator and Advocate: we must desire to have Him, according to all the offices which He has undertaken for us, as our Prophet, our King, and our Priest: our Prophet, to reveal His and our Father's will unto us and in us; our King, to rule and govern our hearts and affections, to keep both our souls and bodies in subjection; and our Priest, to make atonement for our sins, and so to reconcile God to us and us to Him. Bp. Beveridge. 8, 9. The silver is mine, &c.] Think not that I stand upon matter of cost or price of metals; all the silver and gold, which is hidden in the bowels of the earth, is Mine, and how easy were it for Me thus to adorn My house! But the glory of this house doth not consist in these outward things: no; the glory of this latter house, though meaner in structure, shall be greater than that of the former, saith the Lord: in that My Son, the Saviour of the world, being clothed in flesh, shall come personally and visibly under its roof; there He, who is "the Prince of Peace," shall make His appearance; and there shall His Gospel, which is the Gospel of peace, be preached and published to the world. See Isai. ix. 6; Mic. v. 5; Eph. ii. 14. Bp. Hall, W. Lowth. God wanted not the command of gold and silver, to have made the second temple equal to Solomon's in outward glory and splendour; He could easily have made it so in that respect: for "silver and gold are His;" and all the riches of the world are at His command: but He chose to put a far greater honour upon it than that of silver and gold, and to make it much more glorious in another respect: "the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former; (because) in this place I will give (the Messiah, the) peace," and happiness, and salvation of mankind, and incomparably the greatest blessing that ever was given to the world. Abp. Tillotson. The expectation, the hope, the desire of all nations, and of Israel in particular, was a known description of 12-14. If one bear holy flesh &c.] In like manner as some Person, delivered from Abraham's days, Gen."holy flesh," or any part of a sacrifice, will not make xxii. 18, from one Prophet to another, and, after the captivity, fixed on the Messiah, of whom the Jews, about Christ's time, interpreted this text in Haggai: and in his time the Messiah was usually termed," the hope," "the blessed hope," "the hope of Israel," ""the hope of the promise to the twelve tribes,' ," "the blessing of Abrahamn to the Gentiles," 1 Tim. ì. 1; Titus ii. 13; Acts xxviii. 20; xxvi. 7, 8; Gal. iii. 14. Bp. Chandler. As Christ ought to be, what He is called, "the desire of all nations" in general, so ought He to be the desire of every person in particular. We must all, and every any thing else, which it touches, to become holy; so neither have the sacrifices of this people, which have been all along offered since their leaving off the work of My temple, made them holy or acceptable unto God. But on the contrary, as the touch of an unclean person renders what he touches unclean also, so the very sacrifices of this people, since they have left off the building of My temple, are become unclean or unacceptable to Me, by reason of that uncleanness or impurity of their minds, which has caused their neglect of My house. Dr. Wells. God's promise Before CHRIST HAGGAI. and so is every work of their hands; about 520. and that which they offer there is unclean. 15. - consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid &c.] From the time that a stop had been put to the building of the temple, after the first foundations of it were laid: compare Ezra vi. 3. W. Lowth. "Upward" should be "forward:" so the word is used in 1 Sam. xvi. 13, and xxx. 25; in both those places it means from such a time and afterwards. Abp. Secker. 16.an heap of twenty measures,] That is, an heap of corn, which seemed likely to produce twenty measures; but which failed from the poverty of the ear. Abp. Newcome. 18. Consider now from this day and upward, &c.] Rather, "forward." In the fifteenth verse the Prophet exhorted them to reflect upon the calamities they had suffered from the time the building of the temple was left off. Now he bids them look forward from the day the building was renewed, and they would find a visible change in their affairs for the better. W. Lowth. from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid,] The Prophet speaks of the carrying on of the building, as it were a new foundation, because the work had been so long interrupted: compare Zech. viii. 9. W. Lowth. 19. Is the seed yet in the barn?] Is the harvest already laid up in the barn? Or are any of the fruits of the earth gathered in? No, certainly; this is but the ninth month, (answering in part to our November,) when no judgment can be made what will be the increase of the year following. Yet from this time I promise you the blessing of a fruitful year, as an encouragement to you to carry on the building. Compare Zech. viii. 12. W. Lowth. to Zerubbabel. Before CHRIST and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth from about 520. 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. I will invest Thee with My power and authority, as the head of My Church, and judge of the world. So kings depute their viceroys by giving them their signet, Gen. xli. 42; which was particularly the custom of the Persian monarchs: see Esth. iii. 10; viii. 2: or the expression may denote one particularly near and dear to God, and always under His eye and protection; compare Jer. xxii. 24; Cant. viii. 6. This prophecy could not be fulfilled in Zerubbabel, who did not in all likelihood live many years after the finishing of the temple, and certainly did not see the great changes here foretold: therefore the Messiah must be here described under the name of Zerubbabel, as He elsewhere is under that of David. W. Lowth. The proper application to be made of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, especially of the celebrated one in the early part of this chapter, is the very same with that which the Apostle makes, from the consideration of the perfection and excellence of this revelation, which God hath made to the world by His Son: "See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh," &c. Heb. xii. 25-28. We have all the advantages of the Divine revelation which the world ever had; and the last and most perfect that the world ever shall have: we have not only Moses and the Prophets, but that doctrine, which the Son of God came down from heaven on purpose to declare to the world. God hath vouchsafed to us that clear and complete revelation of His will, which He denied to “ many Prophets and kings, who desired to see those things which we see, but could not see them; and to hear those things which we hear, but could not hear them." There were good men in the world under those imperfect revelations, which God made to them: but we have far greater advantages, and more powerful arguments to be good than ever they had. And, as we ought thankfully to acknowledge these blessed advantages, so ought we likewise with the greatest care and diligence to improve them. Abp. Tillotson. ZECHARIAH. INTRODUCTION. ZECHARIAH was one of the last in that succession of Prophets, whom God sent at sundry times with notifica- Thus far with regard to the former part of these prophecies, the time and occasion are ascertained by the dates Zechariah, who certainly collected his own prophecies into their present form, chap. i. 9; ii. 2, is mentioned as a Prophet by Ezra, chap. v. 1; vi. 14; and is cited as an inspired writer by the sacred penmen of the New Testament, Matt. xxi. 4, 5; xxvi. 31; xxvii. 9; Mark xiv. 27; John xii. 15; xix. 37; Ephes. iv. 25; Rev. i. 7. The minute accomplishment of his own illustrious prophecies bears a signal testimony to the truth of that infallible Spirit by which he was inspired. He was so distinguished for the peculiar excellency of his predictions, as to be styled the Sun among the lesser Prophets. It is, however, the sun, sometimes clouded by obscurity. Dr. Gray. That he is in some degree obscure and hard to be understood, is not to be questioned. And which of the ancient Prophets is not so? It is of the nature of prophecy to affect a degree of abstruseness before the accom |