Haggai 2:1-9 Commentary

Names and Dates

Haggai is a short book, wedged between Zephaniah and Zechariah, toward the end of the 12 books of the Minor Prophets.  With just three chapters, you might say that Haggai is more minor than most! Using the dating scattered through the book like a modern-day time stamp, we learn that Haggai only prophesied over a period of about four months and he got results!  In fact, Robert Alter writes of the shorter books among the Dozen, as they are known to Jewish scholars, “The brevity might reflect the temporal brevity of their missions, in contrast to the three major prophets, each of whom was active for decades,”

During the reign of King Darius of Persia, around 520 BC, Haggai was called by God to recruit God’s people for the work of rebuilding the temple.  Having returned to the land nearly 20 years earlier, the people were occupied with rebuilding houses, infrastructure and, frankly, their own lives! But now, according to God in the voice of Haggai, it was time to rebuild the temple.  Likely something the people wanted to do anyway (unlike other prophets calling people to repentance and sacrifice), Haggai seems to have convinced the people expediently.

As to Haggai’s identity, like many prophets, the details we’re given are sparse.  He is called a “messenger” of the Lord, which is a common way of addressing a prophet.  His name is interesting in that, in Hebrew, it means something like “my feasts.” Perhaps, then, the prophesies offered this book can be correlated to particular seasons or festivals on the Hebrew worship calendar?  Perhaps these are times the people miss their temple most and are, therefore, eager to take on the rebuilding task set by God through Haggai?

Don’t Just Dig Deep. Depend Deeply

Consider what Haggai is asking the people to do. Consider that, despite the enormity of the project, he quickly persuades them.  Such persuasion must be built on trust in God’s promises and that is certainly what Haggai outlines here.  Yes, it will be hard and frightening work. Therefore, be strong and be brave.  But don’t just dig deep. Depend deeply.  The exhortation of verses 4 and 5 rely on God’s promise: “work, for I am with you.” The command “don’t fear” comes directly after the statement “my spirit stands in your midst” and this chronology of thought is not an accident!

Haggai builds from here in verses 6-9. In order to enable you to accomplish the work God has given you, God commands the heavens, the earth, the sea and the dry ground.  God is sovereign over creation.  But not only that.  God will command the nations, they will return the silver and gold they plundered from the Temple and, through this, God will fill the Temple with glory again. The CEB Study Bible affirms this declaration of abundant provision.  God’s promise “signals control over the elements—from the created order to the political structures of the world”. God also controls the nations and the resources, signifying God’s control over both political and economic factors.

Calling for a Testimony

Psalm 145 has long been a favorite of mine, especially this setting for congregational singing. The Psalmist’s plea is that the people would remember but, in order for them to remember what happened long ago, they need the elders of the congregation to share their testimony. “One generation will commend your works to another.”  For this reason, Psalm 145 is a strong pairing with today’s Hebrew Scripture passage.  Here, Haggai is also calling forth a testimony among the people.

In verse three, Haggai asks, “Who among you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it appear as nothing to you?” Considering that the first desecration of the Temple happened nearly 80 years earlier and its demolition happened almost 70 years prior to this date in 520BC, the likelihood of anyone surviving exile and return and being present in the crowd is slim. Robert Alter argues, “There could be a few in Haggai’s audience who had actually seen the First Temple, by they would be very old because sixty-seven years had passed since its destruction.” We don’t know whether anyone answered the call in that moment.

In our sanctified imaginations, we might put a finger in our Bibles after verse 3 to create an imaginary respondent, eagerly welcomed to the stage and gently guided forward, shuffling and bent with age.  The stories this eyewitness could share! The nurture of a story they had once heard from parents and grandparents, a testimony to create and shape a memory where none had previously lived.  “One generation commends your works to another.”

Returning back to the text, we move forward to verse 5, in which Robert Alter argues a key verb has been dropped from the received texts because “this verse begins with the particle ‘et, which ordinarily is placed before the direct object of a verb, but there is no verb.” Based on grammatical and contextual clues, Alter places the verb “remember” in place. “Remember this word that I sealed with you when you came out of Egypt and My spirit was standing in your midst. Do not fear.” The CEB Study Bible translates it “As with our agreement when you came out of Egypt…” and the NIV renders it,  “‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt…”. The goal of this text, then, is to prepare God’s people for the work ahead by remembering God’s previous faithfulness to God’s people.

Worship Idea:

In order to get at not only what this text *says* but also what this text *does* as a call to remember God’s faithfulness, this would be an excellent Sunday to help one of your church’s senior saints prepare a testimony of God’s faithfulness to them or, especially, a time when God brought the congregation through a season of disappointment, destruction or disillusionment.  Although it is a week late for All Saints Sunday, the testimony might carry over some themes from the preceding week if your congregation stopped to commemorate the lives of those who have gone before.