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Haggai and Malachi

Moody Press

Introduction to Haggai

Historical Background

When the Babylonian army completed its divinely appointed task of destroying Jerusalem with its sacred Temple in 586 BC, the Jewish people faced years in captivity that threatened to wipe out their nation and religion. Without the Temple, so central to their whole way of life, the Jews had no rallying point to bind them together. It was the Temple toward which they had prayed, and, indeed, Solomon had instructed them to direct their prayers to Jerusalem and the Temple even if they found themselves held captive in a foreign land (1 Kings 8:48; Jon 2:7). Thus it was with heartfelt joy that the Jews heard the decree of Cyrus, King of Persia, allowing the return to Palestine to rebuild the Temple in 538 BC. This Persian conqueror of Babylon, by reversing the deportation policies of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, paved the way for Zerubbabel to lead some 50,000 Jews back to Palestine.

Upon their arrival in Jerusalem, all efforts were directed toward the construction of the sacred shrine. Using Phoenician materials and workmen, even as Solomon had done, the people were able to lay the foundation of the Temple about two years after their return (Ezra 3:8-10). This important milestone led to rejoicing and praising God, because the Jews were well aware what a restored Temple would mean for the entire Dispersion.

Unfortunately, the Samaritans who had resided in Palestine since the seventh century also sensed something of the political significance of that Temple. After an unsuccessful attempt to join ranks with the Jews, the rejected Samaritans used terrorist tactics to bring to a halt the building so auspiciously started. Their opposition included direct appeals to Cyrus and his successor, Cambyses, to warn of the "rebellious tendencies" of the Jews. Persian pressure was evidently brought to bear upon the returnees, which, coupled with Samaritan harassment, dashed the hopes of the Jews for a quick Temple completion. From 536 to 520 the work stalled, and the Jews seemed resigned to this sad state of affairs.

When Darius the Great assumed the throne in 521, the Jews themselves were more to blame for their inactivity than their angry opponents. Darius showed interest in religion throughout his empire, and the Jews should have sensed that the opportunity to resume their labors was at hand. Instead, they were strangely satisfied to exist without a center for worship. Spiritual paralysis had set in, and it was to arouse them from this lethargy that Haggai emerged with his powerful preaching.

The prophet. Apart from the book that bears his name, Haggai is mentioned only in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14. There, he is linked with Zechariah, son of Iddo, his much younger contemporary, who aided him in the task of proclaiming God's message concerning the Temple. In Ezra 5:2 the prophets are credited with valuable support in the building project. Zechariah and Haggai are again joined together in the Septuagint, which attributes Psalms 145-148 to these prophets. Other versions also relate Haggai to the writing of a few psalms. The tradition may reflect the keen interest of the prophetic pair in the worship of the second Temple.

The name Haggai means "festal" and is derived from the word hag, "feast, festival," which usually refers to the three pilgrimage feasts of the Jewish religious calendar. It may be that Haggai was born during one of these festal celebrations (Feast of Unleavened Bread, of Weeks, of Tabernacles). Since the name of his father is not given, Haggai may have come from a family of humble origins.

Based on Haggai 2:3, several commentators have inferred that the prophet was one of those who had seen the splendor of Solomon's Temple prior to 587. If this is true, Haggai must have been about eighty years old when he prophesied, a factor that may account for his very brief ministry.

Date and style. This compact prophecy ranks next to Obadiah as the shortest book in the Old Testament. It was the first prophetic work of the postexilic period, and there is happily no quarrel between liberals and conservatives as to the date of writing. Haggai himself assigns a date to each of his four messages, ranging from the first day of the sixth month (August-September) to the twenty-fourth of the ninth month (November-December), all coming within the second year of Darius Hystaspes (520 BC). Thus, the entire book covers only a four-month span.

Not infrequently the style of Haggai has been disparaged for its lack of brilliance and poetic flair. Judging from the effectiveness of this brief book, however, one dare not criticize him too harshly. The concise message preached vigorously in the power of God was more successful than many a longer prophetic work.

The prophet spoke authoritatively, claiming five times that he was declaring the word of the Lord. In 1:1, 3, and in 2:1, the Lord's word came literally "by the hand of" or "through" Haggai, while the expression used in 2:10 and 20 states that the word came "to" Haggai. Further emphasis on the source of his message is found in 1:13, where the prophet speaks "by the commission of the LORD." His was a divine imperative.

Repetition of words and phrases is carefully interwoven into the book. Several times (1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4) Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest, are linked with the people or the remnant of the people in the same verse or context. Yet in 2:21-23 Zerubbabel alone is addressed, and the contrast may be significant. Twice in Haggai the expression "Consider your ways" (lit., "Set your heart upon your ways") occurs (1:5, 7). An additional two times the same "Set your heart" appears in the clause "Consider from this day onward" (2:15, 18). Early in the book, the prophet also uses repetition to bemoan the fact that the Lord's house lay desolate (1:4, 9). Then, in 2:6 and 21, we find the identical line, "I am going to shake the heavens and the earth."

As mentioned in the preface, rhetorical questions are sprinkled throughout the book. Usually it is the LORD who asks the question either of the people in general (1:4, 9; 2:3, 19) or of the priests (2:12-13). The first two questions sound the harshest notes, as Haggai probes the souls of this people so slow to complete their divinely appointed task.

Another stylistic feature relates to allusions or quotations from other canonical books. Haggai effectively draws upon several verses found in Deuteronomy 28. Compare Haggai 1:6 with Deuteronomy 28:38-40 and especially 2:17 with Deuteronomy 28:22. In the latter pair, "blasting wind" and "mildew" are identical in each passage. The prophet is clearly reminding the people of the curses threatened by Moses, which had indeed brought distress to the returned exiles. In 2:4 the thrice repeated imperative, "Take courage," reflects the same word found in Joshua 1:9. Directed toward another Joshua, the son of Jeho-zadak and the high priest, this exhortation is most appropriate.

Outline of Haggai

I. First Message: The Challenge to Build the Temple (1:1-11)
A. Introduction (v. 1)
B. God Answers the People's Excuse (vv. 2-4)
C. God Sums Up the Plight of the People (vv. 5-6)
D. God Gives Reasons for Their Distress (vv. 7-11)

II. Positive Response of Zerubbabel and the People (1:12-15)
A. The Leaders and People Listen and Obey (v. 12)
B. The Lord Empowers the Workers (vv. 13-15)

III. Second Message: The Glory of the New Temple Defined (2:1-9)
A. Comparison with Solomon's Temple (vv. 1-3)
B. Encouragement for the Builders (vv. 4-5)
C. God's Supply of Glory for the New Temple (vv. 6-9)

IV. Third Message: The Building of the Temple Reverses Israel's Fortunes (2:1019)
A. The Contagious Nature of Sin (vv. 10-13)
B. The Unclean Condition of Israel (v. 14)
C. Economic Disaster for Failure to Build the Temple (vv. 15-17)
D. Economic Blessing Accompanies Temple Building (vv. 18-19)

V. Fourth Message: The Promise Concerning Zerubbabel (2: 20-23)
A. The Overthrow of the Nations (vv. 20-22)
B. The Exaltation of Zerubbabel (v. 23)

First Message

I. FIRST MESSAGE: The Challenge to Build the Temple (1:1-11)

The opening verses of Haggai present a frontal attack by the prophet against the nation that had failed to rebuild the Temple. The people's excuses are exposed, and their present miseries, both material and spiritual, are traced directly to a lack of obedience in this single area.

A. Introduction (v. 1)

Haggai immediately introduces the reader to the main characters of the book via this precisely dated formula. The first message, like the other three, is delivered during the second year of Darius Hystaspes (521—486 BC), king of the Persian empire, and usually called "the Great."

Darius took the throne after killing his brother Smerdis who was really an impersonator, according to Darius. Sensing a weakness in Persian power, many smaller nations launched rebellions, which Darius systematically subdued down to 519. His victories are recorded on the Behistun rock, a trilingual inscription which led to the deciphering of the ancient cuneiform languages of Mesopotamia. The small territory of Judah did not participate in these revolts, and it is to the credit of Darius that, in the midst of his battle to consolidate the empire in 520, he permitted the Jews to rebuild the Temple.

The fact that Haggai began his ministry in the sixth month reflects careful timing. This was the month called "Elul," corresponding to our August and September. It followed the month of Ab, the very time that Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and leveled Solomon's Temple. To this day, Jews gather at the Wailing Wall by the thousands on the ninth of Ab, standing before those stones built by Herod to support the Temple area, to mourn the fall of the Temple. Strangely enough, the Temple that Haggai pleaded for and which Herod the Great beautified, fell to the Romans in the same month of Ab, AD 70. Perhaps the mourning for bygone Temple glories spurred Haggai to present his challenge at this time. Two months later, Zechariah began his prophetic ministry (Zee 1:1).

The first day of the month also lent itself to spiritual concerns. This was the "New Moon" holy day, when business activities were suspended as on the Sabbath (Amos 8:5) and a special burnt offering was brought to the Lord (Num 28:11-15). Apparently it was also an occasion to listen to the prophets (2 Ki 4:23).

Lest the people think they were sampling some prophet's uninspired opinion, Haggai identifies the message as the word of the Lord. The entire book is punctuated with "thus says the LORD" (1:2, 7, 13; 2:4, 6-9, 11, 14, 23), for the prophet is merely the instrument through whom the Lord speaks. At times in the Old Testament, the prophet is so closely identified with God that it is difficult to decide which one is speaking. God has given the prophet a message, so the prophet speaks as if he were God.

The recipients of the message are the civil and ecclesiastical leaders of Judah, Zerubbabel and Joshua. Five times these two names appear together, and each time Zerubbabel is mentioned first (see also Zee 4:11-14). By directing his statements to the leaders, Haggai underscores their responsibility. Perhaps the leaders, as well as the people, had lost the vision of the completed Temple and needed a rebuke from God. Elsewhere (in 2:2 and 4) the people are addressed along with the two heads, but in 1:1 only the leaders are approached.

Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, had been the leading figure in the return from exile ever since the decree of Cyrus in 538 (Ezra 2:1-2).

As a descendant of David, his royal lineage was a key factor in his leadership and in the Messianic associations of his name in Haggai 2:20-23.

He appears in the genealogies of Matthew 1 and Luke 3, and, together with the records in 1 Chronicles 3:17-19, several problems are faced. In Chronicles, Zerubbabel is the son of Pedaiah (brother of Shealtiel) and grandson of King Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin). In Luke 3 he is said to be the son of Shealtiel (as in Haggai six times) but the grandson of Neri. These complications are probably due to the practice of levirate marriage and the differences between legal and actual sons. Zerubbabel was probably the natural born son of Pedaiah and the legal son of Shealtiel. Similarly, Neri was most likely his natural grandfather, but childless King Jeconiah enters the picture by adoption. Either way, Zerubbabel is descended from David, whether through Solomon or Nathan, and this is the important point.

Zerubbabel is also to be identified with Sheshbazzar of Ezra 1:8, 11, and 5:14, 16. Sheshbazzar is called "the prince of Judah" (Ezra 1:8) and "governor" (Ezra 5:14), using the same word applied here to Zerubbabel. Just as Daniel was called Belteshazzar in Babylon, so Zerubbabel, meaning in Hebrew "seed of Babylon," or, "born in Babylon," also was given the name Sheshbazzar. When Cyrus or other Persian officials are mentioned in the context, "Sheshbazzar" is the name employed.

Although Zerubbabel is called "governor of Judah," he is subservient to the governor of the province "beyond the River," who in turn may have been responsible to the satraps of the Persian empire (Ezra 5:3). This particular term for governor (pehah ) was a carry-over from Assyrian and Babylonian rule. By the days of Nehemiah, a Persian word for governor was employed (Neh 8:9).

Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, is mentioned right after Zerubbabel, just as he is in the list of those returning from the exile in Ezra 2:2. His father had been taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar (1 Ch 6:15), and his grandfather, Seraiah, met death at the hands of that same monarch at Riblah (2 Ki 25:18-21). Seraiah had been called the "head priest" (first-ranking priest), whereas Joshua bears the title of "great priest," a form also used consistently in Zechariah (3:1, 8). The two titles are synonymous, but "great priest," often translated "high priest," predominates in the postexilic books. Joshua, called "Jeshua" in Ezra and Nehemiah, was the first high priest after the exile.

B. God Answers the People's Excuse (1:2-4)

Haggai's first words to the people lay bare the lame excuse that stymied the building operation: the right time to rebuild the Temple had not come. It was not Haggai who was quoting the people, however, but God, the LORD of hosts, who was well aware of men's puny rationalization. "LORD of hosts" is used several times in Haggai, building to a climax in a twofold usage in the last verse. A title never used in the Pentateuch, it appears more than eighty times in the postexilic prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Properly it means "LORD of armies," as seen in Isaiah 13:4 where "the LORD of hosts [armies] is mustering the army." The "army," or "host," can refer to the angels, the stars, or the nation Israel. God controls all of them, and yet here the all-powerful One confronts a reluctant nation.

The Lord refers to the nation as "this people" rather than "My people." They do not deserve to be called His because of their persistent sin. Jeremiah also uses "this people" as a term of reproach (Jer 14:10, 11).

Essentially the excuse amounted to procrastination. When a more convenient time came, they would consider resuming the task, but not now. Perhaps they were waiting for improved economic conditions (1:6, 11) or for the cessation of opposition from unfriendly neighbors. Besides, things were unsettled in Persia with the stormy accession of Darius. Some may even have based their argument on scriptural grounds, for Jeremiah had prophesied a seventy-year captivity, and only sixty-seven years had elapsed since Jerusalem fell. Whatever their reasons, the people were neglecting the one task to which they had been commissioned by God and Cyrus.

The Temple is frequently called the Lord's "house" in Haggai. Eight times this designation appears (1:2, 4, 9, 14; 2:7, 9), while twice the word hekal, meaning "temple" or "palace," is employed (2:15, 18). In a real sense God had made Solomon's Temple His dwelling place on earth. He "lived" there and had filled the building with His glorious presence.

With stinging force, the word of the Lord came through Haggai to refute the people in 1:4. If it is not time to build the Lord's house, how have you managed to construct your own paneled houses? The selfishness of the people is stressed by the repeated pronoun "for you yourselves." Unlike David, who, in 2 Samuel 7:2, lived in a cedar house but longed to build a Temple for God, these people think only of themselves. And at least the Lord had a tent in David's day. Now the Temple was desolate, a waste, just as Jerusalem was ruined by conquest (Neh 2:3, 17). The word desolate is closely related to the Arabic word "Khirbet" of "Khirbet Qumran," the abandoned ruins about seven miles south of Jericho where the community which preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls once lived.

Not only were the people able to build houses, but they were paneled ones at that. Paneling connoted luxury and is in fact usually associated with royal dwellings, such as the palace built by Solomon (1 Ki 7:3, 7; cf. Jer 22:14). These homes were paneled with cedar, and, although the specific wood is not mentioned in Haggai, it might have been the famed cedar of Lebanon that is intended. We are told that Zerubbabel and Joshua did purchase cedars from Lebanon for the Temple upon their return from exile (Ezra 3:7). Could it be that the construction delay on the Temple had tempted the Jews to use the valuable cedar on their own homes rather than letting it go to waste? Perhaps the possibility of giving up on the Temple project is too cruel a deduction, but Malachi does ask the sad question, "Will a man rob God?" (Mal 3:8).

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Excerpted from Haggai and Malachi by Herbert Wolf. Copyright © 1976 The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Excerpted by permission of Moody Press.
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