Haggai Part One Deep Dive

SHAKING, DESIRE AND THE GLORY OF THE SECOND TEMPLE | KATIE HALDANE

In this Deep Dive, I want to explore two topics found in Haggai that can seem a little confusing, overwhelming and that challenge our knowledge of God and His grace and sovereignty of our lives and the nations.

WHAT DOES THE SHAKING OF THE NATIONS MEAN?

The first topic I am talking about is found in verses 2:7 and 2:21.

H 2:6-8 This is what the Lord Almighty say; “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the LORD Almighty. The silver is mine and the gold is mine,” declares the LORD Almighty.
H 2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by sword of his brother.

IN A LITTLE WHILE

The first sentence ‘in a little while’ provides a sense of urgency, a set time. God knows the time because He knows how it is until the time has come. But there is this sense of ‘not yet’ in the statement. As in all prophecies, this one has ‘God’s timing’ all over it; only He knows, and He doesn’t disclose it, but we are to wait in eager anticipation because it is urgent and soon.

SHAKING OF THE NATIONS – JUDGEMENT OR GOD’S PRESENCE

So what’s going to happen in ‘a little while’? The nations, heavens and earth are going to be shaken. We jump automatically here to the ‘wrath of God’, God’s judgement of destruction on the nations. But I’m not sure that is what Haggai is saying. The key to this section is found in the word ‘shake’. Shake (Heb. ‘ra as’) is an ‘onomatopoetic word that denotes quaking and violent upheaval in the natural order’ [1]. The term is used throughout the Bible with the language of theophany (the appearance of Yahweh). For the Jews, it would have brought memories of Mount Sinai and the shaking of the mountain with the presence of Yahweh in Exodus 19. The word conjures up feelings of respect, awe and holy fear. But it is also seen in texts such as Isaiah 24:18, Ezekiel 38:20, and Joel 2:10, 3:16. The statement for the audience was not a statement of judgement but a statement that confirmed that God was going to once again ‘move’ amongst His people. And when God moves, the nations, mountains, seas, land, heaven and earth all shake from His power and glory. It was a declaration of the presence of God returning and everything that happens when God resides with His people.

DESIRE MEANS RESTORATION

Another word we need to study to understand this section is ‘desire’. Desire in this context means ‘treasure’ or ‘valuable thing’. It is used in Exodus 20:17 as the word ‘covet’ [2]. Showing that what the nations treasure or covet, will come to Israel. This concept is then expanded upon in verse 8 as the silver and gold that will be returned to Israel that was taken when they went into exile. I understand that we normally associate this verse with the prophecies about the coming of Jesus, but I think in this context, and as confirmed by Andrew Hill in the Tyndale commentary, ‘nothing in the context of Haggai’s second sermon points to the phrase as a messianic title or prediction’ [3]. So this section is not focused on just God judging the nations but more about the message of Haggai of God’s sovereignty over the nations. It is a bold declaration that God’s presence will return, in His power, in His authority, shaking the heavens and the earth so that everything the nations stole from them will be given to Israel. It’s the story of future restoration and redemption.

THE FALSE PROPHECY OF THE SECOND TEMPLE, OR IS IT?

The second topic I want to address is a verse that seems completely false in light of the history of the temple and the evidence we have with reading the text 2000 years later. The verse is found in 2:9.

H 2:9 The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the LORD Almighty. “And in this place, I will grant peace,” declares the LORD Almighty.

We know from history that this is not the case for the temple that Ezra is building and to which Haggai is prophesying. The temple was not greater than Solomon’s and the temple did not give them peace, quite the opposite. So let’s have a look at the evidence and then the explanation.

THE ISSUES

The question this section presents is, is this temple greater than Solomon’s? We know that when the foundations of this temple were being laid, the older generation actually cried when they saw it because it was not as great as Solomon’s temple (Ezra 3:12). So how could this house’s glory be greater than the former? We also know that when the temple was built in 2 Chronicles 5:14 when Solomon’s temple was completed the priests could not perform their service because the cloud of God’s glory filled the temple. So how is what God is saying here over this temple true?

Did this temple give them peace? No. History tells us that after the temple was built, very few of the Jews came back to Jerusalem, most stayed in exile. And from Malachi to Matthew (the Intertestamental period), three cultures and numerous leaders conquered Jerusalem. This temple was, in fact, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

THE ANSWERS

Now when we come to verses like this that seem to contradict history and evidence, we have to do some study. Is God talking about this specific temple, which will have His glory and bring peace or could could the audience be projecting their own ideas onto the prophecy, influencing the interpretation? Could the temple God is talking about actually be related to an end times event?

The language of peace is found in prophetic declarations throughout the Old Testament, pointing forward to a time when God will bring peace in Jerusalem and establish His reign once again on earth. As Christians living on this side of the New Testament, we see these prophecies in a two-fold nature. Firstly we see ‘this present house being greater than the former house’ as a prophecy to the ‘people of God’ of the New Testament, living in the power of the cross of Jesus Christ. And secondly, pointing forward to the ‘new heavens and new earth’ when Yahweh (Father God) and Jesus will be ‘the temple of the New Jerusalem’ (Revelations 21:3, 22) and will reside with His people once again. He will establish peace on earth once and for all.

REFERENCES

[1] Andrew E. Hill, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament commentaries volume 28 (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2012), 79.

[2] Ibid., 80.

[3] Ibid.