Source: https://bible.org/seriespage/haggai-1-0
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 21:57:04+00:00

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1In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2"Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'This people says, "The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt."'" 3Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4"Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?" 5Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, "Consider your ways! 6You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes."
1:1 "In the second year of Darius the king" Darius I Hystaspes claimed the throne of Persia after the suicide of Cambyses II, the son of Cyrus II (522 b.c.). Cambyses killed himself because of the revolt of an imposter from Egypt (Gaumata). Darius, the son of Cambyses' general, was with the army when this occurred. He reigned from 522-486 b.c. From all documents we learn that he was friendly to the Jews and an effective ruler. The second year is assumed by most modern scholars to be 520 b.c. See Appendix Four: A Brief Historical Survey of the Powers of Mesopotamia.
▣ "on the first day of the sixth month" Haggai is very specific in his dating of his four separate prophecies. It is interesting to note that this first prophecy occurred on the festival of a new moon (cf. Num. 10:10; 28:11-15; I Sam. 20:5; II Kgs. 4:23; Ezra 3:5; Isa. 1:13-14; Ezek. 46:1,3,6; Hos. 1:13; Amos 8:5; Col. 2:16). See Special Topics below.
▣ "prophet" See Appendix One: Introduction to OT Prophecy.
▣ "Haggai" See Introduction, Authorship.
▣ "Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel" Zerubbabel is a Babylonian name which means "born in Babylon" (BDB 279). He is called the son of Shealtiel in Ezra and Nehemiah and in Matt. 1:12 and Luke 3:27. However, in I Chr. 3:19 his father is listed as Shealtiel's brother. This can possibly be explained by adoption or Levirite marriage. Zerubbabel was in the line of David. Historical evidence seems to imply that he was the nephew of Sheshbazzar (see fuller notes at Ezra 1:8; 5:14-16). Both were of the royal line of David (cf. II Kings 24, grandson of Jehoiachin).
▣ "governor of Judah" This term (BDB 808, cf. Mal. 1:8; Nah. 2:7,9) seems to mean a ruler of one of the many provinces of the satrap or district called "the province beyond the river."
▣ "Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest" Joshua was the grandson of Seraiah, the high priest who was killed when Jerusalem fell in 586 b.c. (cf. II Kgs. 25:10-21; I Chr. 6:14). He was of the family of Zadok, the family of priests which David put in authority in the Temple. The name "Joshua" is the same Hebrew word as "Jesus," which means "YHWH saves" or "Salvation is from YHWH" (BDB 221).
Speaking was the mechanism of creation (cf. Genesis 1). Speaking is part of the image of God (cf. Gen. 1:26-27). It forms the basis for interpersonal relationships. YHWH is not like the lifeless idols that do not speak. He is the God of revelation. He seeks fellowship. He desires communication, which is always a two-way street. He initiates and expects an appropriate response!
This is a very common post-exilic title. It is used 285 times in all the prophets. It is used in this book in 1:1,5,7,9,14; 2:4,5,7,8,9,11,23. The term "hosts" reflects the military term that means "captain of the armies of heaven" (see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY at Obad. v. 1). It is a title which depicts YHWH in control of all history.
▣ "This people says" This phrase is used in a derogatory sense in Isa. 6:9,10; 8:6; 28:11,14. Here it reflects an excuse that the people were giving, either verbally or by their inactivity, for not rebuilding the Temple. There had been an 18-year lapse since the setting of the foundation by Sheshbazzar (cf. Ezra 5:16). The work continued under Zerubbabel (cf. Ezra 3: 8-13), but for some reason, either political pressure from the surrounding nations or the apathy of the Jewish people, work on the Temple had come to a standstill.
1:4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate" The verb "panel" (BDB 706, KB 764, Qal passive participle) originally meant to "overlay a wall with some type of material." Often it is used in the OT for the overlay of expensive material (cf. I Kgs. 7:3,7; Jer. 22:14). The implication is that they had built extravagant houses for themselves (i.e., personal prosperity) while the Lord's house lay in ruins.
1:5 "Consider your ways" Literally this is "put your heart on your roads" (BDB 962, KB 1321, Qal imperative, also in v. 7; 2:15,18). They were urged to check their personal and collective motives for the inactivity in rebuilding the national Temple.
1:6 Haggai asserts that the poor harvest was directly related to their lack of honoring YHWH in their failure to finish the Temple, which was the cultic center of the national life of the chosen people. YHWH's covenant with Israel had both benefits and responsibilities (i.e., cursings and blessings, cf. Deuteronomy 27-29). This verse is a series of sharp contrasts (cf. NKJV) made up of eight infinitives (two Hiphil infinitives , three Qal infinitive absolutes and three Qal infinitive constructs).
7Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Consider your ways! 8Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified," says the Lord. 9" You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?" declares the Lord of hosts, "Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. 11I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands."
1:7 See note at v. 5.
The mountains referred to may be related to the king's forest mentioned in Neh. 2:8; they are probably not the mountains of Lebanon, which would have been prohibitive because of the extreme cost of transporting the timber.
This verb (see above) implies that the restored worship at the central shrine would honor (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 577-587) YHWH. It would visibly demonstrate the restoration of the Covenant God with His covenant community.
1:9-11 Verses 9-11 refer to the prophecy of v. 6. Human effort cannot bring prosperity (cf. Deut. 8:11-20). Human inaction did result in divine inaction (i.e., the regular cycles of nature ceased)!
This theology is directly related to the covenant curses and blessings of Deuteronomy 27-28! Israel is uniquely bound to covenant obedience to YHWH.
1:9 "I blew it away" This verb (BDB 655, KB 708, Qal perfect) has both positive (i.e., Gen. 2:7) and negative connotations (i.e., Isa. 40:7; Ezek. 22:21). God's activity in the OT is accomplished by means of His Spirit (i.e., wind, breath). Post-exilic Israel's agricultural problems were not a natural cycle, but a divine displeasure!
1:10 Note the personification of physical creation! It is controlled by YHWH ("withheld," BDB 476, KB 475, Qal perfect, twice).
1:11 "the grain, on the new wine, on the oil" These were the staple goods of the Palestinian economy (cf. Deut. 11:14; Hos. 2:8, 22). YHWH's lack of blessing is directly related to the cursing-and-blessing formula found in Deuteronomy 27 and 28 (esp. 28:51; Joel 1:10). God would continue to withhold His blessing until they honored Him, at which point He would bless them. In the OT YHWH often uses nature to confront or bless His people (cf. 2:10-19).
1:12 "Zerubbabel" See note at 1:1.
▣ "Joshua" See note at 1:1.
This is literally "heard" (BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal imperfect) with the added connotation of "to hear so as to do." They acted on YHWH's message through Haggai.
▣ "And the people showed reverence for the Lord" Notice that the people had to first respond (i.e., "obey," lit. "hear," BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal imperfect and "fear," BDB 431, KB 432, Qal imperfect) to YHWH in faith and then YHWH blessed them with His presence (cf. II Chr. 15:2; 20:17). There is a balance in the Bible between human effort and God's undeserved blessing (cf. Phil. 2:12-13).
1:13 Notice the introductory phrase by which the author asserts that YHWH spoke a message to him, which he is passing on in first person. The exact mechanism of the inspiration is not revealed, but that it was a message from God is emphatically stated. The Bible is either a revelation from God or it is a fraud!
▣ "I am with you, declares the Lord" The phrase "I am" is a form of YHWH, the covenant name for God, from Exod. 3:14 (see Special Topic: Names for Deity at Obad. v. 1). The great affirmation of God's presence with them was an answer to the years that the glory had not been there (cf. Ezek. 10:19-20). These people desperately needed to hear that God had renewed the covenant (i.e., Gen. 26:3,24; 28:15; 31:3; Isa. 41:10; 43:2,5; Jer. 1:8,19; 15:20; 30:11; 42:11; 46:28) and that His glory had returned to His people.
YHWH is in control of history for His redemptive purposes!
▣ "spirit" The Hebrew term (BDB 924) here means "the person of." The NT Special Topic below reflects the Hebrew term's usage. See Special Topic following.
▣ "all the remnant" This term (BDB 984, cf. v. 12) has important theological significance in some texts, but here it refers to all of those who returned to Palestine from Babylonian exile.
▣ "the Lord of hosts" See Special Topic at Obadiah verse 1.
1:15 Many have assumed a wrong date in v. 15, but this is possibly related to the length of time (approximately 3½ months) it took to gather the materials for the beginning of construction. The NRSV, JPSOA, and NJB see v. 15b as starting a new literary unit.

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