TOTC Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi

Andrew E Hill, Denmark Hill

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781844745845
• eBook ISBN:
  9781783592678
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblischer Kommentar

Despite the return of the Hebrews from the Babylonian exile, selfishness, apathy and despair crippled their community spirit. In response to this distress, God raised up three prophetic voices in Jerusalem. Haggai rallied the people to rebuild the Second Temple. Zechariah was given visions of the return of the glory of the Lord to Zion. Malachi preached repentance, covenant justice and restoration of proper temple worship. Andrew Hill's excellent commentary on these oracles shows how they remain timely for the Christian church's worship and mission in the world.

2. SECOND MESSAGE: THE PROMISE OF RESTORATION (2:1–9)

Context

The prophet’s reference to Egypt (2:5) sets the hortatory tone and establishes the covenant theme for Haggai’s second sermon. The citation is clearly a deliberate appeal to the historical traditions connected with the Hebrew exodus from slavery under the pharaoh. Haggai is probably alluding to Isaiah’s oracles announcing the second exodus and the restoration of the Hebrews from Babylonian captivity (e.g. Isa. 40:3–5; 41:17–20; 42:14–16).

A. Introduction (2:1–2)

Comment

1. Haggai delivered his second message on the seventh or last regular day of the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. Lev. 23:33–34). The first and eighth days of the festival were Sabbath-like sacred assemblies (Lev. 23:35, 39). The prophet’s oracle no doubt served as a capstone to the week’s ritual worship and community celebration of the exodus-event and the fall harvest. There’s a twist of irony in the sermon as well, since the prophet has called the people to address the matter of YHWH’s homelessness, as they build and live in their temporary shelters in commemoration of their own homelessness during the exodus sojourn. (See p. 60, on the date formula in 2:1.)

2. Remnant of the people. This refers to the rest of the people, in addition to the leaders Zerubbabel and Joshua (see commentary on 1:12, p. 71).

Meaning

Haggai received his second message from the Lord less than two months after the first. To hear from God again within such a short period of time affirmed the people’s response of obedience to the first message. The timing of the second message with the annual celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles sets the context for the prophet’s sermon on the theme of divine presence in the following section.

B. Present condition of the temple (2:3–5)

Context

The clause, when you came out of Egypt (2:5), looks both back to the past and forward in anticipation of the future, in an effort to encourage those presently in despair. This flashback to the exodus from Egypt was designed to demonstrate the continuity of the Lord’s activity in history for elect Israel. Haggai’s audience could be assured that the presence and power of God who delivered the Hebrews from pharaoh would also deliver his people from Babylonia and restore them to the land of covenant promise. It is also notable that Haggai’s second message from the Lord came at the end of a series of major holy days and festivals in the Hebrew calendar, since the first day of the seventh month was the Feast of Trumpets (New Year), the tenth day of the same month was the solemn Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles was observed for eight days beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (cf. Lev. 23:23–43).

Comment

3. Haggai’s dialogical engagement with his audience by means of (often rhetorical) questions is a characteristic feature of the entire post-exilic prophetic corpus. (See the section on Literary style in the Introduction, p. 51.)

4. The threefold repetition of the imperative verb be strong marks the shift from rebuke and challenge to encouragement and affirmation in Haggai’s message. The exhortation echoes that of Moses to the people of Israel and to Joshua, as the second generation of post-exodus Hebrews were poised to enter the land of covenant promise (Deut. 31:6, 7). God spoke similar words to Joshua as the campaign to conquer Canaan was about to begin (Josh. 1:6, 9), and David uttered the same charge to Solomon at the building of the first temple (1 Chr. 28:20).

The repetition of the covenant relationship formula (see 1:13) calls to mind the new covenant promises made to the Hebrews prior to the Babylonian exile by the prophets Jeremiah (Jer. 30:11) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 34:30; 37:27).

5. The combination of the verb ‘cut’ and the noun ‘covenant’ is the Hebrew idiom for covenant making (cf. Gen. 15:9–10). The alternate combination of the verb ‘cut’ and the noun form used here is exceptional. The variant phraseology may call attention to the continuity of YHWH’s activity in delivering his people, first from Egypt and then from Babylonia (cf. NRSV, ‘the promise I made with you’). The variation in the Hebrew syntax in the placement of the clause in the initial position in verse 5 heightens the authority and verity of the prophet’s command.

The restatement of the reality that God’s Spirit remains among his people is important (cf. 2:4). Such reassurance was necessary, given Ezekiel’s earlier vision of the glory of the Lord abandoning the Jerusalem temple prior to the Babylonian exile (Ezek. 10:18). The restoration community needed to know that this tragic chapter of Hebrew history had now ended. The form of the verb remains denotes ongoing action. This use of the verb remain (lit. ‘stands’) has the effect of personifying Spirit and thus makes this ‘a powerful expression of divine presence’.1 Haggai makes reference to the function of God’s Spirit after the manner of Isaiah’s commentary on the exodus-event – the Spirit of power who works miracles in Israel’s history (Isa. 63:11).

The construction of the prohibition, Do not fear, can have the force of halting an action in progress: hence ‘Stop being afraid.’ God’s presence among his people assures, encourages, inspires and verifies his intentions to see his purposes accomplished.

Meaning

The prophets were also pastors for the people of Israel as God’s flock. The assurance formulas in Haggai’s second sermon are striking (2:4, 5). They serve to alleviate the apprehension and fear of the leaders and the people by linking God’s presence in the current community of Hebrews with his future activity on behalf of his elect.2 Haggai’s joining of the abiding presence of YHWH (2:4) with the word of YHWH’s covenant promise is especially significant. The prophet may have had Isaiah 59:20–21 in mind, where the combination of God’s covenant word and the presence of his Spirit are tokens of his unswerving commitment to the restoration of his people. For some, this theme of God’s presence with his people constitutes one theological centre of the entire Bible. The concept of ‘Immanuel’ or ‘God-with-us’ theology has its origins in the intimate fellowship with God that humanity enjoyed before the fall (Gen. 3:8).3

C. Promise of future glory for the temple (2:6–9)

Context

Haggai announces a future day of divine judgment of the nations, and a promise of glory for the Second Temple surpassing that of Solomon’s temple. This new divine activity concerns the rebuilt temple as a metaphor for God’s glory and sovereign rule and the restoration of the community of faithful people gathered around the temple. God’s former shaking of creation alluded to by the prophet may be a reference to the flood-event, or more likely to the exodus-event (where the Heb. verb rā‛aš is used to describe his activity in delivering the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt; cf. Judg. 5:4; Pss 68:8; 77:18).

Comment

6. The Hebrew expression (‘once again, in a little while’) is difficult to convey in English. The phrase seems to connote both the sense of urgency or immediacy, as well as the indefiniteness of the moment of divine judgment. Baldwin renders, ‘wait, just one little while’, indicating that although the interval before the Lord begins to shake all creation is short, it still requires a time of waiting.4

The verb shake (Heb. rā‛aš) is an onomatopoetic word and denotes quaking and violent upheaval in the natural order. The term is associated with the language of theophany in the OT, the convulsions of creation in reaction to the appearance of YHWH (Isa. 24:18; Ezek. 38:20; Joel 2:10; 3:16). Haggai, however, is speaking of more than earthquakes. He applies the traditional language of theophany not to a divine appearance, but to new activity of YHWH on behalf of his people. This is seen in the cosmic scope of the shaking, represented in the polar sets of heavens/earth and sea/dry land,5 and in the shaking of the nations (v. 7), the only reference to God’s eschatological shaking of creation applied directly to people.6

7. The word desired (Heb. ḥemdat) is actually singular in form and means ‘treasure’ (so NRSV) or ‘valuable thing’. The LXX renders the word in the plural (‘choice things’), in agreement with the plural verb (‘[they] will come’, NETS; assuming the noun is a variant spelling of the term, and reconfigures the form as ḥămudôt). The singular form may also be construed as a collective or as a plural, given its grammatical relationship with the following plural noun (e.g. ‘the treasures of all the nations will come in’, NAB; cf. NJB, NLT, NRSV; ‘precious things’, NJPS).7 The term is related to the root word for coveting in the tenth commandment (Exod. 20:17). Ironically, the treasures coveted by the nations will be given back to God, the maker and owner of all things.

Historically, the gold and silver treasures of the Lord’s temple were lost to the nations when Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and exiled the Hebrews (2 Kgs 25:13–15). Later, a substantial portion of these precious articles were returned to the Lord’s temple by the nations, when King Cyrus of Persia sent an inventory of temple vessels back to Jerusalem with Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:7–11). The prophets Isaiah (Isa. 60:5; 66:12) and Zechariah (Zech. 14:14, 17) have similar visions of the wealth of the nations flowing into Jerusalem as acts of homage and worship to God.

Despite the longstanding tradition of associating the ‘desire of the nations’ with the first or second advent of Jesus the Messiah, nothing in the context of Haggai’s second sermon points to the phrase as a messianic title or prediction. Nor does the NT connect the phrase with the life and ministry of Jesus.8

The prophet predicted that the future glory (Heb. kābôd, ‘splendour, honour, distinction’) of the Second Temple would outstrip the past glory of Solomon’s majestic temple (v. 9), and he bolstered his claim by declaring that the wealth of the nations would flow into Jerusalem (v. 7). The real glory of the Second Temple, however, will not be the revenues of gold and silver bursting its coffers. Rather, the glory of God’s temple will consist of his presence in it and among his people (vv. 4–5; Zech. 2:5; cf. 1 Kgs 6:11). Israel’s worship of the God of glory (Ps. 29:3) who alone possesses glory (Isa. 42:8; 48:11), and the recognition of his splendour and majesty by those created for his glory (Isa. 43:7), also bring glory to YHWH’s house (Ps. 96:8).

8. The prophet’s declaration recalls Job 41:11, that everything under heaven belongs to God. The emphatic construction of the syntax in the original underscores this truth (lit. ‘to me is the silver, to me is the gold’; cf. NAB, ‘mine is the silver, mine is the gold’). The context suggests that the desire or treasure of the nations Haggai has in mind is material wealth, namely gold and silver. There is no hint of greed or covetousness here. Rather, the prophet boldly predicts the complete recognition of God’s sovereignty over the entire world. In the eschaton, the treasures of the world, once withheld from their true purpose as the property of YHWH, will return to his exclusive control. Note the staggering amounts of gold and silver contributed by King David and the Israelites to the building of Solomon’s temple (1 Chr. 29:3–4, 7). Interestingly, just as the wealth of the Egyptians contributed to the furnishings and adornment of the tabernacle (cf. Exod. 12:35–36; 35:5, 22), and the wealth of the nations plundered by David adorned Solomon’s temple, so too Haggai envisions the wealth of the nations flowing into the coffers of the Second Temple (cf. Isa. 60:11; 61:6; 66:12).

9. The literal rendering of the MT, ‘Great will be the glory of this house, the latter’, is somewhat cryptic (the glory of this present house, NIV). The ambiguity of the modifier ‘latter’ permits the reading, ‘the glory of this latter house’ (so KJV, NJPS) or ‘the latter glory of this house’ (so NAB, NLT, NRSV). It seems more likely that Haggai speaks of the ‘latter glory of this house’, especially in light of the reference to the former glory of the temple in 2:3. It is possible that a more immediate fulfilment of Haggai’s oracle, forecasting the shaking of the nations and the restoration of glory to YHWH’s temple in Jerusalem, foreshadows the messianic interpretation of the passage. Berquist suggests that the shaking of the nations may have been partially realized in the staging and marching of military troops in and through Judah by King Darius in the Persian campaign against the Egyptians (c. 518 BC).9 If so, the initial glorification of Zerubbabel’s temple may have been achieved by the patronage of the Persian Empire as a result of the need for a base for military operations in Egypt.10 Some interpreters understand a more distant fulfilment of this ‘latter glory’ of YHWH’s temple in the presence of Jesus the Messiah during his first advent (Matt. 12:6; Luke 2:28–32; John 2:19–22), and perhaps a more complete fulfilment in his second advent (Rev. 21:22).11 The NT, however, makes no reference to this text by way of quotation or allusion to the life and ministry of Jesus.

The word peace (Heb. šālôm) is a wordplay on the name ‘Jerusalem’ (‘city of peace’), and echoes the promise of Isaiah for the peace of Jerusalem in answer to the psalmist’s prayer (Isa. 66:12; cf. Ps. 122:6). This place is somewhat ambiguous, but is probably a reference to the Jerusalem temple, since the word place (Heb. māqôm) has ritual and cultic connotations in certain contexts (e.g. Deut. 12:5, 14; Jer. 17:12; Ezek. 43:7). The Hebrew word šālôm not only means ‘peace’ in the sense of absence of armed conflict and physical security, but also ‘wholeness, well-being’, even ‘prosperity’ broadly and holistically construed (so NJPS, NRSV). The LXX includes a scribal addition at the end of 2:9, reflecting on this aspect of the promise of peace: ‘and peace of mind for an acquisition to everyone who creates, to raise up this shrine’ (NETS).

Echoes of covenant ideas and themes resound in the vocabulary of Haggai’s second message (2:1–9). Specifically, the prophet alluded to YHWH’s covenant ties with Israel by mentioning the land (2:2, 4; cf. Gen. 12:1, 7; Exod. 3:8), the temple (2:3, 7, 9; an implicit reference to that place where YHWH would establish his name; Deut. 12:11; 14:23; 16:2) and the inauguration of peace (2:9; a key element of the new covenant promises of Jeremiah [30:10; 32:37] and Ezekiel [34:25; 37:26]). More striking are the assurance formulas (Be strong, 2:4 [3 times]; and Do not fear, 2:5). Both are commonly found in covenantal contexts (e.g. Gen. 15:1; 26:24; Exod. 20:20; Isa. 57:15). According to Petersen (1984: 57–58), both serve to alleviate the apprehension and fear of the people by connecting YHWH’s current presence in the community with his future activity on behalf of his elect. Perhaps most significant is Haggai’s wedding of the abiding presence of YHWH (2:4) with the word of YHWH’s covenant promise (2:5). The prophet may have had Isaiah 59:20–21 in mind, where the combination of God’s covenant word and the presence of his Spirit are tokens of YHWH’s unswerving commitment to the res...

Table of contents

• Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
• Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi
• CONTENTS
• GENERAL PREFACE
• AUTHOR’S PREFACE
• SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHIES
• GENERAL INTRODUCTION
• HAGGAI
• ANALYSIS
• COMMENTARY
• 2. SECOND MESSAGE: THE PROMISE OF RESTORATION (2:1–9)
• 3. THIRD MESSAGE: THE CALL TO HOLINESS (2:10–19)
• 4. FOURTH MESSAGE: ZERUBBABEL, DAVIDIC SERVANT AND SIGNET RING (2:20–23)
• ZECHARIAH
• ANALYSIS
• COMMENTARY
• 2. ZECHARIAH’S VISIONS (1:7 – 6:15)
• 3. ZECHARIAH’S MESSAGES (7 – 8)
• 4. ZECHARIAH’S ORACLES (9 – 14)
• MALACHI
• ANALYSIS
• COMMENTARY
• 2. SECOND DISPUTATION: INDICTMENT OF FAITHLESS PRIESTS (1:6 – 2:9)
• 3. THIRD DISPUTATION: INDICTMENT OF FAITHLESS PEOPLE (2:10–16)
• 4. FOURTH DISPUTATION: YHWH’S MESSENGER OF JUDGMENT (2:17 – 3:5)
• 5. FIFTH DISPUTATION: THE CALL TO SERVE YHWH (3:6–12)
• 6. SIXTH DISPUTATION: THE DAY OF YHWH (3:13 – 4:3 [MT 3:21])
• 7. APPENDICES (4:4–6 [MT 3:22–24])