The book of Haggai
We begin this study by reading Haggai 1:1-5
It is time to take another deep dive into the prophets Although only two chapters, Haggai is a treasure chest full of beautiful treasures. I encourage you to dig deep, to search the Scriptures for all its precious nuggets, and I pray that you will be far wealthier, spiritually, at the end of this study than you are right now. The commentary of these verses is based on the NKJV.
The name Haggai means "My festivals" - speaking of God's festivals or appointed times (Leviticus 23). Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that God’s appointed festivals are a shadow of the things to come. In other words, they are a paradigm for helping us to understand what has taken place (Yeshua fulfilling the Passover, the first fruits as well as the feast of weeks – Shavuot – at His first coming) and what He is coming again to fulfill (Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles).
v1 Darius was not a king in Israel. Although the exile had ended in Haggai's day the mention of Darius reveals to us that the exile had not ended in its entirety (this is the same for the Jews in Israel today. The exile has ended, and they are back in the land, but they have no temple. This means that they are not yet in Kingdom times and there is still some degree of spiritual exile).
✨The sixth month is the month of Elul (on the Biblical calendar). According to Jewish tradition a shofar is blown on every day of this month except for the Sabbath day. It is known as a month of preparation and repentance.
✨In Judaism the first day of the month was very important (Rosh Chodesh). In the old days no one worked on this day, but it was a day of celebration and rejoicing.
✨Zerubbabel was an important leader governmentally.
✨Joshua was the high priest – an important leader spiritually (Zech 3:1)
v2 "This people" - the people who Zerubbabel and Joshua were influencing.
✨The time has not come - most of the people were not interested in worshipping God. From a physical standpoint they felt that they were doing well without G-d (see v4)
v4 Paneled houses - luxurious, expensive homes. It shows that the people who had returned from the exile were prosperous.
✨They were living in their beautiful homes and God's house was in ruins. Their priorities were not in the right place.
v5 Consider your ways - pay attention! The L-rd is asking the people to make an adjustment in the way they think. Their thoughts need realignment so that they can have a right, God pleasing perspective.
✨When G-d speaks about their "ways" He is calling for an adjustment in their lifestyles.
The book of Haggai,
On to Haggai 1:6-11
v6 There is nothing lazy about these people. They have worked hard and have planted many seeds. However, they are not getting the results that they should have. This is a frustrating experience for them.
v7 G-d is again emphasizing a need for a change of mindset. He didn't want His covenant people to be frustrated. This command was given for the purpose of ending their frustration. When we are in G-d's will, committed to His ways, worshipping Him in the way He desires to be worshipped, we are not going to experience frustration. We may still have problems, but G-d will give us satisfaction even within the midst of hardship.
v8 “Go... bring... build”: A simple command. Will we be people who respond to God and take simple truth and put it into action?
✨Take pleasure… and be glorified: When we obey God His desire is met, and we are pleasing to Him. Pleasing G-d is what should be of interest to us.
v9 "Looked for much" - they had an expectation that because they had worked so hard they would receive a lot, but it was an unmet expectation - instead of much they received little.
✨Why? No-one was concerned about the Lord’s house, the temple. That temple in Jerusalem was meant to be a house of testimony to all nations (Ex 25:21-22). People had their own homes, but God did not have His.
v10 G-d had blessed the people over the years but no one had shown a sensitivity to the desire or will of G-d. They were not living lives that were pleasing to God.
✨Therefore... The people were going to experience, in a very physical way, what God's perspective of them was.
✨Dew is related to water and water is related to blessing. God was going to withhold His blessing from them.
✨The land of Israel was a type of spiritual barometer. When others looked at the land of Israel they would see what the spiritual condition of the people (and of the world) was like.
v11 God is speaking and saying He is going to call a drought on the land. A drought is a slow process of bringing about death and destruction.
✨Things were about to change! We see the same things happening today. God's displeasure is on the horizon. Things have quickly changed and become different. Will we worship G-d in a rapidly changing world? Will we have G-d's perspective and allow Him to work in our lives? Will we be people who desire, first and foremost, to be pleasing to God?
The book of Haggai,
Let's finish off Haggai 1:12-15
v12 in this verse we see a result. The two leaders and the REMNANT of the people responded to the prophetic Word of God.
✨A remnant does not refer to the majority of the people, but it refers to a small minority of them. What about the majority of the people? They were indifferent and had no zeal for the things of God (see Rev 3:15-16). We need to be people who are excited about what God is doing - even if we find ourselves in difficult circumstances (Luke 21:28 - we need to lift up our heads i.e. take courage)
✨"Their God": They had a covenantal relationship with God and were pursuing His covenantal promises - this is what motivated them to be faithful.
✨Feared the presence of the Lord: They gave God priority.
v13 When the people responded, in obedience, to G-d He responded to them.
✨If G-d is with us it doesn't matter who our opposition is (Roms 8:31). When we put the worship of God above all things we will experience His anointing and power.
✨"With you" is an expression that relates to redemption (God with us). Redemption is always connected to worship. (The Israelites were redeemed from Egypt in order to go and worship God – Ex 5:1)
v14 The chronological order of events is important. Haggai faithfully spoke the Word of the L-rd to the leaders (v1-2) and then to the people (v3). They heard and wanted to obey (v12). G-d affirmed that He was with them (v13). Then they were empowered to do the work required (v14).
✨Jehozadak means "The L-rd is righteous"
✨They came and worked: They did not just stumble over the work. God, through prophetic revelation, showed them what needed to be done. Prophetic revelation caused them to turn and to repent. When God's Spirit touched them (see that the remnant is referred to again in this verse) they were able to do the work G-d required, and they were able to be pleasing to God.
v15 This prophecy began on the 1st day of the sixth month (v1) and this section ends 24 days later - they are still in the month of Elul, still in the month of preparation and repentance.
The book of Haggai, [12/21/2021 11:29 PM]
We go on to Haggai 2:1. We are only going to read verse 1 as there is quite a bit of other Scripture to read around this verse.
v1 The 7th month is called Tishrei (before the Babylonian exile it was called Ethanim - 1 Kings 8:2) It is the month where three major judgement festivals are celebrated - the feast of trumpets (Lev 23:23-25), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement - Lev 23:26-32) and Sukkot/feast of tabernacles (Lev 23:33-44)
✨The 21st day of the month is a very special day - it is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles and is also known as the last of the days of judgement. John 7:37 calls it "The great day" (we know John is referring to the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles because it is set in the context of John 7:2-10). In Hebrew this day is called: Hoshana Rabbah which means "Great Salvation."
Why is it so important to know all this information about the feasts? Paul tells the Colossians (if you are not reading from the NIV😜) that the festivals are a shadow or a picture of what is to come (Colossians 2:16-17). We know that on Yeshua’s first coming He fulfilled the spring festivals - Passover, First fruits and feast of weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost - Lev 23:1-22)
The fall festivals (trumpets, atonement and tabernacles) have yet to be fulfilled by Yeshua - ?at His second coming He will fulfill these last three. If we want to understand the numbers given to us in Daniel and Revelation (we will come to these at the end of Haggai) then it is important that we have all of the above information straightened out in our minds 😄
The book of Haggai,
Haggai 2:2-9
v2 "Speak now" - the L-rd is summoning the people to get ready for what He is about to do through the work they have done.
✨Shealtiel means "Asked from God "
✨Jehozadak means "The Lord is righteous"
Note: These two names remind us that we should be asking G-d, daily, for His righteousness in our lives - in the way we think and in the way we behave.
✨The remnant is again highlighted.
v3 Haggai wants to know who of them remember the time that the glorious temple that Solomon had built (the first temple) stood on the Temple Mount.
✨The temple that they had just finished building was humble and not nearly as glorious as the first one built.
v4 In this verse there is a change. The people are not called the "remnant" like in previous verses. The sages see this as having implications not only for the people in Israel but is something that is going to impact the people in the whole earth. What the remnant had done seemed so insignificant in their eyes, but it was going to affect the world and, more importantly, it pleased God.
✨"I am with you": This is the second time that this phrase is used (see 1:13-14). What the two verses have in common is that God being “with them” is related to work. If we want God to be with us then we need to do His work.
v5 The covenant: G-d is reminding them of the covenant that He gave them at Mt Sinai (Ex 19-20)
✨Egypt should remind us of redemption.
✨If G-d is with us we do not need to be afraid. In the last days there will be great opposition, but we need to remember to hold fast to the promises of G-d and obediently do what He has called us to do.
v6 At the end of this age (life as we know it right now), as we transition into the age to come (the Kingdom age) there is going to be a time of transition (a shaking of the heavens and the earth). As seen from verse 5 this time is set within the context of redemption. God is coming to rescue His people and bring them into the fullness of His Kingdom
✨This verse should also draw our attention back to Gen 1. God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth. A Kingdom change is coming!
v7 Shake the nations - worldwide implications.
✨The temple that had just been built seemed so humble, but it was going to be used for a glorious purpose. This was the temple that Yeshua was taken into (Lk 2:22-38)
v9 The latter temple/ the last temple/ the final temple: G-d is going to fill this final house.
✨Says the L-rd- this is a promise.
✨Peace does not simply mean the absence of violence or wars. It is what we will experience when God's will is fulfilled. When we do what God requires us to do we will experience His peace.
The book of Haggai,
Our last reading this week: Haggai 2:10-14
v10 This date is just over 3.5 months after this prophecy began.
✨The 9th month is the month of Kislev. Hanukkah (which means dedication) is celebrated on the 25th Kislev (although the celebration for it begins on the evening of the 24th).
✨There were three pilgrim festivals (‘pilgrim’ because the Jews used to travel to Jerusalem in order to celebrate them)
✨We see in John 10:22-23 that Yeshua celebrated Hanukkah in Jerusalem. We are going to see that Hanukkah, a feast instituted a lot later than the other feasts, gives us a paradigm for what G-d is going to do at the end.
v11 G-d was testing these priests to see what their answer would be. They were the ones who were meant to be teaching the people the difference between that which is holy and that which is profane.
v12 The question being asked here is this: Can something unholy be changed and made holy because it touches something holy?
✨This is the implication of this question: Does going to the temple (church etc) and working in it or being touched by it (so to speak) impart holiness to us? The answer is: NO
v13 If those things (the bread, stew etc) are touched by unclean things their status IS changed and they do become unclean. The problem is this: When we come into contact with impure or unclean things our status is changed, and we become unclean. Being unclean means that we are distanced or separated from G-d.
v14 Although these people have worked on the temple, and although they worship in it, the temple itself does not have the capacity to bring about a change in their status. It cannot make them clean or holy.
✨Something had to change if there was going to be any hope for these people...any hope for us🤔
The book of Haggai,
Our week begins with Haggai 2:15-19
v15 Carefully consider: Pay attention, set your hearts and minds to it.
✨From this day - we were told in 2:10 (and will be told in 2:18) that this day is the 24th day of the ninth month (Kislev) - the evening of the start of Hanukkah.
✨The people were being asked to think about the time before the rebuilding of the temple took place.
v16 They had an expectation but it was not fulfilled. This should remind us of what we read earlier - the second temple seemed insignificant in the eyes of the people - it was not quite what they were hoping for. Something needed to be done in order for a change to take place.
v17 No-one was turning to God and seeking Him properly.
v18 This date emphasized again.
✨Foundation - In Is 28:16 Isaiah prophesied that G-d was going to lay a stone for a foundation in Zion. Psalm 118:22 tells us that that stone was going to be rejected, but that it would become the chief cornerstone. Yeshua prophesied in Matt 21:44 that the one who stumbled or fell over this stone was going to be destroyed. Peter (quoting Isaiah - 1Pt 2:6) revealed to us that those who believe in the chief cornerstone will never be ashamed. The foundation of our faith, the rock of our salvation, is Yeshua!
v19 G-d is promising here that he is going to bless the seed (the vine, the fig etc) which is still in the barn. He is going to bless them before they are even able to bear fruit. The expectation here is that He is going to bless them from this day - the 24th day of Kislev (the eve of Hannukah).
The book of Haggai,
Our last portion of Haggai: 2:20-23
v20 Once again we see the 24th of Kislev being emphasized.
v21 Zerubbabel is a leader in the land and holds a position of authority. Rabbinical and Christian scholars say he is a typology for the Messiah - Yeshua.
✨Shaking the heavens and earth is very similar to what we read in chapter 2:6. There is going to be a new creation. There is a relationship between this day (the 24th Kislev) and the revelation of the Kingdom of G-d. In what way is the start of Hanukkah (the dedication) connected to the Kingdom of God? We will explore this in a bit...
v22 In this verse we see a massive change is going to take place. This is what Yeshua is going to do when He returns for His second coming - Rev 19:11-16 (Remember, the rapture is a VERY different event to the second coming of Yeshua. No-one knows the day or the hour when the rapture will take place, but is it possible to know the day when the second coming will take place?? )
✨Every one by the sword of his brother: They are not going to fight God, but are going to fight and kill each other. G-d's coming will cause such confusion in the midst of the armies (see what happened in 2 Chron 20:4-29).
v23 'In that day' gives this prophecy a last day context.
✨My servant: Old Testament prophets used this term to speak about the coming Messiah.
✨A signet ring: A seal. A seal marked authority. Yeshua is the One who speaks of the promise and seals it with the signature of God.
So, let's answer the unanswered questions that were asked above:
In John 10:22-39 Yeshua went to Jerusalem for Hannukah - the feast of dedication (Hanukkah is an eight-day festival. Eight is a Biblical number associated with new beginnings and a change taking place) It was winter, and Yeshua was pacing up and down in a place that Solomon had built - this place was the closest an unauthorized person could get to the Holy of Holies.
While Yeshua was in this place, the leaders gathered around Him and asked Him to tell them plainly whether or not He was the Messiah. They wanted evidence and action - they didn't want words. It is believed that on one Hanukkah Messiah (who we know as Yeshua) is going to enter into the Holy of Holies. When He sits on the mercy seat, it is believed, that the Kingdom of G-d is going to be inaugurated (dedicated). This is what the leaders in Jerusalem wanted Yeshua to do in order to demonstrate to them whether He was in fact the Messiah or not. The purpose of Yeshua's first coming, though, was not to inaugurate His Kingdom - but this will be the purpose of His second coming. This is why the leaders got so angry with Yeshua. He made a claim that He was G-d (He gave them His Word) but that was not enough for them - they wanted to see Him enter into the Holy of Holies and take His seat.
Now on the flip side of this we read about Antiochus Epiphanes (around 168BC) who went into the Holy of Holies and corrupted it. He is a type of antichrist. We are also going to see this at the end when the antichrist goes into the Holy of Holies and declares himself G-d (Dan 9:27, Dan 11:31, Dan 12:11, Mt 24:15 and 2 Thess 2:3-4)
With all of this in mind let's turn to Daniel 12:11.
A time is coming when a third temple will be built in Jerusalem. Sacrifices are going to be restarted. And then they are going to be taken away. From that time the counting can begin, and this verse says we can count 1290 days (just over 3.5years).
There seems to be a date discrepancy - Rev 11:3 and Rev 12:6 speak of 1260 days - we have a "missing" 30-day period. In Jewish tradition 30 days is the period of mourning. Therefore, we can conclude that those additional thirty days are days of mourning (Zech 12:10-14)
The book of Haggai,
After these days of mourning Daniel adds another 45 days to the tally (Dan 12:12). So that is a total of 75 extra days - 1260+30+45
Zechariah 13:1 speaks of a day of washing away the impurity of the children of Israel. On the Biblical calendar the day set aside for this is Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
On the Biblical calendar there are 75 days between Yom Kippur (the washing away of sins) and Hanukkah (the day of dedication).
On that 24th day of Kislev G-d is going to lay the foundation of His Kingdom – the dedication and inauguration of Messiah Yeshua. For the 1000 years that follow, Yeshua is going to rule and reign, in His millennial Kingdom, from the Holy of Holies!
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