Haggai
ò
òòòòòòòòòòòò
Introduction[i]
The
last three prophets prophesied after the Babylonish captivity. God, as we have
seen in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, brought back a small remnant of His
people, who were re-established in Jerusalem and in the land; but the throne of
God was not again set up there, neither was the royalty of the house of David
reinstated in its original authority. The empire of the Gentile head had been
in a certain sense judged as not having fulfilled its duty to God, who had
given it its authority. But another empire, raised up among the Gentiles, had
taken the place of the first; and, while under the overruling hand of God (who
disposes of the hearts of all) favourable to the Jews, still held the people of
God in subjection to its yoke-the yoke of those who were not in covenant with
God, but still aliens to His promises. God recognised the power of the empire
which He had established. Israel was therefore dependent on the favour of those
who ruled over them because of their sins, and had to wait upon God to render
them favourable, worshipping Him according to His merciful appointments, until
the Messiah should come, who would be their Redeemer and Deliverer.
Deprived
of almost everything, Israel were not deprived of the lovingkindness of their
God, on which they should have reckoned, and of which they had received a
striking testimony, in the return of the remnant from the lands in which they
had been captive. If all else were lost, the fear of God and His law in their
hearts remained to them; and godliness might now be exercised in the manner
which He had prescribed (compare Deuteronomy 30).
The
three prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, set before us the
encouragements which God gave the people, that they might be faithful in their
new position; and the testimony against their unfaithfulness, called for by the
decay of their piety, and the total want of reverence for Jehovah into which
the people had fallen. The temple was necessarily the centre of this imperfect
and intermediate state of the people. It was there, if God allowed the
re-establishment of their worship, that the hearts of the people should centre.
That was the outward form in which their piety as a people should be expressed.
It was thus that the return of their heart to God should be manifested.
Whatever deficiencies there might be in the restored Levitical service, still,
it was the house of God, to which was attached all that could be
re-established, and was the centre of its exercise.
But
the faith of the Jews was quickly enfeebled, and they ceased to build. There
were difficulties, no doubt. It was not now as in the days of Solomon, when
everything was at the disposal of the king whose power extended over all the
neighbouring countries. But God had shewn His goodness towards His people by
inclining the heart of the king of Persia to favour them; and Israel should
have had confidence in the kindness of God, and have expected its fruits; but,
full of unbelief, they were speedily discouraged.
God
chastised His people, but He did so at the fitting time. He employs the means
which His sovereign grace so often used in the history we have been
considering. He raises up a prophet, and even two, to revive their courage and
stimulate them to the work. In the dealings of God, two things aid in deciding
the right time for His intervention, namely, moral considerations and God's
arrangement of events. In this case God had sufficiently chastised His people,
to make manifest His governmental dealings in the relations of grace, which He
now established with them by means of the prophets; and He had raised up a
prince who was disposed-if the people acted in faith-to acknowledge the will of
God and the decrees of Cyrus.
Having
thus prepared all both morally and providentially (for He makes everything work
together for our good), He sends His prophets to animate their courage and
their faith, so as to lead them to accomplish that which had always been their
duty.
They
should always have leaned directly upon God, and have gone on with the work,
unless hindered by force. [See Note #1] Now, also, they are called to proceed
with it, resting on God, without knowing the king's mind. Their confidence must
be in God, Himself. Moreover, without this, there would have been neither piety
nor faith in their labours. The king's support had been prepared by God for the
moment in which their faith should have been manifested. In fact, the
difficulty did not fail to arise; but, faith being in exercise, they continued
to build in spite of their enemies, being directed in their reply to these
enemies by the wisdom of God, and the king gives it his sanction. A difficulty
may be a real one, but it is only for the unbelief of hearts that it is an
obstacle, if on the path of God's will; for faith reckons upon God, and
performs that which He wills, and difficulties are as nothing before Him.
Unbelief can always find excuses, and excuses too that are apparently well
founded: they have only this capital defect, that they leave God out.
The
subject of Haggai is the temple. God having brought back the captives, they
immediately seek their own ease without seeking to rebuild the house of
Jehovah. Was it then a time to rebuild their own? There was tranquillity enough
for the latter-it required no faith-the world made no opposition. The prophet
exhibits the practical effect of this, the sensible chastisements of God even
as to their temporal interests. And why these chastisements? They neglected God
in neglecting His house. In truth, if they had thought of God, His house would
have been their first object.
The
people, moved by the fear of Jehovah, hearkened to the words of His servant the
prophet. But another difficulty stands in the way of faith; the painful
inferiority of all that can be accomplished by the remnant of His people, when
God brings them back from captivity. They can do nothing in comparison with the
former manifestation of His glory in the midst of His people. The effect of the
people's fall and of the captivity they had suffered is felt in everything. God
cannot identify His glory with an authority different from His own, exercised
over His people (and which must needs be so) as the result of His righteous
judgment, of His government on earth. He may lift them up-may restore them,
because He loves them; but it is no longer the same thing. He cannot
re-establish that direct connection which brings with it the manifestation of
His power and glory. That relationship had ended in the judgment. The
consciousness of this inferiority tends to weaken faith.
The
grace of God meets this difficulty by the testimony of the prophet. It is a
very sorrowful thing to see the ruin of that which God established in blessing,
and the weakness and imperfection of that which is raised upon those ruins,
although even this is the fruit of His precious grace.
The
prophet, without troubling himself as to the king's intentions, encourages the
people by turning their thoughts to Jehovah Himself, and shewing them that,
after all, Jehovah reigned, cared for them, and would have them act in view of
what He was for them, and seek His glory. For, weak as they were, He would thus
be in relationship with them.
Note #1:
This
actually happened (see Ezra 4: 24): but it is evident that, in consequence of
the spirit of unbelief working in them, its effect was to discourage them
entirely, so that they made no effort to recommence their work, saying,
"The time is not come that Jehovah's house should be built." It was
only the testimony of the Spirit by the prophet that aroused them from their
moral torpor.