Phrase

OT

Haggai 2:20-23

esv

God Will Shake and Destroy All Earthly Kingdoms

The word ... came

of the Lord

Producer

a second time

Temporal

to Haggai

Destination

on the twenty- fourth day

of the month,

Partitive

“Speak

Content

to Zerubbabel,

governor

Explanation

of Judah,

Subordination

saying,

Manner

I am about to shake the heavens

Temporal #1a

and the earth,

and to overthrow the throne

Temporal #1b

of kingdoms.

Subord. or Epex.

I am about to destroy the strength

Temporal #2a

of the kingdoms

Possessive

of the nations,

Subord. or Epex.

and overthrow the chariots

Temporal #2b

and their riders.

And the horses ... shall go down,

Result

and their riders

Accompaniment

every one

by the sword

Means

of his brother.

God Will Exalt His Chosen One

On that day,

declares the Lord

Source

of hosts,

Epexegetical

I will take you, O Zerubbabel

Content #1

my servant,

the son

of Shealtiel,

Relationship

declares the Lord,

and make you

Content #2

like a signet ring,

Comparison

for I have chosen you,

Ground

declares the Lord

of hosts.”

phrasing

Notes

FB Live Notes: This passage is the last oracle in the book of Haggai. God's people, led by Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest, have obeyed God's message through Haggai and made building God's temple their priority, putting him and his will first instead of their own comforts. The previous oracle ( 2:10-19 ) ended with a promise of blessing upon their obedience (v. 19), and this oracle was given upon the very same day, making another promise of blessing. But this promise of blessing isn't immediate, but brings us further in the future, to the "last days" of history (see Boda, 160). The main point of the passage is the fact that God gave a message to Haggai to give to Zerubbabel, and the content of that message. It is an oracle, after all. The emphasis of Haggai's message is what God will do to Zerubbabel on the day he shakes the heavens and earth and destroys the kingdoms of the nations. --- The “signet ring” (23j) shows a reversal of God’s judgment. See Jer 22:24-30. It also implies rule as king ! This passage refers to Sodom and Gomorrah ("overthrow" in 22a; cf. Gen 19:25 ) the Exodus ("go down" in 22h; cf. Ex 15:5 ) and Gideon ("every one" and "sword" in 22j-k; cf. Judg 7:22 ) are referred to. --- So what does it mean to say that God will do this to Zerubbabel ? God didn't break his word when Zerubbabel wasn't literally Messiah. Cf. Hos 3:4-5 ; Ezek 34:23-24 about David. "Zerubbabel is projected on the screen as a representative of the coming Messiah, perhaps as being the Messiah" (Verhoef, 141). "The fact that the subsequent history had not verified the validity of this expectation need not imply a prophetic error. The fulfillment of prophecy is a complex matter; many times it occurs in stages, the one after the other. As time passed, and Zerubbabel was not honored as had been expected, the messianic hopes were transferred via his descendants, until they were fulfilled centrally in the first and will be fulfilled finally in the second coming of Christ" (ibid.). "Haggai is declaring that God is doing a new thing in their day, and Zerubbabel is a symbol of the future of the Davidic line. This is not lost on the writers of both Matthew and Luke, who include Zerubbabel in their list of Jesus’ lineage" (Boda, 167). See Matt 1:12; Luke 3:27. "The opening sermon of the early church, which Peter preached on Pentecost, emphasizes Jesus’ fulfillment of the Davidic hope that God would place one of his descendants on his throne ( Acts 2:30 )" (Boda, 168). --- So how do we apply this? How can we build God's temple? "By rebuilding the temple, the people in Haggai’s day are fulfilling the priorities of the Davidic line, providing a palace for the Great King, Yahweh. The ultimate purpose of this rebuilding project is now revealed: It is the first step in the program of God to bring his rule to the nations of the world " (Boda, 166). And God's temple is Christ today, as seen on earth in his body, the church! See 2 Cor 6:18 and 2 Sam 7:8, 14, where “the apostle Paul can transform the promise originally directed to the Davidic line into a promise for the new community of Christ, the church” (Boda, 168). God wants to spread his glory in the world through us. He does this through the power of his resurrected and reigning king, who has all power in heaven and earth, and who sends us as his messengers to spread his rule (Matt 28:18-20) (see Boda, 168). "The splendor of the new temple and the glory of the throne of David will, amid the turmoil in nature and among the nations, be fulfilled in Christ, centrally at his first and finally at his second advent" (Verhoef, 149).

notes