CRITICAL NOTES.]
Haggai 2:20-23.] Renewal of promise to save in convulsions.
Haggai 2:21. Shake] Points back to Haggai 2:6 and Haggai 2:7.
Haggai 2:22. Throne] Government which binds nations together (Daniel 7:27). War-chariots, horses, and riders, military power, and support of kingdoms, to be overthrown by one another’s sword. “One hostile kingdom will destroy another, and in the last conflict the heathen hosts will annihilate one another” (cf. Ezekiel 38:21; Zechariah 14:13) [Keil].
Haggai 2:23.] At that time Jehovah would take Zerubbabel, invest him with power and authority as head over all, as kings depute viceroys by giving them their signet (Esther 3:10; Esther 8:2). Some think, as seals and rings were objects of great value and regard, so Zerubbabel would be dear, and held close, to God—an object of incessant care and delight (Jeremiah 22:24; Song of Solomon 8:6). In a theocratic sense he restored the reign of David. What was promised to him was equally promised to all faithful rulers of Judah. They would be guardians of the people, and should stand secure amid the fall of earthly kingdoms. This prosperity and triumph of old prefigured the Redeemer’s reign, whom God would exalt on the throne of David (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:2), crown as king of the earth (Psalms 89:27), and endow with a kingdom which will never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44; Hebrews 12:28; 1 Corinthians 15:24).
HOMILETICS
THE PRESERVATION OF GOD’S PEOPLE AMID THE OVERTHROW OF EMPIRES.—Haggai 2:20-23
The same day in which God promised the bounties of nature, the prophet received a second message for Zerubbabel, who was concerned for the interests of Zion in predicted revolutions. God would overturn the nations, but preserve his people and their rulers as elect and precious in his sight.
I. Earthly kingdoms will be overthrown. “I will shake the heavens and the earth” (cf. Haggai 2:6-7).
1. Overthrown by Divine agency. “I will shake”—“I will overthrow,” and “I will destroy.” God is enthroned over all kingdoms, puts down one, and exalts another in his pleasure (Daniel 2:21; Luke 1:52).
2. Overthrown by mutual strife. “Every one by the sword of his brother.” Men opposed to God are often opposed to one another. If national truth and righteousness do not control national life, then we may expect self-destruction, if not fratricidal war. Mutual destruction is a feature of Divine judgment upon wicked nations at the end of the world. “Every man’s sword shall be against his brother” (Ezekiel 38:8-9; Ezekiel 38:21; Isaiah 9:19).
3. Overthrown in military strength. “The strength of the kingdoms,” that which supports them—their chariots and horsemen, and all their military preparations. The kingdoms shall be shaken, thrones upset, and dynasties destroyed. Every people will be shorn of its strength, fall, and cease to be; but the Church of God will be preserved, when unfaithful nations are blotted out of existence.
II. God’s people will be protected. “In that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, will I take thee,” to protect and promote thee and thy people to honour.
1. Certain protection. The words, “saith the Lord of Hosts,” are given three times, for greater assurance and confirmation of faith.
2. A delightful protection. “I have chosen thee.” God loves his people, and chooses them for himself. He will never cast them off, but make them subjects of his special care. They are a seal upon his heart, a seal upon his arm (Daniel 7:13); and hidden in the shadow of his hand (Isaiah 49:2).
3. An everlasting protection. As the ring is inseparable from its possessor, so God’s people will be permanently connected with him, and become his special inheritance. As royal signets on the eternal hand shall they be safely guarded. They are sealed in Christ, and safe for ever—heirs of that kingdom before which all earthly dominions shall fall. “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Haggai 2:22. The overthrow prophesied is universal. It is not one throne only, as of Persia, but the throne, i.e., the sovereigns of kingdoms; not a change of dynasty, but a destruction of their strength; not of a few powers only, but the kingdoms of the heathen; and that in detail; that in which their chief strength lay, the chariots and horsemen and their riders, and this man by man, every one by the sword of his brother [Pusey].
Haggai 2:23. As a signet.
1. A token of value.
2. A token of love (Song of Solomon 8:6).
3. A token of remembrance. This promise is the reverse of Jeconiah’s sentence: “though he were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence” (Jeremiah 22:24). “Zerubbabel was a devoted servant of God. God acknowledges his faithfulness. Only the beginning of all was with God. God speaks of the nearness to himself which he had given him. But in two words he cuts off all possible boastfulness of his creature. Zerubbabel was all this, not of himself, but because God had chosen him” [Pusey]. In his theocratic relation he represented and preserved the kingdom of David. Hence he is regarded by many as a type of Christ, the son of David, and descendant of Zerubbabel (cf. 1 Chronicles 3:19; Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27), in whom the kingdom shall be perpetuated. It will be assailed, but never destroyed. All nations that resist shall be broken to pieces, and scattered like chaff before the wind.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Haggai 2:21-23. Overthrow. In spite of man’s short-sighted endeavours to dispose of events according to his own wishes and his own purposes, there is an Intelligence beyond his reason, which holds the scales of justice, and promotes his well-being in spite of his puny efforts [Morier]. Take thee. The weakest believer is safe, because, by believing, he is within the strongest of all defences. None can pluck him out of the hands of Christ (Proverbs 14:26). “Let God be thy love and thy fear, and he will be also thy refuge” [Nicholls].