Haggai 2:23

"In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith Jehovah, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith Jehovah of hosts."

We must apologize for those writers who suppose that Haggai thought Zerubbabel was the Messiah, and that such is what he wrote in this passage. That Haggai and all of Israel might indeed have had such a notion is true enough; but this passage does not say that.

"In that day ..." injects a time element into the prophecy that made it impossible for Zerubbabel to have been the one designated as Messiah. "In that day" in the prophecies almost invariably means "in the days of the New Covenant," "in the last days," "in the times of the kingdom of Christ," or "at a time far removed from the present."

Zerubbabel stands in this passage as a type of the Messiah; and as "the only son of David" known to the world of that day, Haggai's use of his name is a prophecy that, in time, the "Son of David," who is Christ the Lord would fulfil the prophecy. A very similar thing was done by Malachi who stated that Elijah would come "before the great and notable day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5), which prophecy had no reference whatever to literal Elijah, dead and buried for centuries, but on the other hand was a prophecy of John the Baptist who would come "in the spirit and power" of Elijah. Similarly, Jesus, the true Messiah, was the true "Son of David," a title held by Zerubbabel only by accommodation. A note in the Douay Version states: "This promise relates to Christ who was of the race of Zerubbabel."<26a> "The meaning is that the Messianic descent was to come through Zerubbabel, of the line of David, just as it did through David himself."[27] And, of course, both the Matthew and Lucan genealogies show that this was exactly fulfilled. Zerubbabel stands in both of them. "David's secure throne (that of Christ) is here contrasted with the tottering dynasties of the world."[28]

"Jesus Christ has raised up the kingdom of his father David, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Even though it may appear oppressed and humiliated for the time by the power of the kingdoms of the heathen, it will never be crushed and destroyed, but will break in pieces all these kingdoms and destroy them, and will endure forever (Daniel 2:44; Hebrews 12:28; 1 Corinthians 15:24)."[29]

"I will make thee as a signet ..." The signet ring conferred upon its wearer the full authority and power of the giver; and this is a pledge of the absolute authority and power of Jesus Christ. As Deane put it, "The true Zerubbabel, Christ, the son and antitype of Zerubbabel, is the signet in the hand of the Father."[30] "Haggai, like Zechariah, saw in Zerubbabel the Messianic King,"[31] This was in the fullness of time fully vindicated as an authentic vision. It is pointless to speculate upon Haggai's complete understanding of what Jehovah here said, or not. Whether he did, or didn't, he faithfully reported God's Word.

Zerubbabel is seen as a type of Christ in that, "He led the people out of Babylonian bondage, as Christ would lead his people out of the bondage of sin. Also, he built a temple, as Christ built the far greater Temple of his Church."[32]

All of the commentators mention what they call Haggai's disappointment at Zerubbabel's turning out not to be the Msesiah, but even if such a supposition was true, it could not have been due to anything that Haggai wrote. "That day" mentioned in this final passage, as Galley pointed out "is the Day of the Lord when the heavens and the earth will be shaken,"[33] in fact removing the fulfillment of the prophecy to times long subsequent to Haggai. The spiritual legacy which Haggai has left us is, "the assurance that God will be with his people when they act in faith and obedience to the demand that he be given the first place."[34]

See below for a summary of the entire prophecy:

SUMMARY OF THE PROPHECY

Wonderful things had happened to Israel, the people at that time being Judah and Benjamin alone, Ephraim and the northern tribes having been permanently removed from history. Judah also had fallen completely away from God except for a precious remnant; and Judah suffered the same fate as Ephraim, being carried into slavery; but there was a glorious distinction. Judah would continue throughout history.

Contrary to what any human could have supposed, the king (Cyrus) of the enslaving power freed them, ordered their return to Palestine and the rebuilding of the house of their God! At first, a remnant of the people obeyed; and they even erected an altar to God on the ancient site in Jerusalem; but then their zeal faded, and for half a lifetime the old Temple continued to lie in ruins. It might have remained that way forever; but the mighty Haggai challenged and overcame the lethargy of the people. His four addresses to the people make up the book that bears his name in the Bible.

THE FIRST MESSAGE

(Elul, Aug./Sept., 520 B.C.)

Arise, and build the Temple! The hard times you people are having are due to your unfaithfulness in not rebuilding the Temple. If you want better times, then do better in fulfilling your religious obligations. Get busy! Go up to the mountains; cut the timber, and get on with the work, now! Let's have none of that nonsense about the time not being ripe; do you suppose the times are ripe for you to live in your nice houses while the house of God lies in ruins ? God will again be with you people, if you will only get to work doing your duty.

THE SECOND MESSAGE

(In Teshri, Sept./Oct., 520 B.C.)

(After construction had promptly begun and the outline of the new Temple began to appear.) Some of you older ones remember the glory and extravagant wealth of the First Temple, and you are belittling this one because of its inferiority in your eyes; but the glory of this house shall exceed that of the first (Haggai 2:9). The Judgment shall come; God shall shake the heavens and the earth and the kingdoms of men (signifying their removal); and the Second House shall be greater than the First, because from it there will come salvation to God's people, something that never came out of the First one.

Of particular interest in Haggai's use of "little while" in Haggai 2:6 to describe the entire history of God's dealings with humanity until the end of time, corresponding exactly with the apostle John's use of "little time" to describe the period of human probation ending in the final judgment (Revelation 6:11), and "short time" to describe the period of Satan's operations against mankind (Revelation 12:12).

THE THIRD MESSAGE

(Chisleu, Nov./Dec., 520 B.C.)

You people seem to have another objection, claiming that you are entitled to God's blessings already, because you have erected an altar and make sacrifices to God. Well, that is a very small thing; and holiness is not that contagious! One good apple cannot make a barrel of rotten apples good; and your little token of serving God is not nearly enough to entitle you to the presumption of holiness. Through two whole generations of pollution incurred by you in the land of your captivity, you are thoroughly unclean; and nothing but a wholehearted return of the whole remnant (all the returnees) to God, and their diligent service to God continually will really entitle you to God's blessings. If you think that little token rebuilding you started sixteen years ago does it, take a look; look at the failure of the wine, and the grain; and even when you got a little harvest, God blew it away; so get with it, and complete the Temple!

(Significantly, Haggai here connected the very class of disasters modern man likes to explain solely upon the basis of "natural causes" as judgmental in character.)

THE FOURTH MESSAGE

(Chisleu, Nov./Dec., 520 B.C.)

In this, uttered the very same day as the third message, Haggai returned to the prophecy of final judgment and ultimate salvation of God's people.

God will shake the heavens and the earth and overthrow all the kingdoms of men, "every one by the sword of his brother." Zerubbabel will be a signet ring to God. This mention of Zerubbabel is not a mistaken identification of Zerubbabel as the Messiah; but it is a prophecy of Christ, of whom Zerubabbel was a type. Salvation and Judgment are the twin themes of these two Messianic prophecies here and in Haggai 1:1-9. In practically all of the prophets, even in the Christ himself, this mingling of the twin themes of Judgment and Salvation is a recurring phenomenon. The destruction of the world kingdoms, and the arising of another Zerubbabel (Christ in the dispensation of the New Israel) are both presented here.

Zerubbabel's significance lies in the fact of his being the only visible heir and successor to David that was known in that age; and the inclusion of the Babylonian governor of Israel in the prophecy meant that God's ancient promise to David of one to sit upon his throne was yet valid, that it still stood, and that "in that day" the new Zerubbabel would appear. The expression, "in that day," practically always a reference to the "last times," makes it impossible to refer the words here to the Zerubbabel known to Haggai. Of course, Zerubbabel was an excellent type of Christ. He led the people out of slavery; Christ leads men out of sin; he built a temple; Christ built the greater temple of his Church; etc.

May the Lord ever bless the study of His Sacred Word!