MPV Commentary

Third Prophecy. Sacrifices without obedience (in respect to God's command to build the temple) could not sanctify. Now that they are obedient, God will bless them, though no sign is seen of fertility as yet.

10. The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month arrived, three days more than two months from the second prophecy (Hag 2:1). This was in the month Chisleu, which corresponds to our December. It appears that the Jews had made significant progress in their work during this interval (Hag 2:15-18).

11. The prophet asked the priests to consider a question related to the law. As authorized expounders of the law, they were responsible for interpreting its requirements.

12. "Holy flesh" indeed makes holy the "skirt" in which it is carried; however, that "skirt" cannot impart its sanctity to anything beyond. This principle illustrates that a sacrifice, though holy and enveloping divine things, cannot by its inherent efficacy make holy a person whose disobedience has made them unholy.

13. On the other hand, an unclean person can impart their uncleanness to others, whereas a holy thing cannot confer its sanctity on someone who is unclean (Nu 19:11, 13, 22). Legal sanctity is not as easily communicated as legal impurity. The paths to sin are numerous, but the path to holiness is singular and difficult to access.

14. Then Haggai responded, saying, "So is this people" – a people who had previously been in an unobedient state of mind, unworthy of being called God's people (Tit 1:15). He applied the two cases just stated. By the first case, their offerings could not make them holy because they lacked the spirit of obedience; by the second case, they made their very offerings unclean through their disobedience.

15. Consider your past actions and compare them to your current state. Ponder earnestly, retracing the past "upward" (that is, backward), comparing what evils befell you before you began this work with the present time when you have again commenced it. You may perceive the evils of disobedience and the blessing of obedience.

16. Since those days of neglecting the temple work have passed, recall that when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. Similarly, fifty vessels out of the press yielded only half their expected amount.

17. This situation is reminiscent of Amos 4:9, where God's displeasure is evident due to Israel's disobedience. The lack of fertility and abundance in their crops is a result of their neglect of God's command to build the temple.

18. Affliction can harden the heart if not referred to God as its author. This has been the case since the foundation of the temple was laid, but now that they have begun to obey, God promises a blessing in an abundant harvest.

19. Is the seed yet in the barn? – implying, It is not. The crops have already been sown this month, and there are no signs of their bearing a good crop or being safely stored in the barn. Yet I promise you from this day forward a blessing in an abundant harvest. So also the vine, trees, and other crops that have borne little or nothing will be blessed with productiveness. This will demonstrate that the blessing is due to Me, not to nature. We may trust God's promise to bless us, though we see no visible sign of its fulfillment (Hab 2:3).