Haggai 2 ~ And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of Hosts

Haggai 2

2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 
3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 

Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 

7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 

9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”


10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: 12 ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. 

15 Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16 how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17 I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 18 Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. 

Since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider: 19 Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”


20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother. 23 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”





Consider the Second Exodus - the Babylonian Exile - we see again and again how real the impossible Scriptures are.

It's Impossible Enslaved People Believe God and Begin to Count Their Blessings He has Given.

Jeremiah was imprisoned in the 500-year-old King David's Palace's hole in the ground called imprisonment. And in archaeology, we find Jeremiah's Servant, Baruch's seal, listed exactly as the Bible list's Baruch's genealogy - found where the Scriptures say both men conducted business.

Jeremiah was generally not thought well of by the fallen officials. It would be logical the Biblical Holy Spirit inspired statements of Jeremiah in Judean slavery would really make Jeremiah particularly disliked. However, Nebuchadnezzar II as he entered Jerusalem, the second of three sieges, hears of Jeremiah's captivity and his first orders are the release of Jeremiah. And in captivity, Nebuchadnezzar sorts the priests and gives the slave priests their own houses located looking over the Chebar River. And freedom to worship and gather on the Sabbath. This is Highly Unusual Slavery. In fact - this sounds like a far-fetched tale. Except the Cuneiforms of Babylon are clearly legible and held in the U.K. match the Biblical accounts to the smallest details.






Jeremiah says Zerubbabel is never to be king over Judah Israel - never will the members of the Davidic line sit on the throne again.

What?

They had trusted in their kings and had begun to say as Moses had said - they were never slaves in Egypt. Merely moved from the North to Israel. Josiah had by accident located Scriptures because they had been Lost in the Temple and were unknown. Obedience to God was for the simple minded. And probably many did not mind being a puppet state of the Chaldean/Babylonian Empire - far more likely to have better trade.

God has placed His People where they are going to suddenly believe what Jeremiah said and all their lives are spent looking at the 70 years to escape slavery. Their conversations, convictions and beliefs are going to revolve around the Promises God makes to His people.



This is fact.
Zerubbabel is only offered the governorship. Probably because Darius and Cyrus remember the poor response Nebuchadnezzar received from the puppet kings of the Davidic Line. Remember Daniel - Daniel's name means "God (El) is my judge" - was given a new more fitting to the Chaldean/Babylonian Empire name of Belteshazzar - which means, "Bel protect the king' - one of many deities, Bel. Something of "a new god for you" slap in the face. And this ties Ezra together here. Ezra begins with Cyrus the Great entrusting the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar (Hebrew: שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר‬, Modern Šešbaṣár, Tiberian Šēšebaṣar, "prince of Judah", probably from Akkadian Chaldean/Babylonian language. Zerubbabel if the name is not Hebrew but Assyrian-Babylonian, Zəru Bābel, meaning, "Seed of Babylon", the one conceived in Babylon. Zerubbabel in Cuneiform Babylonian is said to have this name because of his interaction with the Babylonian court. After his Davidic father was released from Nebuchadnezzar's prisons  - where even the food allotment is recorded by cuneiform.

(Another possibility is death of one of the many sons of Jeconiah, King of Judah of David's Line.)

After Josiah and his son, then King Jeconiah was deposed as king Jeconiah would later be regarded as the first of the exilarchs. In the Book of Ezekiel, the author refers to Jeconiah as king and dates certain events by the number of years he was in exile. According to 2 Kings 25:27-30, Jeconiah was released from prison "in the 37th year of the exile", in the year that Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach, son of Nebuchadnezzar II) came to the throne, and given a prestigious position at court. Jeconiah's release in Babylon brings to a close the Books of Kings and the Deuteronomistic history. Babylonian records show that Amel-Marduk began his reign in October 562 BC. According to 2 Kings 25:27, Jeconiah was released from prison "on the 27th day of the twelfth month": this indicates the first year of captivity to be 598/597 BC, according to Judah's Tishri-based calendar. The 37th year of captivity was thus, by Judean reckoning, the year that began in Tishri of 562, consistent with the synchronism to the accession year of Amel-Marduk given in Babylonian records.

It's Impossible a Davidic King is given back to Judah. Impossible the Temple Tools of Moses and Solomon return. Impossible a Davidic King begins building the Second Temple. And yet even this Mosaic in Archaeology poinst to Nehemiah. Confirming Nehemiah's trusted statue as "Taster to the King."

Due to the influences of Nebuchadnezzar II believing Isaiah 13 was about his life - the slaves realize God has not abandoned them and, in fact, this is God's Plan and Path to bring the Temple of God to God. It would be utterly and completely unbelievable - except History and the Bible record the same events again and again and again.

The Mercy of God falls upon the House of David. Scripture is fulfilled. The Temple is built. Joseph, earthly father of Jesus Christ, is recorded showing up in Nazareth to collect his betrothed - Mary. The Scriptures record Joseph goes to Nazareth to collect Mary. Joseph has no problem to have the expense of moving and changing nations. Later Scripture tells us Joseph has the luxury to consider taking up residence in Jerusalem and the reconsidering due to Herod's family in power. Joseph has probably lived in Jerusalem as the family of kings prospered. And his betrothed is of Davidic lineage, but not of the kings. This might have been a Davidic consideration for the match.





And like Jesus - Israel was finished as a Nation - dead. 1 Just as Jacob's Sons depart for 500 years. 2. When the Temple and Jerusalem are destroyed in the Second Exodus, 70 years.  3. In 70 A.D. when Jerusalem and Israel perish until 1945. God assures us All Things are Possible.




Abba, Holy Father,

And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of Hosts.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Giving thanks for Jackson's good days and more to come we pray. Asking for Beaux Springer Spaniel's left ear to dry and recover completely. Jesus, we ask for Your healing.

In Peace, we lie down sleep to see His mercies renew. We pray this for ourselves, the drought on the west coast and British Columbia and for the Carolinas. God's Grace and Mercy.

In Jesus. Amen

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †