Verse by verse commentary

Written c. 520BC

Why is this important?

The setting is in the restoration period / reformation period after coming out of Babylonian captivity

Background

Haggai – means Festive or My Feast (often there is meaning to names as we have noted in other commentaries of the prophets)

The Hebrew hag חַג chag means feast. A correlation between that and the temple being the focus of the feasts can be made.

Not much is known about Haggai but of course he is not the focus but rather he just a messenger of God. In the book of Ezra (5:1; 6:14) he is mentioned by name and called a prophet. He is the only Haggai in the Bible so there is no confusion there like with other popular names. He was a contemporary of Daniel and Zechariah and lived during the time of Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

Chronology

539 Babylon falls to Medo-Persians

Cyrus – Proclamation [538bc makes decree] (and later Darius I allowed it during his reign 522-486bc) allowed them to return and worship their own God, felt that they would be easier to rule if they had those liberties

Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
Ezra 1:2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.
Ezra 1:3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem.

536 bc about 50000 came back with Zerubbabel

Ezra 2:64 The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
Ezra 2:65 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred men and women singers.

457 about 2000 with Ezra

445 several thousand with Nehemiah

They started to rebuild the temple but then stopped for 16 years

Ezra 3:11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
Ezra 3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy,
Ezra 3:13 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

Some cried when they saw it [scripture]

God will fill it with glory

Samaritans gave them trouble after the Jews would not allow them to help. Wrote the Persians trying to get them to stop.

Ezra 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel,
Ezra 4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
Ezra 4:3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
Ezra 4:4 Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,
Ezra 4:5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Ezra 4:6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Ezra 4:7–24 Explains what they said and how they went about it.

They went off and Focused on their own things instead

Themes: building the temple; Day of the Lord

Haggai’s book was meant for the people of his own day as well as the coming of the Lord which is still in the future.

His job was to encourage and motivate to change/repent the Jews to build the temple (second one; the one that Herod would later add to). The first one (Solomon’s as it is called) was built sometime between 1000-950bc and was destroyed by the Babylonian’s taking the Jews into captivity.

Completed 516bc

Ezra 6:15 Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

Took 4 years to finish building the temple. The book of Haggai begins in the 2^nd year of Darius’ reign.

Herod the Great expansion occurred 19 bc and was destroyed in 70 ad

Chapter 1

Haggai 1:1 In the second year of King Darius (the First), in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

Word of the Lord (520bc)

1^st Message – August 29^th (Haggai 1:1 in the sixth month, on the first day of the month)
2^nd Message – October 17^th (Haggai 2:1 seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month)
3^rd Message – December 18^th(Haggai 2:10 in the ninth month, on the twenty-fourth day of the month)
4^th Message – December 18^th (Haggai 2:20 in the ninth month, on the twenty-fourth day of the month)

The 4 messages all occur within 4 months

The word of the Lord came to Haggai at least 4 separate times as a message for him to deliver to the people on behalf of God – From the 6^th month 1^st day to 9^th month 24^th day.

Son of Shealtiel… nephew

it is was for all Jews (see Ezra 5:1; Haggai 1:14).

Ezra 5:1 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

[recommend reading Ezra in conjunction with this]

Haggai 1:2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.” ‘ “

The word Haggai consistently uses for the temple in His book literally means house, as the King James Version renders it. The idea is that of a dwelling place for God.

Samaritan’s giving them trouble. The Jews were waiting for some forthcoming miraculous circumstances.

70 Years of Captivity (God is Against Them)

Jeremiah 25:8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words,
Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Jeremiah 25:10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
Jeremiah 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jeremiah 25:12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.
Jeremiah 25:13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.
Jeremiah 25:14 (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ “

One thought among some of the commentators: 70 years up; this was the prophetic excuse that they were using not to rebuild to temple. These verses were being misapplied

Jeremiah 29:10 For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.

Making excuses; too busy with their own things is what it boils down to

Haggai 1:3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,

God’s reply to Haggai 1:2

Haggai 1:4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled [covered; roofed] houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?”

You have put the time and effort into your house and not into My house

This is the counter-intuitive way that God works, at least it is to the carnal and ungodly mind is that if you put time into what God says you will be more productive in other aspects of your life.

We are going to see how God tries to get this point across and get them to change their focus

Consider Your Ways

Haggai 1:5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!

Actions have consequences

Consider… most often translated “heart”

(LITV) And now, so says Jehovah of Hosts: Set your heart on your ways!

Set your “Your inner part, your inner man, mind, your reflection, inclination and conscience” on your ways.

We will see this refrain echoed 3 more times in this 2 chapter book (Haggai 1:7; 2:15, 18)

Haggai 1:6 “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

Cause and effect (thematic message throughout all the prophets)

Deuteronomy 28 cause and effect

Deuteronomy 28:1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
Deuteronomy 28:2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:

Haggai 1:7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!

You really need to sit up and take notice

(See also Haggai 1:5; 2:15, 18)

Haggai 1:8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD.

The book is encapsulated in this verse

So here is the thing that God would like for them to do. If God is pleased, then it will go well with them. They were to focus on Him and His House, but they were doing just the opposite in the next verse (Haggai 1:9) and because of it they were not blessed

You went in pursuit of abundance, but only found very little! What you did manage to bring home, God blew it away like it was chaff

Why? Here is the cause and effect: they neglected God and invested in themselves to His detriment. In running to their own homes they were running away from God’s house. Now we see the cause and effect – in particular the cursings for disobedience:

Haggai 1:10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
Haggai 1:11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

They Changed

Haggai 1:12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the LORD.

They obeyed and feared God (another theme throughout the Bible and feast days)

Yay!!! This is one of the few times that we have recorded in the Bible that the people did what they were supposed to do; what they were told to do… and guess what, it went well for them.

God is With Them

Haggai 1:13 Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the LORD.”

How encouraging is that?

What happens when God is against you (recall Jeremiah)

Jeremiah 25:8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words,
Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

Haggai 1:14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,

Haggai 1:15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.

three weeks from Haggai’s initial message God stirs them to work

Chapter 2

Haggai 2:1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying:

2^nd Message of 4 (Haggai 2:1-9)

1^st was in Hag 1:1 and the rest are in this second and final chapter of Haggai

7^th day of the Feast of Tabernacles; the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles

John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Let’s notice what happens on this day

Haggai 2:2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying:

This message to everyone

Encouragement and Perspective

Haggai 2:3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?

Comparison and contrast

We read before in the first part Ezra 3:12-13 that many cried when they saw the 2^nd temple. 70 years there were some who had seen both and more than likely had kept the Feast of Tabernacles at that time.

The Babylonian Talmud talks of five things missing from the Temple of Solomon:

the Ark of the Covenant (with the Ten Commandments inside)
the holy fire
the Shekinah glory (the presence of God)
the spirit of prophecy (the holy spirit)
the Urim and Thummim

It was also smaller and not as grandiose, but is it really nothing?

Haggai 2:4 Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the LORD; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the LORD of hosts.

Repeating things 3 times for emphasis and memory

Not only that but these words had to resonate with them Deuteronomy 31:6-8

not only the words but the story that goes along with the scriptures

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it.
Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

God is with them – a promise if we are to do this work

Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Haggai 2:5 ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’

Exodus 19 Sinai covenant blessing based on conditional promises

do not fear!… This is just saying basically the same thing as “ I am with you” in previous verse (Haggai 2:4). Fear is lack of faith – God is saying He is with you, have faith!

Plus if God is with you who can be against you.

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Haggai 2:6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
Haggai 2:7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.

shake all nations…

context from :5 “when you came out of Egypt”

Quoted here and explained in more detail:

Hebrews 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,
Hebrews 12:26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN.”
Hebrews 12:27 Now this, “YET ONCE MORE,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

After all the shaking is done and the dust settles only the Kingdom of God will remain

This is why Matthew 6:33

This is a prophecy for the end time. We will see some more contributing proofs to this later (Haggai 2:23)

What we see here is the Day of the Lord events which is a theme of this section.

Desire of All Nations… Christ

Isaiah 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

I will fill this temple with glory… no matter what you think it looks like

Haggai 2:8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts.

God does not need anything, it’s all His already. In this case He doesn’t need them to move it from one spot to another; from one nation or from the ground or from His people just to put it in the temple. It’s all His any way and for the purpose of this exercise He didn’t need it from them

Haggai 2:9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

Solomon vs 2^nd Temple

We will talk about the obvious analogy below.

The context is of the ongoing encouragement God is giving to the people. It seems unlikely that He would ask them to dedicate themselves to building a mediocre temple. So the meaning could be that the glory of this temple as opposed to Solomon’s is the fact that the Son of God would come to a version of this one.

Physical vs Spiritual Temple

The church and/or those that have God’s HS within them are the temple of God today (2 Corinthians 6:16). This glory will be greater than that of Solomon’s temple and it still become greater as we will continue this theme on through the millennium (Ezekiel 40-48) and eternity (Revelation 21-22).

Those elements of the first physical temple that were missing in the second have spiritual counterparts in the spiritual temple, the Church.

Instead of the ark with the Ten Commandments in it, the Church of God have the law of God written on their hearts.
The divinely ignited holy fire for sacrifices is replaced with living sacrifices and their prayers as incense.
The Shekinah glory (indwelling of God’s spirit) of God abides within the members of His spiritual temple.
The spirit of prophecy is now replaced with the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 19:10)
Instead of the Urim and Thummim, the mind of the members and ministers is opened to the word of God is through His spirit.

in this place I will give peace… This was definitely not the case for the Jews. After the Persians, then the Greco-Macedonian empire; then the Romans. Eventually, the temple was destroyed in 70AD.

for the people of God now: Philippians 4:7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Then the millennial reign – is a type of Sabbath rest. While there will be a great deal of peace at that time, some will not do what they are supposed to (Zechariah 14:16-19). Also, at the end, Satan will be loosed and there will once again be war.

Ultimately it can only happen fully when we are all spirit beings living in harmony and unity.

Principles of holiness vs uncleanness (3^rd Message)

Haggai 2:10 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, saying,

3 months from:

Haggai 1:14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,
Haggai 1:15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.

Haggai 2:18 …twenty-fourth day of the ninth month…the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid

Haggai 2:11 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Now, ask the priests concerning the law [these were the men who were to instruct the people and expedite their access to God], saying,
Haggai 2:12 “If one carries holy meat [from the sacrifices] in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food , will it become holy?” ‘ ” Then the priests answered and said, “No.”

bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food… these were not holy items

Exodus 29:37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.

Priests were to have some of the offering for themselves

Leviticus 6:25 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the LORD. It is most holy.
Leviticus 6:26 The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting.
Leviticus 6:27 Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy. And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place.
Leviticus 6:28 But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water.
Leviticus 6:29 All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy.

Haggai 2:13 And Haggai said, “If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?” So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.”

Numbers 19:11 ‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.

Example of shaking hands: if a clean hand shakes a muddy hand, it is the clean hand that becomes dirty not vice versa.

Holiness is not transferred to the unclean, but uncleanness can be transferred to the holy making it no longer holy. In other words spiritual morality is not transmitted to the carnal, though the carnal can easily corrupt those that are striving to be spiritual.

Haggai 2:14 Then Haggai answered and said, ” ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

He was making an analogy and this is His point that He has been making since chapter one – what they were doing and how they were doing it was not acceptable before God. They needed to understand this before they went to the temple with their sacrifices. They shirked their responsibility in building the temple and their sacrifices did not fix things because they were made unholy by their conduct.

They were not living in accordance with the covenant that the nation had agreed to abide by and because of this God could not and did not bless them.

This is what He points out in the next 3 verses:

Haggai 2:15 ‘And now, carefully consider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the LORD—

consider… Set your heart on this! (3^rd time)

Recall that they had started 16 years ago and then quit; so this is a continuation from before

Before the temple was being built here is the cause and effect of your ways

Deuteronomy 28:15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
Deuteronomy 28:16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
Deuteronomy 28:17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
Deuteronomy 28:18 “Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
Deuteronomy 28:19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

Haggai 2:15 reminds of this: Consider this:

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

Haggai 2:16 since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty.
Haggai 2:17 I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the LORD.

Towards Israel (not respecter of persons)

Amos 4:9 “I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the LORD.

Recapitulating what we already went over in chapter one:

Haggai 1:9 “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.
Haggai 1:10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
Haggai 1:11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

They did not recognize the cause and effect; they did not learn; because of this they suffered

But now:

Haggai 2:18 ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider it:

consider… Set your heart on this! (4^th time). Says it twice in this sentence for emphasis

What is the correlation of this message and the foundation

24th day of the ninth month in the Hebrew calendar (Kislev) could have some historical/future significance [but this it is speculative as to the meaning of this]

Haggai 2:19 Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.‘ “

God is saying, watch now the cause and effect that comes from following Him, His way and His word. He wanted to make it clear before anything starts yielding its produce (so there is no indication yet of what they will reap) and the only indication that they would have are the past years which were a horrible return on their labor and what little they sowed.

4^th and Final Message – The Return of the Messiah

On the same day (9^th month 24^th day)

Haggai 2:20 And again the word of the LORD came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,
Haggai 2:21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: ‘I will shake heaven and earth.

This is the fulfillment that Haggai 2:6 is alluding to: “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;

Hebrews 12:26 interprets this an end-time event and we see that more in context in this final section of the book of Haggai – notice this in the last two verses

Haggai 2:22 I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots And those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, Every one by the sword of his brother.

The overthrow of the throne of kingdoms… throne is singular here

Revelation 2:13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Matthew 4:9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Once again they may have thought that Haggai was talking about the Persians but this an allusion to the end-time and what is going to happen in the end time.

Daniel 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
Daniel 2:41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
Daniel 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
Daniel 2:43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Every one by the sword of his brother…. They will turn on each other [scripture]

Notice what we have here in a Millennial setting

Isaiah 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

Haggai 2:23 ‘In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the LORD, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the LORD of hosts.

In that day… one of the most recognizable phrases and end-time indicators of the Day of the Lord and Jesus Christ’s second coming

So what does this mean? two possibilities, of which both could be true since we understand the duality of prophecy.

Actually talking about Zerubbabel and his future place in the Kingdom of God

If he had God’s spirit in him then he could be in it.

But we see also that he was in the lineage of Jesus

Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

Matthew 1:12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.

Jeconiah, his grandfather was

Jeremiah 22:24 “As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah [Zerubbabel’s grandfather] the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off;

Jeremiah 22:30 Thus says the LORD: ‘Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.’ “

Zerubbabel never became king

Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Zerubbabel as a type of Christ and Savior

Leading people out of Babylonian (literally and figuratively)

Zechariah 3:8 ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.

Zechariah 6:11 Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
Zechariah 6:12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
Zechariah 6:13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ‘