NOTES for Hag 2:1-23

The Book of the Prophet Haggai consists, in effect, of two prophecies. One calls on the Israelites who returned from the Babylonian captivity to begin rebuilding the Temple, explaining all the misfortunes that befall them by the fact that they care first for the body rather than the spirit. The second prophecy, which we read today, comes to Haggai after construction has already begun. In it God gives His promise that, because the people have heard the will of their God and responded to it, their troubles will now end, the harvest will no longer be meager, and all God's other blessings will be manifested to Israel. Among these blessings, Haggai, like the other prophets, foretells the coming of the Messiah. He calls Him “the Desire of all nations,” foreseeing that not only Jews but former pagans as well will gather to Christ.