(Calvin on the Prophet Haggai. Part 4)
Lecture One Hundred and Thirty-first.
The Prophet, after having declared why it was necessary to add
new stimulants, now exhorts Zerubbabel and Joshua, and also the
people, to be courageous, and thus to proceed with the work. And he
again repeats what he had said, that the Lord was with them; "I am
with you", he says. Now this one thing is enough for us, that is,
when God declares that he is with us; for his aid, we know, is
stronger than the whole world, however Satan may on every side
attempt to resist us.
He also adds, that his Spirit would be in the midst of them;
and then he says, that there was no reason for them to fear. By his
Spirit God means the power by which he strengthened their minds,
that they might not give way to their trials, or, that fear might
not hinder them. And what is particular is joined to what is
general; for God is present with his own in various ways: but he
especially shows, that he is present when, by his Spirit, he
confirms weak minds. He then bids them all to be of a courageous
mind. This is one thing. But he also shows whence this courage
proceeded; for he sustained them by his Spirit when they were
growing faint, or when they were not able to resist fears. The
Prophet reminds them by these words, that courage was to be sought
from God.
We hence learn that what belongs to our calling and duty is not
required from us as though we were able to perform everything; but
when the Lord, according to his own right, commands, he offers the
help of his Spirit; and thus we ought to connect the promise of
grace with the precept, of which foolish men take no notice, who
deduce free will from what is commanded: for they thus reason - that
it is in vain to require from us what is above our ability, and that
as God requires us to form our life according to the rule of the
highest perfection, it is therefore in our power to perform the
highest justice. But the Prophet here, in the first place, exhorts
Joshua and Zerubbabel, and the whole people, to be courageous, and
then, he immediately adds, that the Spirit of God would be in the
midst of them; as though he had said, that there was no reason for
them to despond, though they had not sufficient strength in
themselves; for courage was to be sought from the Spirit of God, who
would dwell among them. In short, the Prophet teaches us that the
faithful are so to strive as not to arrogate anything to themselves,
but to offer themselves to be ruled by the Lord, that he may supply
them with weapons as well as with strength, and thus conquer in
them; for though the victory is ascribed to us it is yet certain
that God conquers in us.
He then adds, "According to the word"; for so I render the
particle "'et". They who think that the Jews are here reminded that
it was their duty to obey God, and purely to serve him, and truly to
keep his law, according to what he had commanded them when he
brought them out of the land of Egypt, far depart from the design of
the Prophet; for the Prophet pursues the same subject; and in the
latter clause he confirms what I have just mentioned - that the
Spirit of God would be in the midst of them. He therefore shows that
he promises nothing new, but what God had formerly engaged to give
to their fathers. If any one prefers taking the particle "'et" in an
explicative sense, I do not object; for the meaning would be the
same - that this is the word which he had promised. The object of
the Prophet is by no means doubtful; for he means to teach us that
God is faithful and constant in his promises, and that the Jews
would find this to be the case, for he would perform what he had
formerly promised to their fathers. "The word, he says, which I had
covenanted with you when I brought you out of Egypt". For the
Prophets were wont to remind the faithful of the ancient covenant,
that they might gain more credit to their special prophecies. We
indeed know that whatever God had promised to the Jews, was founded
on their first adoption. When, therefore, the Prophets brought
forward the ancient covenant, it was the same as though they led the
Jews back to the fountain itself; for the promises, which now and
then occurred, were like streams which flowed from the first spring,
even their gratuitous covenant.
We now then see why an express mention is made of the ancient
compact which God had made with the chosen people at their departure
out of Egypt.
It must also be observed, that God became then the Redeemer of
his people, in order to be their eternal Father, and thus to be the
perpetual guardian of their safety. Hence the design of what the
Prophet says is to show that their fathers were not formerly
redeemed, that their children might reject God, but that he might
continue his favour to his people to the end. But the ultimate issue
is to be found in Christ, that is, the full accomplishment; for God
does not cease to show kindness in him to his chosen people, but
performs much more fully and abundantly what he had previously
exhibited under types and shadows. For whatever he conferred on his
ancient Church, was, as it were, a prelude of his vast bounty, which
was at length made known by the coming of Christ.
We now clearly apprehend what the Prophet meant: For he
upbraided the Jews for their stupidity, because they did not
consider that their fathers were formerly delivered from Egypt, that
God might defend them to the end. Hence he bids them maturely to
examine the design and character of the covenant which God made at
their departure from Egypt; for he entered into covenant with them,
that he might be their Redeemer, and confer on them the fulness of
all blessings. Since it is so, he says, the time is now come when
God will perform what he then promised to your fathers; and whatever
faithfulness ye have hitherto found in God, ought to be applied for
this end - that ye may feel assured that ye have been now restored
to your country, in order that he might re-establish his Church, and
that ye might not continue in that low condition, which now
depresses your minds. As then ye ought to look for that fulness of
happiness which God formerly promised, either his covenant is void
and he unfaithful, or ye ought with cheerfulness and alacrity to
proceed with the work. It follows -
Haggai 2:6-9
6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it [is] a little
while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and
the dry [land];
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall
come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of
hosts.
8 The silver [is] mine, and the gold [is] mine, saith the LORD of
hosts.
9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the
former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give
peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
Here the Prophet expresses more clearly, and confirms more
fully, what I have said - that God would in time bring help to the
miserable Jews, because he would not disappoint the assurance given
to the fathers. This declaration, then, depends on the covenant
before mentioned; and hence the causative particle is used, For thus
saith Jehovah of hosts, as yet a small one it is, or, yet shortly, I
will fill this house with glory. The expression "a small thing,"
most interpreters aptly to time. Yet there are those who think the
subject itself is denoted. The more received opinion is, that it
means a small duration, a short time, because God would soon make a
change for the better. "Though then there does not as yet appear the
accomplishment of the promises, by which ye have hitherto supported
your faith and your hope, yet after a short time God will really
prove that he has spoken nothing falsely to you."
There are yet some, as I have said, who think that the matter
itself is denoted by the Prophet, even that the Temple did not yet
appear in splendour before the eyes of men, a small one it is, that
is, "Ye see not indeed a building such as that was, before the
Assyrians and the Chaldeans took possession of the city; but let not
your eyes remain fixed on the appearance of this Temple." Let then
this small one as yet pass by; but in a short time this house will
be filled with glory.
With regard to the main object, it was the Prophet's design to
strengthen the minds of the godly, that they might not think that
the power of God was inefficient, though he had not as yet performed
what they had hoped. In short, they were not to judge by present
appearances of what had been previously said of their redemption. We
said yesterday that the minds of the godly were heavily depressed,
because the Prophets had spoken in high terms of the Temple as well
as of the kingdom: the kingdom was as yet nothing; and the temple
was more like a shed than what might have been compared in glory
with the former Temple. It was hence necessary for the Prophet to
meet this objection; and this is the reason why he bids them to
overlook the present appearance, and to think of the glory which was
yet hidden. As yet, he says, it is a small one; that is, "There is
no reason for you to despair, though the grandeur of the Temple does
not as yet appear to be so great as you have conceived; but, on the
contrary, let your minds pass over to that restoration which is
still far distant. As yet then a small one it is; and I will move
the heavens and the earth.
In a word, God here bids them to exercise patience, until he
should put forth the ineffable power of his hand to restore fully
his Church; and this is what is meant by the shaking of the heaven
and the earth.
But this is a remarkable passage. The Jews indeed, who are very
absurd in everything connected with the kingdom of Christ, pervert
what is here said by the Prophet, and even reduce it to nothing. But
the Apostle in Heb. 12 reminds us of what God means here. For this
passage contains an implied contrast between the law and the gospel,
between redemption, just mentioned here, and that which was to be
expected, and was at length made known by the coming of Christ. God,
then, when he redeemed his people from Egypt, as well as from
Babylon, moved the earth: but the Prophet announces here something
greater - that God would shake the heaven and the earth. But that
the meaning of the Prophet may appear more evident, each sentence
must be examined in order.
He says first, this once, shortly. I am inclined to apply this
to time, that I may not depart from what is commonly received. But
there is no reason for us to contend on the subject, because it
makes little or no difference as to the main point. For we have said
that what the Prophet had in view was to show that the Jews were not
to fix their eyes and their minds on the appearance of the Temple at
the time: "Allow," he says, "and give place to hope, because your
present state shall not long remain; for the Lord will shake the
heaven and the earth; think then of God's power, how great it is;
does he not by his providence rule both the earth and the heaven?
And ho will shake all things above and below, rather than not to
restore his Church; he will rather change the appearance of the
whole world, than that redemption should not be fully accomplished.
Be not then unwilling to be satisfied with these preludes, but know
what God's power can do: for though it may be necessary to throw the
heaven and the earth into confusions, yet this shall be done, rather
than that your enemies should prevent that full restoration, of
which the Prophets have so often spoken." But the Apostle very
justly says, that the gospel is here set in contrast with the law;
for God exhibited his wonderful power, when the law was promulgated
on mount Sinai; but a fuller power shone forth at the coming of
Christ, for then the heaven, as well as the earth, was shaken. It is
not, then, without reason that the Apostle concludes that God speaks
now to us from heaven, for his majesty appears more splendid in the
gospel than formerly in the law: and hence we are less excusable, if
we despise him now speaking in the person of his only begotten Son,
and thus speaking to show to us that the whole world is subject to
him.
He then adds, "I will move all the nations, and they shall
come". After having mentioned the heaven and the earth, he now shows
that he would arrest the attention of all mortals, so as to turn
them according to his will, in any way it may please him: Come, he
says, shall all nations - How? because I shall shake them. Here
again the Prophet teaches us that men come not to Christ except
through the wonderful agency of God. He might have spoken more
simply, "I will lead all nations," as it is said elsewhere; but his
purpose was to express something more, even that the impulse by
which God moves his elect to betake themselves to the fold of Christ
is supernatural. Shaking seems a forcible act. Lest men, then,
should obscure the power of God, by which they are roused that they
may obey Christ, and submit to his authority, it is here by the
Prophet expressed by this term, in order that they might understand
that the Lord does not work in an usual or common manner, when they
are thus changed.
But it must be also observed, that men are thus powerfully, and
in an extraordinary or supernatural manner influenced, so that they
follow spontaneously at the same time. The operation of God is then
twofold; for it is first necessary to shake men, that they may
unlearn their whole character, that is, that forgetting their former
nature, they may willingly receive the yoke of Christ. We indeed
know how great is our perverseness, and how unnameable we are, until
God subdues us by his Spirit. There is need in such a case of a
violent shaking. But we are not forced to obey Christ, as lions and
wild beasts are, who indeed yield, but still retain their inward
ferocity, and roar, though led in chains and subdued by scourges and
beatings. We are not, then, so shaken, that our inward rebellion
remains in us; but we are shaken, so that our disposition is
changed, and we receive willingly the yoke of Christ. This is the
reason why the Prophet says, "I will shake all nations, and they
shall come"; that is, there will be indeed a wonderful conversion,
when the nations who previously despised God, and regarded true
religion and piety with the utmost hatred, shall habituate
themselves to the ruling power of God: and they shall come, because
they shall be so drawn by his hidden influence, that the obedience
they shall render will be voluntary. We now perceive the meaning of
the Prophet.
He afterwards adds, "The desire of all nations". This admits of
two explanations. The first is, that nations shall come and bring
with them everything that is precious, in order to consecrate it to
the service of God; for the Hebrews call whatever is valuable a
desire; so that under this term they include all riches, honours,
pleasures, and everything of this kind. Hence some render the
passage thus, "I will shake all nations, and come shall the desire
of all nations." As there is a change of number; others will have
"beth", or "mem", to be understood, "They shall come with what they
desire;" that is, the nations shall not come empty, but shall gather
all their treasures to be a holy oblation to God. But we may
understand what he says of Christ, Come shall the desire of all
nations, and I will fill this house with glory. We indeed know that
Christ was the expectation of the whole world, according to what is
said by Isaiah. And it may be properly said, that when the desire of
all nations shall come, that is, when Christ shall be manifested, in
whom the wishes of all ought to centre, the glory of the second
Temple shall then be illustrious; but as it immediately follows,
"Mine is the silver, and mine is the gold", the more simple meaning
is that which I first stated - that the nations would come, bringing
with them all their riches, that they might offer themselves and all
their possessions as a sacrifice to God.
It is, then, better to read what follows as an explanation,
"Mine is the silver, mine is the gold, saith Jehovah"; that is, "I
have not through want of money deferred hitherto the complete
building of the Temple; for what can hinder me from amassing gold
and silver from all quarters? Should it so please me, I could in a
short time build a Temple by all the wealth of the world. Is it not
indeed in my power to create mountains of gold and silver, by which
I might erect for myself a Temple? Ye hence see that wealth is not
wanting to me to build the Temple which I have promised; but the
time is not arrived. Therefore they who believe the preceding
predictions, ought to wait and to look forward, until the suitable
time shall come." This is the import of the passage.
He at length declares that the glory of the second temple would
be greater than that of the first, and that there would be peace in
that place. As to the words there is nothing obscure; but we ought
especially to attend to what is said.
It must, indeed, be first observed, that what is said here of
the future glory of the Temple is to be applied to the excellency of
those spiritual blessings which appeared when Christ was revealed,
and are still conspicuous to us through faith; for ungodly men are
so blind that they see them not. And this we must bear in mind, lest
we dream like some gross interpreters, who think that what is here
said was in part fulfilled when Herod reconstructed the Temple. For
though that was a sumptuous building, yet there is no doubt but that
it was an attempt of the Devil to delude the Jews, that they might
cease to hope for Christ. Such was also, probably, the craft of
Herod. We indeed know that he was only a half-Jew. He professed
himself to be one of Abraham's children; but he accommodated his
habits, we know, to those of the Jews, oddly for his own advantage.
That they might not look for Christ, this delusive and empty
spectacle was presented to them, so as almost to astound them.
Though this, however, may not have entered into the mind of Herod,
it is yet certain that the Devil's design was to present to the Jews
this deceptive shade, that they might not raise up their thoughts to
look for the coming of Christ, as the time was then near at hand.
God might, indeed, immediately at the beginning have caused a
magnificent temple to be built: as he had allowed a return to the
people, so he might have given them courage, and supplied them with
materials, to render the latter Temple equal or even superior to the
Temple of Solomon. But Cyrus prohibited by an edict the Temple to be
built so high, and he also made its length somewhat smaller: Why was
this done? and why also did Darius do the same, who yet liberally
helped the Jews, and spared no expense in building the Temple? How
was it that both these kings, though guided by the Spirit of God,
did not allow the Temple to be built with the same splendour with
which it had been previously erected? This did not happen without
the wonderful counsel of God; for we know how gross in their notions
the Jews had been, and we see that even the Apostles were entangled
in the same error; for they expected that the kingdom of Christ
would be no other than an earthly one. Had then this Temple been
equally magnificent with the former, and had the kingdom become such
as it had been, the Jews would have acquiesced in these outward
pomps; so that Christ would have been despised, and God's spiritual
favour would have been esteemed as nothing. Since, then, they were
so bent on earthly happiness, it was necessary for them to be
awakened; and the Lord had regard to their weakness, by not allowing
a splendid Temple to be built. But in suffering a counterfeit Temple
to be built by Herod, when the manifestation of Christ was nigh, he
manifested his vengeance by punishing their ingratitude, rather than
his favour; and I call it counterfeit, because its splendour was
never approved by God. Though Herod spent great treasures on that
building, he yet profaned rather than adorned the Temple. Foolishly,
then, do some commemorate what Helena, queen of Adiabenians, had
laid out, and think that thus a credit is in some measure secured to
this prophecy. But it was on the contrary Satan who attempted to
deceive by such impostures and crafts, that he might draw away the
minds of the godly from the beauty of the spiritual Temple.
But why does the prophet mention gold and silver? He did this
in conformity with what was usual and common; for whenever the
Prophets speak of the kingdom of Christ, they delineate or describe
its splendour in figurative terms, suitable to their own age. When
Isaiah foretells the restoration of the Church, he declares that the
Church would be all gold and silver, and whatever glittered with
precious stones; and in ch. 60 he especially sets forth the
magnificence of the Temple, as though nations from all parts were to
bring for sacrifice all their precious things. But Isaiah speaks
figuratively, as all the other Prophets do. So then what we read of
gold and of silver ought to be so explained as to be applied
mystically to the kingdom of Christ; as we have already observed
respecting Mal. 1: 11 - 'They shall offer to me, saith the Lord,
pure sacrifices from the rising to the setting of the sun.' What are
these sacrifices? Are heifers yet to be offered, or lambs, or other
animals? By no means; but we must regard the spiritual character of
the priesthood; for as the gold of which the Prophet now speaks, and
the silver, ought to be taken in a spiritual sense; for since Christ
has appeared in the world, it is not God's will to be served with
gold and silver vessels; so also there is no altar on which victims
are to be sacrificed, and no candlestick; in a word, all the symbols
of the law have ceased. It hence follows that the Prophet speaks of
the spiritual ornaments of the Temple. And thus we perceive how the
glory of the second Temple is to be greater than that of the first.
It then follows, that God "would give peace in this place;" as
though he had said that it would be well with the Jews if they only
waited patiently for the complete fulfilment of redemption. But it
must be observed, that this peace was not so evident to them that
they could enjoy it according to the perception of the flesh; but it
was that kind of peace of which Paul speaks, and which, he says,
exceeds all understanding (Phil. 4: 7.) In short, the people could
not have comprehended what the Prophet teaches here respecting the
future splendour of the Temple, except they leaped over all the
obstacles which seemed to obstruct the progress of complete
redemption; and so it was ever necessary for them to have recourse
to this truth - "yet a little while"; as though he said that they
were patiently to endure while God was exercising their faith: but
that the time would come, and that shortly, when the Lord would fill
that house with glory that is, when Christ would bring witch him all
fulness of glory; for though they were to gather the treasures of a
thousand worlds into one mass, such a glory would yet be
corruptible; but when God the Father appeared in the person of his
own Son, he then glorified indeed his Temple; and his majesty shone
forth so much that there was nothing wanting to a complete
perfection.
Prayer.
Grant, Almighty God, that since we are by nature extremely
prone to superstition, we may carefully consider what is the true
and right way of serving thee, such as thou dost desire and approve,
even that we offer ourselves spiritually to thee, and seek no other
altar but Christ, and relying on no other priest, hope to be
acceptable and devoted to thee, that he may imbue us with the Spirit
which has been fully poured on him, so that we may from the heart
devote ourselves to thee, and thus proceed patiently in our course,
that with minds raised upwards we may ever go on towards that glory
which is as yet hid under hope, until it shall at length be
manifested in due time, when thine only-begotten Son shall appear
with the elect angels for our final redemption. Amen.
(Calvin... on the Prophet Haggai)
(continued in Part 5...)
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