TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Haggai 1:12–15. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
As an ear-ring of gold (says Solomon), and an ornament of fine gold, so amiable, so acceptable, in the sight of God and man, is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear, Pro 25:12. The prophet here was a wise but faithful reprover, in God's name, and he met with an obedient ear. The foregoing sermon met with the desired success among the people, and their obedience met with due encouragement from God. Observe,
I.How the people returned to God in a way of duty.
All those to whom that sermon was preached received the word in the love of it, and were wrought upon by it. Zerubbabel, the chief governor, did not think himself above the check and command of God's word. He was a man that had been eminently useful in his day, and serviceable to the interest of the church, yet did not plead his former merits in answer to this reproof for his present remissness, but submitted to it. Joshua's business, as high priest, was to teach, and yet he was willing himself to be taught, and willingly received admonition and instruction. The remnant of the people (and the whole body of them was but a remnant, a very few of the many thousands of Israel) also were very pliable; they all obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and bowed their neck to the yoke of his commands, and it is here recorded to their honour that they did so, Hag 1:12. Their father said, Sons, go work today in my vineyard, in my temple; and they not only said, We go, sir, but they went immediately.
1.They looked upon the prophet to be the Lord's messenger, and the word he delivered to be the Lord's message to them; and therefore received it not as the word of man, but as the word of Almighty God; they obeyed his words, as the Lord their God had sent him, Hag 1:12. Note, In attending to God's ministers we must have an eye to him that sent them, and receive them for his sake, while they act according to their commission.
2.They did fear before the Lord. Prophecy was a new thing with them; they had had no special messenger from heaven for a great while, and therefore now that they had one, and but one, they paid an extraordinary regard to him; whereas their fathers, who had many prophets, mocked and misused them. It is sometimes so; when good preaching is most scarce it does most good, whereas the manna that is rained in plenty is loathed as light bread. And, because they so readily received this prophet, God, within a month or two after, raised them up another, Zac 1:1. They feared before the Lord; they had a great regard to the divine authority and a great dread of the divine wrath, and were of those that trembled at God's word. The judgments of God which they had been under, though very severe, had not prevailed to make them fear before the Lord, until the word of God was sent to expound his providences, and then they feared. Note, A holy fear of God will have a great influence upon our obedience to him. Serve the Lord with fear; if we fear him not, we shall not serve him.
3.The Lord stirred up their spirits, Hag 1:14.
(1.)He excited them to their duty, and put it into their hearts to go about it. Note, Then the word of God has its success when God by his grace stirs up our spirits to comply with it; and without that grace we should remain stupid and utterly averse to every thing that is good. It is in the day of a divine power that we are made willing.
(2.)He encouraged them in their duty, and with those encouragements enlarged their hearts, Psa 119:32. When they heard the word they feared; but, lest they should sink under the weight of that fear, God stirred them up, and made them cheerful and bold to encounter the difficulties they might meet with. Note, When God has work to do, he will either find or make men fit to do it, and stir them up to it.
4.They applied to their work with all possible vigour: They came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts their God. Every one, according as his capacity or ability was, lent a hand, some way or other, to further that good work; and this they did with an eye to God as the Lord of hosts, and as their God, the God of Israel. The consideration of God's sovereign dominion in the world by his providence, and his covenant-relation to his people by his grace, should stir up our spirits to act for him, and for the advancement of the interest of his kingdom among men, to the utmost of our power.
5.They did this speedily; it was but on the first day of the sixth month that Haggai preached them this sermon, and by the twenty-fourth of the same month, little more than three weeks after, they were all busy working in the house of the Lord their God, Hag 1:15. To show that they were ashamed of their delays hitherto, now that they were convinced and called they were resolved to delay no longer, but to strike while the iron was hot, and to set about the work while they were under convictions. Note, Those that have lost time have need to redeem time; and the longer we have loitered in that which is good the more haste we should make when we are convinced of our folly.
II.How God met them in a way of mercy.
The same prophet that brought them the reproof brought them a very comforting encouraging word (Hag 1:13): Then spoke Haggai, the Lord's messenger, in the Lord's message, in his name, and as from him, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. That is all he has to say, and that is enough; as that word of Christ to his disciples is (Mat 28:20), "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. I am with you, that is, I will forgive your neglects hitherto, and they shall not be remembered against you; I will remove the judgments you have been under for those neglects, and will appear for you, as I have in them appeared against you. I am with you to protect you against your enemies that bear ill-will to your work, and to prosper you, and to give you success in it - with you to strengthen your hands, and bless the work of them, without which blessing those labour in vain that build." Note, Those that work for God have God with them; and, if he be for us, who can be against us? If he be with us, what difficulty can stand before us?
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
One surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.
(Verse 14) And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the rest of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius. For the governor of Judah, seventy were carried away from the tribe of Judah, and for the work, the workers; and the rest likewise. Wherever we place ourselves, the Lord of hosts is interpreted differently as either the Almighty Lord, the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of powers. Therefore, the spirit of Zorobabel and the spirit of Jesus are awakened, according to the letter, to build the temple of God with kingdom and priesthood. The spirit of the people, who was sleeping within them, is also awakened, not the body, not the soul; but as we said, the spirit, which knows how to build the temple of God. And they entered, for they had been outside, and they were doing works that were worthy of the inner part of the house of the Lord: in the same year of King Darius as before, in the same month that was also at the beginning; but not on the same day. For there, one day of the month is placed: but here the twenty-fourth, so that between the first day, when the Lord speaks through Haggai, and the twenty-fourth, when they entered and were doing work in the house of the Lord, there were twenty-two middle days, as many as the letters are among the Hebrews. For it was necessary that they be taught what were the elements of the beginning of God's words, which would prevent them from saying, 'The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord and to dwell in vaulted houses, and as I said before, to be submerged in the depths. But they were provoked to set their hearts on their own ways, and to remember how much they had suffered through negligence. And to ascend the mountain, and to cut wood, and to build the house of the Lord, and not to allow what they had suffered before. Finally, in these twenty-two days, the people feared the face of the Lord, and they entered on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month of the second year of King Darius, and they were doing the work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God. But it is commanded to us, that the spiritual house may be built into a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, that we may be able to provide such offerings, so that the Holy Spirit may be stirred up in us, and we may enter into the house of the Lord, and perform the works of the Lord. For now Zorobabel of the lineage of David, and Jesus the priest, has been raised up by the Father in power, according to the spirit of sanctification from the resurrection of the dead, so that he may preside over the work; but we, with him as our helper and guide, shall perform the works of God. However, we cannot do the works of God beforehand, unless we fear the face of the Lord, and believe, and enter the temple of God, and perform those things that are worthy of the house of God. But since we are still in the world, and the time of our building is under the reign of Darius, in which generation, marriages, and carnal servitude are observed; therefore, in the sixth number, when the world was made, and in the second year, which divides the union (for the matter in which the renewal of the world and the birth of offspring consist loves the double number), we enter the house of the Lord, and with both peoples gathered together, we build the temple of God. For the sum of the twenty-fourth number consists of two of the twelve numbers, because just as from circumcision and from the Gentiles, the first Church of Christ, which had been destroyed, was built. But we can also say this, because the eighth number, which is holy, and is taken in the type of true circumcision, triples the twenty-fourth number, figuratively teaching us to build the house of the Lord through the cutting off of the flesh and the circumcision of vices, and to believe in the true purity in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, another six times a fourth number is computed, and four refers to the elements of the world, from which we subsist; but six refers to the condition of the world, in which the elements themselves revolve. And it says: because we are still in matter, and are surrounded by a heavy body, and serve generations, indeed we are to build a temple and enter into the house of God, and as if awakened from a heavy sleep, our spirit; but still to do the same thing on the twenty-fourth day.
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Summary
Haggai 1:14 marks a pivotal moment in the post-exilic history of Judah, detailing the divine empowerment that moved the people and their leaders from spiritual apathy to active obedience. Following God's rebuke and promise, the Lord sovereignly "stirred up the spirit" of Governor Zerubbabel, High Priest Joshua, and the entire remnant, enabling them to overcome their procrastination and diligently resume the crucial work of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, signifying a renewed commitment to God's presence and worship.
Context
Literary Context
This verse is the climactic response to God's direct challenge to the returned exiles. In Haggai 1:1-11, the prophet Haggai, speaking on behalf of the Lord, confronts the people for prioritizing their own paneled houses while the Temple of God lay in ruins, linking their economic hardship (drought, poor harvests) directly to their neglect. Haggai 1:12 records the people's initial, crucial step of obedience: "Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, 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 did fear before the LORD." This immediate obedience is met with a divine promise in Haggai 1:13, "Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD." Verse 14, therefore, is the direct and tangible manifestation of God's promised presence and empowering grace, leading to the resumption of the Temple work.
Historical & Cultural Context
The events of Haggai 1:14 unfold in 520 BC, the second year of King Darius I of Persia. Approximately sixteen years prior, a group of Jewish exiles, led by Zerubbabel and Joshua, had returned to Judah from Babylon following Cyrus's decree in Ezra 1. While the foundation of the Temple had been laid in Ezra 3, opposition and discouragement had caused the work to cease for over a decade, as described in Ezra 4. The people had settled into their own lives, building their homes and tending to their fields, while God's house remained unfinished. Culturally, the Temple was not merely a building; it was the central place of worship, the symbol of God's presence among His people, and essential for the proper functioning of the Levitical sacrificial system. Its neglected state reflected a spiritual malaise and misplaced priorities among the returnees. The stirring of their spirit by the Lord was a divine intervention to re-align their priorities with God's covenantal expectations.
Key Themes
Haggai 1:14 powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within the book of Haggai and the broader post-exilic narrative. Firstly, it underscores the theme of Divine Initiative and Empowerment. The verse explicitly states that "the LORD stirred up the spirit," emphasizing that genuine spiritual revival and the ability to accomplish God's work are not born of human will alone but are divinely initiated and sustained. This echoes God's sovereign hand in history, as seen when He "stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia" to allow the exiles to return in Ezra 1:1. Secondly, the verse highlights the theme of United Leadership and Community Action. The Lord stirred the spirit of both the political leader (Zerubbabel) and the religious leader (Joshua), alongside "all the remnant of the people." This unity of purpose and action, from leadership to the common person, was vital for the monumental task of rebuilding, demonstrating the power of collective obedience and the importance of all parts of the community participating in God's work, a principle echoed in Nehemiah 2:18. Finally, it exemplifies the theme of Obedience Leading to Fruitful Labor. The stirring of their spirit was not an end in itself but directly resulted in tangible action: "they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts." This demonstrates that true faith and repentance are evidenced by practical, diligent labor in service to God, moving from passive neglect to active participation in the reconstruction of the Temple.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This verb (H5782) means to "wake," "arouse," or "excite." In this context, it signifies a divine act of invigorating or awakening the inner will, resolve, and motivation of individuals who had become lethargic or discouraged. It implies a supernatural quickening of their spirit, moving them from apathy to active engagement. The Lord did not merely suggest or command; He supernaturally empowered them from within.
The term (H7307) refers to wind, breath, or, as here, the inner essence of a rational being—the mind, will, and emotions. When God "stirred up the spirit," it means He moved their innermost being, their resolve, their courage, and their willingness. It was a profound spiritual reawakening that transformed their disposition from self-focus and procrastination to zeal for God's house.
This noun (H4399) denotes employment, ministry, or work, especially that which is not servile, often implying a skilled or purposeful activity. Here, it specifically refers to the labor involved in rebuilding the Temple. The "work" was not just physical exertion but a sacred task, a ministry performed in response to God's stirring, signifying their renewed devotion and obedience.
Verse Breakdown
"And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,"
This clause highlights God's sovereign initiative in the renewal of the Temple work. The Lord, YHWH (H3068), is the active agent, directly intervening to awaken the inner resolve ("spirit," H7307) of Zerubbabel (H2216), the political leader (H6346) of the Jewish community in Judah (H3063). This divine stirring was essential, as human leadership alone had failed to overcome the inertia and opposition.
"and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest,"
The divine stirring extended specifically to Joshua (H3091), the high priest (H3548), the religious head of the community. This dual focus on both political and religious leadership underscores the comprehensive nature of God's work and the necessity of unified leadership in God's service. By stirring both, God ensured that the entire community would be led with common purpose.
"and the spirit of all the remnant of the people;"
Crucially, God's empowerment was not limited to the leaders but encompassed "all the remnant" (H7611) of the people (H5971)—those who had returned from exile and were the inheritors of God's covenant promises. This demonstrates that the work of God requires the participation and spiritual vitality of the entire community, not just its leaders. It was a widespread spiritual revival that permeated every level of society.
"and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,"
This final clause describes the direct and tangible outcome of God's divine stirring. The awakened spirits led to immediate action: "they came" (H935) to the site of the Temple and "did work" (H6213, H4399) on the "house" (H1004) of the "LORD of hosts" (H3068, H6635), their God (H430). The title "LORD of hosts" emphasizes God's supreme power and authority over all heavenly and earthly armies, reinforcing that the work was undertaken under His mighty command and protection. This physical labor was an act of worship and obedience, signifying their renewed covenant relationship.
Literary Devices
Haggai 1:14 employs several effective literary devices. The most prominent is Repetition, specifically the phrase "the spirit of." This repetition emphasizes the comprehensive nature of God's divine stirring, affecting not just one leader but both key leaders (Zerubbabel and Joshua) and, significantly, "all the remnant of the people." This highlights the unity of purpose and the widespread spiritual awakening God orchestrated. The verse also utilizes Divine Agency, with "the LORD" explicitly stated as the one who "stirred up" their spirits. This underscores God's sovereignty and His active involvement in human affairs, positioning Him as the primary mover behind the Temple's reconstruction. Furthermore, there is an implied Contrast between the previous state of apathy and neglect (as described in the preceding verses) and the newfound zeal and action. This highlights the transformative power of God's intervention. Finally, the phrase "house of the LORD of hosts" functions as Metonymy, referring to the Temple itself, but also implicitly to the worship, presence, and covenant relationship that the physical structure represented.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Haggai 1:14 powerfully illustrates the principle that true spiritual renewal and effective service for God are ultimately rooted in divine initiative and empowerment. Human effort, no matter how well-intentioned, often falters without the quickening of God's Spirit. This verse demonstrates God's faithfulness to His covenant people, even when they have been disobedient; His promise "I am with you" (Haggai 1:13) is immediately followed by His enabling action. The comprehensive stirring of leaders and people alike underscores the biblical truth that God's work is a corporate endeavor, requiring the unified commitment and participation of the entire community. It teaches that God provides both the will and the ability to accomplish His purposes, transforming hearts from apathy to zealous obedience, leading to tangible acts of worship and service.
Reflection and Application
Haggai 1:14 offers profound encouragement and challenge for believers today. It reminds us that spiritual apathy and procrastination, often born of misplaced priorities, can hinder God's work. Just as the post-exilic community prioritized their own comfort over God's house, we too can become preoccupied with our personal pursuits, neglecting the "house of the LORD" in its contemporary forms—the church, the global mission, and our personal walk with God. This verse is a powerful testament to God's ability to awaken dormant spirits. When we feel overwhelmed by the tasks before us, or when our zeal wanes, we are reminded that the same God who "stirred up the spirit" of Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant is alive and active today. Our responsibility is to be obedient to His Word and available to His Spirit, trusting that He will provide the inner motivation and strength to accomplish what He calls us to do. It also highlights the vital role of unified leadership and a responsive congregation in advancing God's kingdom, urging us to work together, empowered by the Spirit, for the glory of God.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does it mean that "the LORD stirred up the spirit"?
The phrase "the LORD stirred up the spirit" signifies a powerful, supernatural act of divine intervention. It means God actively awakened, invigorated, and motivated the innermost being (the will, resolve, and courage) of Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people. They had been lethargic and discouraged, neglecting the Temple's rebuilding for years. God did not merely give a command; He supernaturally empowered them from within, transforming their apathy into a zealous desire and ability to work. This divine enabling is the key to their renewed obedience and diligent labor, demonstrating that genuine spiritual revival and accomplishment of God's work are ultimately God's doing, not solely human effort. This concept is also seen in Ezra 1:1, where God stirred the spirit of King Cyrus.
Who were Zerubbabel and Joshua, and why were they significant?
Zerubbabel and Joshua were the two primary leaders of the Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon following Cyrus's decree. Zerubbabel, identified as "the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah," was the political leader and a descendant of David, making him a figure of messianic hope (see Haggai 2:23). Joshua, "the son of Josedech, the high priest," was the religious leader, responsible for the spiritual life and worship of the community. Their significance lies in their dual leadership roles—political and religious—which represented the entire community. God stirring both their spirits, along with the people's, underscored the comprehensive nature of the revival and the necessity of unified leadership for the successful rebuilding of the Temple and the restoration of proper worship in Jerusalem. Their leadership was crucial for mobilizing the people to obey God's command to rebuild His house.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Haggai 1:14, while rooted in the historical context of the Second Temple's rebuilding, finds profound Christ-centered fulfillment in several ways. The "stirring up of the spirit" by the LORD foreshadows the ultimate outpouring of the Holy Spirit, promised by God and fully realized through Christ. Just as God empowered the Old Testament leaders and remnant for a physical building project, so too does the Holy Spirit empower believers today for the spiritual building of God's kingdom, which is the Church, the true "house of God" (1 Timothy 3:15). Jesus, as the greater Zerubbabel and Joshua, is both the King and the High Priest (Hebrews 4:14 and Revelation 19:16), who not only perfectly fulfills their roles but also provides the ultimate spiritual impetus. He promised that He would "build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The work of rebuilding the physical Temple pointed forward to the spiritual Temple, which is the body of Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). Thus, the divine stirring in Haggai 1:14 ultimately finds its deepest and most comprehensive fulfillment in the empowering work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, enabling them to live out their faith and participate in the ongoing construction of God's spiritual house, built upon the foundation of Christ Jesus Himself (Ephesians 2:20-22).