country, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands, His blessing being withheld from all animate and inanimate beings. This earnest rebuke was heeded by the people. V. 12. Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, all the rest of the returned exiles, obeyed the voice of the Lord, their God, and the words of Haggai, the prophet, as the Lord, their God, had sent him, probably an additional discourse or a further explanation which was not recorded, and the people did fear before the Lord, with reverence and awe. V. 13. Then, when the people showed such obvious signs of repentance, spake Haggai, the Lord's messenger, in the Lord's message unto the people, the fact that his mission was that of Jehovah

being brought out time and again, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord, He accepted their repentance as genuine and acted accordingly. V. 14. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, and they came and did work, they took steps to continue building operations, in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, v. 15. in the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, twenty-three days after the first message of Haggai, in the second year of Darius, the king. When people are filled with the spirit of repentance and of the fear of the Lord, it is an easy matter for them to take up any part of the work which the Lord has entrusted to them, and to bring it to a successful issue, with His blessing.

Further Addresses Concerning the Temple and Its Meaning.

A COMFORTING ASSURANCE. V. 1. In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, not even a full month after the construction of the Temple had been resumed, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, v. 2. Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, the rest of those who had now returned from Babylon, saying, v. 3. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? the Temple of Solomon with its almost unequaled rich ornamentation. And how do ye see it now? What impression did this second Temple make upon them as they observed it? Is it not in your eyes, in comparison of it, as nothing? Any kind of comparison was so much to the disadvantage of this second Temple that the older men had fallen to weeping even when they saw the foundation finished and the altar of burnt offering placed, Ezra 3, 10 ff. V. 4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord, filled with reassuring comfort; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, all filled with the same reassurance, and work, to complete the erection of the Temple; for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts; v. 5. according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, when Israel was formally accepted as Jehovah's people in the great assembly at Mount Sinai, so My Spirit remaineth among you, to strengthen them for the successful conclusion of their work. Fear ye not! V. 6. For

thus saith the Lord of hosts, the same powerful God of the covenant who had entered into fellowship with them at Horeb, Yet once, it is a little while, but a short time as men reckon time, and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land, in a mighty commotion involving practically the entire known world, such as took place when the Roman emperors ordered their periodical censuses of the empire, v. 7. and I will shake all nations, all of them being drawn into this agitation, and the Desire of all nations, the long-expected Messiah, shall come; and I will fill this house, now so lowly and unpretentious, with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. V. 8. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, for which reason it would be a small matter for Him to fill any mere earthly house with ornamentation and treasures beyond the dreams of avarice. But that is not the Lord's chief concern. V. 9. The glory of this latter house, of the New Testament Church, of which this second Temple was but a feeble type and shadow, shall be greater than of the former, of the Jewish Church of the Old Testament, of which the Temple of Solomon was a type, saith the Lord of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, namely, the peace of the redemption gained by the promised Messiah, saith the Lord of hosts. In this way the content of the New Testament Gospel-message was proclaimed even in the Old Testament, and the believers in both instances rest their faith on the same hope. Cp. Luke 2, 14; Eph. 2, 14.

A WARNING ADMONITION CONCERNING FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS. V. 10. In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, a little

more than two months later, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai, the prophet, again by direct inspiration, saying, v. 11. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Ask now the priests concerning the Law, saying, v. 12. If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, namely, the meat of sacrifices which had been offered, and with his skirt do touch bread or pottage, any of the holy food that was sodden, or wine or oil or any meat, such as was used in offering sacrifices or in connection with sacrificial meals, shall it be holy? And the

priests answered and said, No. This was in agreement with the Law, Lev. 6, 20. 27; for though the garment itself was sanctified by such consecrated food, it could impart no holiness to one who, by neglecting the will of the Lord, had become unholy. V. 13. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body, by touching a corpse, touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean, again in perfect agreement with the Ceremonial Law of the Jews, Lev. 22, 4; Num. 5, 2. 9. 10. V. 14. Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before Me, saith the Lord, in His presence as Ruler and Judge; and so is every work of their hands, everything that they might undertake; and that which they offer there is unclean. The children of Israel were in disgrace because of their neglect to finish the house of the Lord, and though their land was holy land, consecrated to the Lord, yet its fruits found no favor in His eyes and could not serve to make the people clean by a mere outward service, as long as their hearts were not in the right relation to Him, so that they were constrained to give Him the worship which He desired. V. 15. And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, by applying their hearts to this problem, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the Temple of the Lord, before its reconstruction was resumed; v. 16. since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, a stack of sheaves which promised a yield of twenty bushels or pecks, there were but ten; when one came to the press-fat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, thinking that the harvest should have brought that much, there were but twenty. V. 17. I smote you with blasting, with blight of the fruits and grains, and with mildew, from excessive moisture, and with hail in all the labors of your hands, the harvests over which they had worked so hard; yet ye turned not to Me, -saith the Lord, all His punishments did not have the desired effect. V. 18. Consider now from this day and upward, applying their hearts to the consideration of that which pertained to their best interests, from the four

and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's Temple was laid, consider it, for the entire period of time since the Jews, in accordance with the decree of Cyrus, had first laid the foundation till the day of the assembly at which these words were spoken, was a time during which the blessing of the Lord was not poured out in its fullest measure, because all their labor for the new Temple had been fitful. V. 19. Is the seed yet in the barn? They were still suffering as a consequence of the shortage. Yea, as yet the vine and the fig-tree and the pomegranate and the olive-tree hath not brought forth, the results of their former lack of zeal were still in evidence; from this day will I bless you. Times would now change, since they were showing evidence of the change which had come over their hearts. If men turn to the Lord in true repentance, He may turn to them in mercy and give them blessings of this life in rich

measure.

A SPECIAL PROMISE TO ZERUBBABEL. - V. 20. And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, this being a second revelation on the same day, saying, v. 21. Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, in a message of encouragement which was nevertheless intended for the entire assembly of returned exiles, I will shake the heavens and the earth, setting their machinery in motion in the interest of His plans for His people; v. 22. and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, all the world-powers opposed to His reign, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen, all the forces of evil that are opposed to the Church of the Lord; and I will overthrow the chariots and those that ride in them, the leaders of the hostile forces; and the horses and their riders shall come down, being overthrown and destroyed, every one by the sword of his brother; for that, in the end, is a condition which favors the Lord's kingdom, the fact that the enemies are often not at peace among themselves, but turn their weapons against one another. V. 23. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, Zerubbabel as a member of the family of David being a type of the coming Messiah, and will make thee as a signet, a very precious possession in the eyes of its Oriental possessor; for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts. The fulfilment of this prophecy is found in Jesus Christ, the son of David and descendant of Zerubbabel, for He established the kingdom of His father David in a most unique manner, as a spiritual rule and reign, which is to last throughout eternity. Cp. Luke 1, 32. 33.

The prophet Zechariah ("Jehovah remembers," "he whom Jehovah remembers") was a son of Berechiah and a grandson of Iddo, a member of a priestly family. Cp. Neh. 12, 4. As late as the time of the high priest Joiakim, Neh. 12, 12. 16, he was the chief of his generation or order. His prophetic activity followed immediately upon that of Haggai, as far as his writing is concerned, for he received his first recorded revelation in November of the year 520 B. C. Both Haggai and Zechariah were active in furthering the construction of the second Temple. Cp. Ezra 5, 1; 6, 14. He was still a comparatively young man when he began his work as prophet, and there is no record of the length of his activity. We may conclude from certain references in the Book of Nehemiah that he reached a ripe old age.

The Book of Zechariah may be divided into four or, more exactly, into three parts. After an exhortation admonishing the Jews to be obedient to the words of the Lord we have eight visions, in the manner of the prophet Ezekiel, all of which were vouchsafed the prophet in one night in February of the

year 519. The second part of the book, dated December, 518, contains a message with both admonition and promise. The third part contains a prophetic description of the future of God's people, which, again, is divided into two parts, both highly Messianic in character.1)

"The style of the prophet varies with his subject: at one time conversational, at another, poetical. His symbols are enigmatical and therefore accompanied by explanations. His prose is like that of Ezekiel, diffuse, uniform, and full of repetitions. The rhythm of his poetry is somewhat unequal, and the parallelisms are not altogether symmetrical. Still there is often found much of the elevation met with in the earlier prophets and a general congruity between the style and the subject. Graphic vividness is his peculiar merit. Chaldaisms occur occasionally. Another special characteristic of Zechariah is his introduction of spiritual beings into his prophetic scenes." (Fausset.)

1) Cp. Fuerbringer, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 92-96.

The Introduction and the First Visions. A CALL TO REPENTANCE. -V. 1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, that is, in the year 520 B. C., came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, v. 2. The Lord hath been sore displeased, with a vehement anger, with your fathers, as shown in the overthrow of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the exile in Babylon. V. 3. Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the almighty Sovereign of the universe, Turn ye unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, a most impressive call to the children of the former trespassers to repent, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. V. 4. Be ye not as your fathers, those before the exile, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Turn ye now from your evil ways and from your evil doings, this being the gist of many admonitions in the earlier prophets, cp. Is. 31, 6; Jer. 3, 12; 18, 11; Ezek. 18, 30; Hos. 14, 1; but they did not hear nor hearken unto Me, saith the Lord. Cp. 2 Kings 17. V. 5. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? The former members of Israel and Judah had perished, as God had threatened; and if the people should say that the prophets

also were dead, the Lord would remind them of the fact that His words, as spoken through these prophets, are not dead, but had been abundantly fulfilled. V. 6. But My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants, the prophets, namely, that they should proclaim them, threatening the Lord's punishment in case of disobedience, did they not take hold of your fathers? the threatened punishments having overtaken them like swift messengers. And they, the fathers before the exile, returned and said, in acknowledging their afflictions as the result of their wickedness, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our doings, just as they had deserved it, so hath He dealt with us. This was the state of mind which the Lord wanted to find in the midst of His people in making known to them the wonderful facts contained in the visions of Zechariah. The proper attitude for hearing and learning the Word of God is that of a humble acknowledgment of one's sinfulness.

of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, v. 8. I saw by night, in a night vision, some time between six o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, the color of war and bloodshed, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom, most likely a valley in the neighborhood of Jerusalem; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, or bay, the color of fire and flames and burning, and white, in this connection the color of victory. V.9. Then said I, anxious to know what the Lord intended to make known through this vision, O my Lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these be, for the Lord wanted Zechariah to know the meaning of the vision in order that he might reveal it to others. V. 10. And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees, the first angel, answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth, to find out how matters stood everywhere. V. 11. And they answered the Angel of the Lord, that peculiar uncreated Angel, the Son of God as He revealed Himself to the believers of the Old Testament, that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still and is at rest, the great commotion among the nations, of which the prophet Haggai had spoken, chap. 2, 7. 8, had not yet begun, that is, the time for the Messiah to appear in the flesh had not yet come, a statement which naturally had a most depressing effect upon the Jews. But the Lord has a word of comfort ready for them. V. 12. Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, the second person of the Godhead Himself giv ing them a reassuring word of comfort, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? so that the seventy years of the exile seemed extended, as though the affliction of the captivity would never end. V. 13. And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words, words of salvation and blessing, which he, of course, was immediately to pass on to the congregation of the Lord. V. 14. So the angel that communed with me, he who had first given an interpretation of the Lord's intentions as expressed in the vision, said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, He whose exact message the prophet brought to Judah, I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion, He was agitated with the zeal of His love for His congregation, with a

great jealousy. V. 15. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease, believing that they had been permanently victorious over the Lord's people; for I was but a little displeased, as His punishment went out upon His people for seventy years, and they helped forward the affliction, they rioted in the sufferings of helpless Israel and were anxious to prolong them. V. 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies, for He had withheld them from His people for a time in order to punish them, but now He was once more ready to accept His repentant children; My house shall be built in it, namely, the Temple as the seat of the Lord's merciful presence in the midst of His congregation, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem, in this case the builder's line signifying the rebuilding of the city. V. 17. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad, overflowing with the outward pressure of abundant growth as a stream overflows its banks; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, the Church of His love, and shall yet choose Jerusalem, the communion of His saints. Thus the Lord, who occasionally has punished His Church with heavy stripes, ever again has turned to His children with the wealth of His blessings in the Gospel.

V. 21.

THE VISION OF THE FOUR HORNS AND THE FOUR SMITHS. -V. 18. Then, after the first vision had fully come to an end, lifted I up mine eyes and saw, in a second distinct vision, and behold four horns, the common Scriptural symbol of strength. V. 19. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? the prophet again desirous of knowing their significance. And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, the heathen nations that had destroyed the twelve tribes as a people. V. 20. And the Lord showed me four carpenters, rather, four craftsmen in iron, four smiths. Then said I, What come these to do? What was the object in introducing them into the picture? And He spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head, being altogether discouraged; but these are come to fray them, to terrify the great powers of evil, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, to break them off, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. It has ever been a characteristic of the enemies of the Lord that they rejoice over the misfortune of His people; but in the end the Church will triumph.

Vision of the Man with the

Measuring-Line.

The second vision had pictured the overthrow of the enemies of the people of the Lord. But this defeat being administered, the growth of the Lord's Church was assured. V. 1. I lifted up mine eyes again, once more being in a state of ecstasy, and looked, and, behold, a man with a measuring-line in his hand, evidently an angel sent for a special purpose. V. 2. Then said I, addressing the angel himself, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, the city of Jehovah, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof, to get the dimensions of the city even then in existence. V. 3. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, he was removed from the scene. And another angel went out to meet him, a third angel thus meeting him who acted as interpreter, v. 4. and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, namely, to the prophet, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein. It is clearly not the earthly city to which the angel refers, but a wonderful spiritual city without local dimensions, the Jerusalem of the New Testament, the one holy Christian Church. V. 5. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, so that the city of God would be secure under the sheltering wings of His power, and will be the glory in the midst of her, so that His blessings would rest upon her and His name be praised within her. So much being established, the prophet is given a summary of what he should proclaim to this Church of the Lord. V. 6. Ho, ho, come forth! so the Lord addresses His people through the Angel of the Covenant, and flee from the land of the North, out of Babylon, as typical of all powers of evil banded together against His Church, saith the Lord; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord, namely, in the New Testament Church which extends to the most remote ends of the world. V. 7. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon, or, "Ho, Zion, save thyself!" the separation between the children of God and the children of the world being absolute, even if not local. Cp. 2 Cor. 6, 17. V. 8. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, After the glory hath He sent Me unto the

nations which spoiled you, the Angel of the Lord being sent to the heathen to get back the glory which they, by their hostile treatment of His people, had taken from Him; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye, so dear are the believers, the members of the Church, in the eyes of the Lord. Every adversary who dares to touch the kingdom of God and its members thereby becomes guilty of a blasphemous act, which grieves the Lord most deeply. This insult Jehovah will not accept without the most emphatic resentment; He will punish the people, He will visit their sins upon them. V. 9. For, behold, I will shake Mine hand upon them, swinging it back and forth over them in order to deliver a heavy blow, and they shall be a spoil to their servants, so that the latter become the lords of their former masters; and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent Me, that through Him the great Sovereign of the earth was carrying out His punishment upon the enemies of His Church. For this reason the people of the Lord are exhorted to sing praises to Him. V. 10. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, the Church of Jehovah, especially in the New Testament; for, lo, I come, the Messiah Himself addressing those who were longing for His coming, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. This was so wonderfully fulfilled when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Cp. John 1, 14; Gal. 4, 4. V. 11. And many nations, representatives of the various races and countries of the world, shall be joined to the Lord in that day, to be added to His people, and shall be My people, Eph. 2, 19; and I will dwell in the midst of thee, in the city of God of the New Testament, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent Me unto thee, the great God of heaven sending His only-begotten Son for the salvation of His people. V. 12. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the Holy Land, so that He would possess His Church, and shall choose Jerusalem again, as the place of His dwelling and of His blessing. V. 13. Be silent, O all flesh, in a spirit of awe and reverence, before the Lord; for He is raised up out of His holy habitation, He is preparing to rise from His throne in heaven to visit the enemies with His righteous punishment and to lead His children to glory. Cp. Ps. 76, 8. 9; Zeph. 1, 7.

The Vision of the High Priest. The Lord had just referred to the glorification of His people. He now proceeds to show how this would take place. V. 1. And He showed me Joshua, the high priest, the

man who, with Zerubbabel, had been the leader of the people when they returned from exile, standing before the Angel of the Lord, here pictured as the Judge in a court of law, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist