Haggai 2:22

2:20-23 The Lord will preserve Zerubbabel and the people of Judah, amidst their enemies. Here is also foretold the establishment and continuance of the kingdom of Christ; by union with whom his people are sealed with the Holy Ghost, sealed with his image, thus distinguished from all others. Here also is foretold the changes, even to that time when the kingdom of Christ shall overthrow and occupy the place of all the empires which opposed his cause. The promise has special reference to Christ, who descended from Zerubbabel in a direct line, and is the sole Builder of the gospel temple. Our Lord Jesus is the Signet on God's right hand, for all power is given to him, and derived from him. By him, and in him, all the promises of God are yea and amen. Whatever changes take place on earth, all will promote the comfort, honour, and happiness of his servants.

And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms,.... The Persian monarchy, which consisted of various kingdoms and nations, and was destroyed under Darius Codomannus by Alexander the great, who fought with him three pitched battles, and overcame him; but the thing was of the Lord, according to his purpose and will, and by his power and providence; and therefore the overthrow is ascribed to him.

The Jews (t) say that the Persian monarchy fell by the Grecians thirty four years after the building of the temple; but very wrongly, it lasted longer: and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; the empire of Alexander, which was a very strong one, and contained in it many kingdoms and nations, even the whole world, at least as he thought; and which was divided after his death into several kingdoms; the strength of which was greatly weakened by one another, and at last entirely destroyed by the Romans as instruments: and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down; which may refer either to the chariots and horses, and their riders, belonging to the Grecians, and used in their wars; or else this may describe the empire of the Romans, which in its turn should be destroyed, famous for their triumphal chariots: everyone by the sword of his brother; by civil wars, which was remarkably true of the successors of Alexander, as appears from Josephus (u) and Justin (w): this may be applied to all the kingdoms of this world, which will all be demolished, and be brought into subjection to Christ, and his kingdom shall be set up in the world, the son and antitype of Zerubbabel, of whom the following words are to be understood; see Daniel 2:44. Abendana interprets it of the army of Gog and Magog, who shall fall everyone by the sword of his brother. (t) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 30. p. 91.

And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the {n} kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. (n) By this he shows that there will be no stop or hindrance, when God will make this wonderful restitution of his Church.

I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms: now Babylonians are subjected to the Persian power, and this standeth on the strength of many kingdoms, and seems to be one throne secured by all the power of the known world, and can hardly be hoped to be hereafter better than an enemy and opposer of the Jews, and their restoring of the worship of God: for comfort in this case here is foretold God’s overthrowing them, in case they oppose. I will destroy the strength: this seems an explaining of the former, and a confirming it too. Though the Gentiles of many kingdoms united in all their strength, set to hinder this work, this shall succeed so contrary to their expectation, that not you, but they shall find destruction as the end thereof; which was verified in the successive ruin of the Persian, Grecian, and Syrian kingdoms, all which oppressed the church, and were destroyed for it. Every one by the sword of his brother: this passage foreshows that God will, by suffering civil wars to arise among these nations, ruin them by themselves, as in truth they did: now whilst those commotions and overthrows perplex and hurt the Jews, yet they were an occasion sometimes of some respite to them; their enemies were engaged on other designs, and could not mind mischief to the Jews.

Verse 22. - I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms. No events in Zerubbabel's time satisfied this prediction, which waits for its fulfilment in the Messianic age ( Luke 1:52 ). "The throne" is used distributively for "every throne of kingdoms;" Septuagint, "thrones of kings." Of the heathen; of the nations. Chariots , etc. Emblems of the military power by which the nations had risen to eminence ( Psalm 20:7 ; Zechariah 10:5 ). Shall come down. Be brought to the ground, perish ( Isaiah 34:7 ). By the sword of his brother. The heathen powers shall annihilate one another ( Ezekiel 38:21 ; Zechariah 14:13 ). Haggai 2:22

22 . I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms , &c.] After repeating, in ver. 21, the prediction of ver. 6, “I will shake the heavens and the earth,” the prophet expands in this verse the prediction of ver. 7, “I will shake all nations.” This is made more clear in R. V. by keeping the same English word nations ( heathen , A. V.) for the same Heb. word in this verse and verse 7. The terms here employed are too wide to be satisfied by any event in the life of Zerubbabel: “There was in Zerubbabel’s time no shaking of the heaven or of nations. Darius had indeed to put down an unusual number of rebellions in the first few years after his accession; but, although he magnified himself on occasion of their suppression, they were only so many distinct and unconcerted revolts, each under its own head. All were far away in the distant East. The Persian empire , spread ‘probably over 2,000,000 square miles, or more than half of modern Europe,’ was not threatened; no foreign enemy assailed it; one impostor only claimed the throne of Darius. This would, if successful, have been, like his own accession, a change of dynasty, affecting nothing externally. But neither were lasting, some were very trifling.” Pusey. The prophecy reaches forth to the more distant future, and still awaits its full accomplishment. shall come down ] i.e. be brought low . Comp. Isaiah 34:7 .

I will shake - Haggai closes by resuming the words of a former prophecy to Zerubbabel and Joshua, which ended in the coming of Christ. Even thus it is plain, that the prophecy does not belong personally to Zerubbabel, but to him and his descendants, chiefly to Christ. There was in Zerubbabel's time no shaking of the heaven or of nations. Darius had indeed to put down an unusual number of rebellions in the first few years after his accession; but, although he magnified himself on occasion of their suppression, they were only so many distinct and unconcerted revolts, each under its own head. All were far away in the distant East, in Babylonia, Susiana, Media, Armenia, Assyria, Hyrcania, Parthia, Sagartia, Margiana, Arachosia. The Persian empire, spread "probably over 2,000,000 square miles, or more than half of modern Europe," was not threatened; no foreign enemy assailed it; one impostor only claimed the throne of Darius. This would, if successful, have been, like his own accession, a change of dynasty, affecting nothing externally. But neither were lasting, some were very trifling. Two decisive battles subdued Babylonia: of Media the brief summary is given "the Medes revolted from Darius, and having revolted were brought back into subjection, defeated in battle." The Susianians killed their own pretender, on the approach of the troops of Darius. We have indeed mostly the account only of the victor.

But these are only self-glorying records of victories, accomplished in succession, within a few years. Sometimes the satrap of the province put the revolt down at once. At most two battles ended in the crucifixion of the rebel. The Jews, if they heard of them, knew them to be of no account. For the destroyer of the Persian empire was to come from the West Daniel 8:5, the fourth sovereign was to stir up all against the realm of Grecia Daniel 11:2, and Darius was but the third. In the same second year of Darius, in which Haggai gave this prophecy, the whole earth was exhibited to Zechariah as Zechariah 1:11, "sitting still and at rest." The overthrow prophesied is also universal. It is not one throne only, as of Persia, but "the throne," i. e., the sovereigns, "of kingdoms;" not a change of dynasty, but a destruction of their "strength;" not of a few powers only, but "the kingdoms of the pagan;" and that, in detail; that, in which their chief strength lay, the chariots and horsemen and their riders, and this, man by man, "every one by the sword of his brother." This mutual destruction is a feature of the judgments at the end of the world against Gog and Magog Ezekiel 38:21; and of the yet unfulfilled prophecies of Zechariah Zechariah 14:17. Its stretching out so far does not hinder its partial fulfillment in earlier times.