Haggai: Haggai 2:8-The Silver and the Gold on Earth Belong to the Lord

Haggai 2:6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. (NIV84)

Haggai 2:8 asserts that the silver on earth belongs to the Lord who rules over the armies as well as the gold.

He makes this statement in light of what He said in Haggai 2:7 that He will cause every one of the nations to be shaken so that all the wealth of these nations will be brought to Him.

He then asserts that the result of these nations bringing all their wealth to Him is that they will fill His temple with glory.

Therefore, if we compare these two verses, the Lord is asserting that He can cause these nations to bring their wealth to Him in order make His temple magnificent because all the wealth of these nations belongs to Him to start with.

The reference to silver and gold in Haggai 2:8 is figurative way of saying all the wealth of the world belongs to Him.

Haggai 2:8 would also serve as a reminder to the remnant of Judah as they completed the task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem since it teaches that the Lord could provide for them the necessary financial resources to complete this task.

Now, notice in Haggai 2:8, as he has done so often throughout this book, the prophet Haggai employs the proper noun yhwh (Yahweh) “Lord.”

As we noted many times, this word is the covenant-keeping personal name of God and is used here in connection with His covenant relationship with the Jewish people.

This is significant since this term emphasizes the covenant relationship that the kingdom of Judah had with the Lord.

This word is also emphasizing the “immanency” of the Lord meaning that He involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the affairs of the citizens of the kingdom of Judah.

He is intervening here by empowering the souls of Zerubbabel, Joshua and the citizens of Judah to complete the task of rebuilding His temple in Jerusalem by being personally present with them.

Also, as was the case in Haggai 1:2, 5, 7, 9, 14, 2:4, 6 and 7 we have the expression the yhwh ṣĕbāʾôt (יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת), “the Lord ruling over the armies” here in Haggai 2:4.

The term “armies” (ṣābāʾ) pertains in this context to a military congregation as a large fighting or combat unit, a large organized body of armed personnel trained for war especially on land.

These armies refer to both human and angelic armies because we are speaking in the context of God.

Therefore, this expression “the Lord ruling over the armies” is speaking of the God of Israel’s sovereignty over all creation and every creation, both human and angelic beings.

This expression also emphasizes the divine origin of this statement here in Haggai 2:8 and would also be a reminder to this remnant of Judah that the God of Israel was in control and not the human rulers on the earth who might be hindering this rebuilding project or preventing them from performing this task.

If the God of Israel is the Lord ruling over the angelic and human armies, then the Lord is sovereign over the angels and mankind and over all of creation.

If the God of Israel wants the wealth of all the nations be brought to Jerusalem to make His temple magnificent during His millennial reign, He can do so because He is sovereign over human and angelic armies and all of creation and every creature.

Thus, no one and nothing can stop Him from having this take place in the future.

So therefore, this expression is designed to encourage the remnant of Judah to complete the task of rebuilding His temple in Jerusalem and reassure them of His presence as they completed this task.