Haggai 2:13-A Ceremonially Unclean Person Defiles Clean Food

Haggai 2:10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, the Lord spoke again to the prophet Haggai: 2:11 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘Ask the priests about the law. 2:12 If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’ ” The priests answered, “It will not.” 2:13 Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.” 2:14 Then Haggai responded, “ ‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ says the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. 2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. 2:16 From that time when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty. 2:17 I struck all the products of your labor with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ says the Lord. 2:18 ‘Think carefully about the past: from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, think about it. 2:19 The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’” (NET)

Like Haggai 2:12, Haggai 2:13 is addressed to the Levitical priests from the kingdom of Judah and like Haggai 2:12, Haggai 2:13 contains two hypothetical situations followed by a rhetorical question which is then answered by these priests.

Like Haggai 2:12, Haggai 2:13 discusses ceremonial or ritual cleanness and uncleanness and holiness as well as the transferability of holiness.

In the Old and New Testament, to be “holy” with regards to a person meant that this person was set apart to worship and serve God exclusively in contrast to false gods worshipped by unregenerate people.

With regards to objects, to be “holy” meant that this object was set apart exclusively for the worship of God.

Like Haggai 2:12, the hypothetical situation and rhetorical question are related to the ceremonial aspect of the Mosaic Law, which contains 365 prohibitions and 248 commands and thus 613 laws or regulations.

They were a revelation of the will of God for the Israelites in relation to the covenant He established with them through Moses at Mount Sinai.

These laws governed the religious, social, economic and political life of the nation of Israel and in Haggai’s day, the remnant of Judah.

Haggai 2:12-13 indicate that the Lord wants Haggai to ask the Levitical priests of Judah two questions pertaining to the purity regulations found in the Mosaic Law.

Leviticus 10:10 teaches that one of the functions of these priests was to make a distinction between what is holy and what is not.

We noted in our study of Haggai 2:12 that this verse is not concerned about direct contact with the holy meat because the garment is in direct contact and thus has become holy as a result of being in contact with this meat and not with a holy portion of food.

But rather, this passage is concerned about direct contact with a holy piece of food.

The issue revolves around whether or not indirect contact will result in holiness.

The ceremonially unclean bread, stew, wine, olive oil or food of any type will not become ceremonially clean by coming into contact with holy meat in the fold of a person’s garment.

Consequently, the priests are ruling that holiness is not transmittable to ceremonially unclean food through indirect contact with a piece of ceremonially clean or holy meat.

So therefore, the priests ruling in Haggai 2:12 makes clear that holiness is not contagious.

However, Levitical 6:27-30, 11:24-28, 22:4-7, Numbers 19:11 and 22 teach that ritual uncleanness or defilement is contagious.

The hypothetical situations, rhetorical question and the answer to this question here in Haggai 2:13 are not only closely connected to the ones recorded in Haggai 2:12 but they also correspond to each other.

As we noted, Haggai 2:12 teaches that food which is ceremonially unclean does not become ceremonially clean by touching ceremonially clean food or the garment holding this food.

Haggai 2:13 teaches that a ritual or ceremonial uncleanness is contagious in that a person who is ritually unclean as a result of touching a corpse will cause the ritual defilement of food which is clean.

Verse 12 teaches that a person does not become ceremonially clean by touching a ceremonially clean object while on the other hand, verse 13 teaches that a person who is unclean can cause ceremonially clean food to become defiled.

Therefore, these two verses correspond to each other because both address the issue of ceremonial or ritual cleanness and uncleanness and the transferability of holiness.

The first hypothetical situation in Haggai 2:13 involves a citizen of the kingdom of Judah who touches one of the various food items listed in Haggai 2:12.

The second is imbedded in the first and involves this same person being ceremonially or ritually unclean as a result of coming in contact with a dead body.

Therefore, together, they speak of a citizen of the remnant of Judah, who is ceremonially or ritually unclean as a result of coming in contact with a dead body touching one of the various food items listed in Haggai 2:12.

The concept of being defiled or becoming ceremonially or ritually unclean as a result of touching or coming in contact with a dead body, whether human or animal appears often in the Mosaic Law (cf. Lev. 5:2; 6:8; 21:11; 22:4-6; Num. 5:2; 6:6; 9;6, 7, 10; 19:11-16).

The rhetorical question in Haggai 2:13 asks the Levitical priests of the kingdom of Judah if a person who is ceremonially unclean as a result of coming in contact with a dead body touches the various food items listed in Haggai 2:12 will they become unclean according to the Mosaic Law?

Now, as was the case with the rhetorical question in Haggai 2:12, this question here in Haggai 2:13, which the Lord poses to these priests is rhetorical since He does not ask it to seek information from them but is a device familiar to every teacher.

It is designed to gain the attention of these priests and ultimate the remnant of Judah.

Haggai 2:13 contains the fifth rhetorical question which we have encountered in the book of Haggai, which is another feature which demonstrates the literary ability of Haggai.

The priests emphatically assert that these various food items will become defiled or ceremonially or ritually unclean as a result of an unclean person, who is defiled by touching a dead body, touching them.

So therefore, Haggai 2:12 teaches the citizens of the kingdom of Judah that holiness is not communicable or transferable.

However, Haggai 2:13 does teach that ceremonial uncleanness is.

These two verses teach that ceremonial uncleanness is transmitted much more easily that holiness since anything touched by an unclean person becomes unclean.

Now, as we noted in Haggai 2:12, the Lord here in Haggai 2:12-13 is not concerned as to how the Levitical priests will rule on the hypothetical situations.

Rather, He is concerned with the application of this ruling, which is indicated by the Lord’s statement in Haggai 2:14, which presents the application of these rulings.

The purpose of Haggai 2:12 and 13 is therefore to illustrate the spiritual condition of the citizens of the remnant of Judah.

They were ceremonially unclean because they were in a state of disobedience which was reflected in their priorities.

They were concerned with the upkeep and enhancement of their own homes while the Lord’s temple was being neglected and so consequently, the Lord was disciplining them which is described in Haggai 1:5-6, 9-11 as well as Haggai 2:15-17.

Therefore, Haggai 2:12-13 are actually addressing the state of apostasy of the remnant of Judah prior to obeying the Lord’s command to complete the rebuilding of His temple in Jerusalem and emphatically does not describe this remnant after obeying the Lord’s command to complete the rebuilding of His temple.

The assertion in Haggai 2:14 that this remnant was unclean in the Lord’s sight and all that they offer was also unclean as a result is emphatically not describing this remnant after their obedience to Haggai’s first message, which is all indicated by a comparison of Haggai 1:12-14 with Haggai 2:15-19.

Haggai 2:15-17 assert that before one stone was laid on another for this temple, this remnant was suffering agricultural hardships and which hardships parallel the ones described in Haggai 1:5-6 and 1:9-11.

However, Haggai 2:18-19 assert that the Lord would bless them from the day Haggai communicated this third message to them.

Furthermore, Haggai 1:12 asserts that this remnant immediately obeyed Haggai’s first message to complete the rebuilding of the Lord’s temple, which demonstrated their respect for the Lord.

Haggai 1:13 asserts that the Lord promised this remnant that He was with them as a result of their obedience.

Haggai 1:14 identifies specifically how the Lord was with them in that it describes Him as energizing the souls of Zerubbabel and Joshua and the remnant of Judah in order to complete this task.

The Lord would never be present with this remnant if they were still in apostasy and ceremonially unclean.

He would never make this promise if they were ceremonially unclean.