Verse 12
Haggai’s preaching moved Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant of Israelites who had returned from captivity to obey the Lord. This demonstrated reverence for Him.
"Haggai referred to the people as a remnant (here and also in Haggai 1:14 and in Haggai 2:2), not merely because they were survivors of the Babylonian Exile but also because they were becoming what the remnant of God’s people should always be-those who are obedient within their covenant relationship to the Lord (cf. Isaiah 10:21)." [Note: F. Duane Lindsey, "Haggai," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1540.]
This term probably refers to the entire Judean population, consisting of both those who had returned from Babylon and those who had remained in the Promised Land (cf. Jeremiah 8:3; Ezekiel 5:10; Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 11:13). [Note: See Taylor, p. 139.]
"When times are prosperous, it may be easier to dismiss a word of prophetic rebuke; but hard times often expose raw nerves of the spiritual life that has grown insensitive to God’s spirit. Frequently it is in the midst of exceptional human difficulty that God’s word finds its greatest success." [Note: Ibid., p. 137.]
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." [Note: C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, p. 81.]
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