FAULTY CHRISTMAS CAROLS (HAGGAI 2:7)

There are at least three familiar carols inspired by this verse in Haggai:

    “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” has the line “Come desire of nations, fix in us Thy humble home.”

    Charles Wesley's hymn “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” says “Dear Desire of ev'ry nation, joy of ev'ry longing heart.”

    Finally, there is the verse that goes, “Sages, leave your contemplations; brighter views beam afar; see the great Desire of nations; ye have seen his natal star.” That is found in “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”

But if you look up Haggai 2:7 in your Bibles, you may wonder where the concept of Jesus as “the Desire of nations” came from, that is, unless you happen to have the King James Version, which reads:

    “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.”

The problem is that few modern English translations render the verse in that manner. Here are some examples:

    NIV – “I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come”

    TEV – “I will over overthrow all the nations, and their treasures will be brought here”

    NEB – “I will shake all nations; the treasure of all nations shall come hither”

    JB – “I will shake all the nations and the treasures of all the nations shall flow in”

    RSV – “I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in”

    NRSV – “I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come in”

As you can see, only the NIV follows KJV, whereas the other renderings make it clear that the “treasure” or “desire” is not at all a long-expected Messiah which will come to the nations, but will instead be earthly treasures given to the Temple by them or taken from them.

And even the NIV Study Bible hedges its bets with the following explanatory footnote: “'Desired' can refer to individuals, as in I Sa 9:20; Da 9:23 (where the same Hebrew verb is translated 'highly esteemed'); 11:37. Thus it may have Messianic significance (cf. Mal 3:1). The same Hebrew word can also refer to articles of value, however (see 2 Ch 20:25; 32:27) – such as the contribution of King Darius to the temple (Ezr 6:8). If that is the intent here, the bringing of the 'riches of the nations' to Zion in Isa 60:5 is a close parallel.”

Since this understanding may be considered quite revolutionary to some people who have been weaned on the King James Version, I will list below the opinions of scholars from a wide diversity of denominations. These quotations are not really listed in any particular order and they may differ somewhat on the timing of the prophecy's fulfillment, but practically all of them agree that those Christmas carols above which follow the KJV give a very misleading picture.

R.L. Smith: “KJV and Martin Luther took this messianically as 'the Desire of all nations.' But that reading has been abandoned almost universally...In Isa 2:2-4 the interest is upon the nations and the significance the new Jerusalem and the temple will have for them. In Isa 60:1-22 the emphasis is upon the light of the new Jerusalem to which the nations in darkness come bringing their sacrifices and treasures which brings an end to violence and the beginning of universal peace. Now Haggai speaks of a cosmic disturbance, and the nations, shaken by such an event, will come into Jerusalem bringing their treasures...There is no materialism or avarice on the part of Haggai here. It is a bold prediction of the complete recognition of Yahweh's sovereignty over the whole world.”

Talley states, “An eschatological element is introduced in Mal 3:1, where the desire is for a future messenger, one still to come...Some have attached a messianic significance to the text (cf. Hag 2:7...).”

Jacobs says that “in Hag 2:7, the nations have a role designed by Yahweh's plans and for the benefit of Yahweh's people...Haggai 2:7a reveals that the focus of the action on the nations is the nations' treasure. One option is to see the nations as the subject of the plural verb uba'u, in which case, as a result of shaking the nations will bring treasure (hemdat). Another option is to understand the treasure as being the subject, treating the singular noun as a collective that 'will come' (ba'u). Whether hemdat is seen as the subject or the object, it does not refer to an esteemed individual or precious person. Such an argument attempts to interpret the term as pointing to a messianic figure and ignores the connections within Hag. 2:7 and 8 – the treasure and splendor and the silver and gold...Second, the treasure is not given willingly but is obligatory, based on the vassal status of those who give tribute to their sovereign.”

“The particular word used to indicate precious things, hemdeh, is problematic...The [Latin] Vulgate takes very seriously the fact of a singular noun and gives the word a distinct Messianic connotation...Attention to the Hebrew syntax, viz., the plural verb, makes such a translation and interpretation impossible!...In Haggai, the language derives from theophanic traditions and carries a punitive undertone toward the nations, an element missing from Isa. 60. In Haggai the nations are being shaken in order to jar loose their wealth...Yahweh will use the precious objects to fill the temple with glory.” (Petersen)

Redditt: “God himself promised to beautify the building when the treasure of all nations would flow in and God would fill this house with splendor, surely promises with political ramifications...Again the image was eschatological...the reversal of the present with Judah being elevated and the nations brought down, the rich being stripped of their treasures and the house of God in poor Judah being filled with riches.”

Watts refers to a parallel teaching in Micah 4:13 – “You will crush many nations, and the wealth they got by violence you will present to me, the Lord of the whole world.” (TEV)

Kessler discusses the uncertainty concerning the date of this oracle. If it was 521 BC, then it may reflect the upheaval of the Persian Empire at the time. But if it was written a year earlier, as most scholars believe, then it reflects a more hopeful time of peace and stability.

“Haggai argued that the solution to economic fruitlessness was responsible action (Hag 1:2-11; 2:18-10), promising a day when their warrior God (Hag 2:6) would bring the wealth of nations to their humble temple (Hag 2:7-9).” (Hilber)

“By the time of the later prophet Malachi, “ the second temple had been completed, but it paled in comparison to its Solomonic predecessor (Ezra 3; Hag 2:1-9)...The disillusionment of the postexilic Jewish community was prompted by several theological misunderstandings, including the expectation for wealth that Haggai had promised once the second temple was rebuilt (Hag 2:7, 18-19)...” (Hill)

Kaiser: “The word 'desire, treasure of all nations'...is clearly plural and therefore is not a reference to the Messiah. However Herbert Wolf...pointed to other OT passages where the plural verb and noun clearly refer to an individual; thus the reference could be messianic.”

Wiseman states, “All nations points to the future when, as at the Lord's coming, all nations will pay tribute to His people (cf. Is. 60:9-11). The present disturbances in the Persian lands might well have occasioned the thought. The treasures. RSV here follows LXX [the Septuagint]. RV 'the desirable things' is preferable to AV 'the desire', since the following verb is plural. Or read possibly 'that which is desired by the Lord'). There is not necessarily a reference here to the Messiah. Rather it points to the gifts to be brought by the Gentile rulers to adorn the Temple. This would have a first fulfillment soon (v. 9; cf. Ezr. 6:8,9) but not completely so until Christ's reign (cf. Eph. 2:17-22).”

Verhoef: “In this presentation we must retain the concept of the holy war. These things will become available to the project of the rebuilding and furnishing of the temple, not as voluntary offerings, but as 'spoils' dedicated to the Victor in the holy war (cf. Josh. 6:19; Mic. 4 and 13)...In essence the OT temple finds its ultimate fulfillment in the 'Lord of the temple,' who is greater than the temple (Matt. 12:6), namely, Jesus Christ (cf. John 2:13-22). The final fulfillment coincides with the consummation, when the temple would be superseded by the Lord Almighty and the Lamb as the city's temple (Rev. 21:22-27).”

“Haggai invokes a universalistic vision of the future. In doing so, he deals with the problems raised by the comparison of preexilic temple with postexilic temple. The latter may not now have an associated monarchy, but it is the building to which, eventually riches will flow. As soon as God tumbles the world order, as only he can do, the glory that had previously characterized the temple when it was associated with the royal palace will once again come to Jerusalem.” (Meyers and Meyers)

Mason states, “The temple is Yahweh's house' and so an essential feature of the life of the community. Haggai urges them to rebuild it, whatever the cost in materials and to other, more self-centered interests, and he assures them that when Yahweh dwells among them again, the temple will be filled with 'glory'...There, God will rule again over all the earth so that the treasures of all peoples will again flow toward it, so enriching the whole community.”

“The translation of v. 7 ('the desired of all nations') carries messianic overtones. Although it is a misleading translation, and probably an inaccurate reading of the overt sense of the original, no Christian reading these verses can fail to reflect that treasure and splendor, in a sense unguessed at by Haggai's contemporaries, was indeed to grace the site on which they were working, in the person of the lowly Son of Man. In a literal sense, Darius's generous subsidies already referred to (see Ezr. 6:8,9) would have given the people an early sense of the fulfillment of the prophecy; further fulfillment came in later centuries in the splendid extravagances by which the egregious Herod sought to buy Jewish loyalty...But to Christian understanding the supreme fulfillment was surely when He visited it who was Himself without earthly treasure, and whose rejection brought about its destruction (Mt. 24:1,2).” (Coad)

J.B. Payne feels that the fulfillment of this prophecy was in the immediate future with “the coming of silver and gold (v. 8) from various heathen lands for the completion and beautification of the second temple then under construction (1:14); see Ezra 6:8-9 and Zech 6:11 for particular examples. Such a prophecy was needed in the face of current discouragement (Hag 2:3-4). The plural verb prohibits the Messianic interpretation suggested by the KJV, 'the desire of all nations shall come.'”

I find this last quotation the most interesting of all for one main reason. All the other commentators agree that the immediate support by Darius for the rebuilding of the temple was indeed helpful but was not nearly enough to warrant the statement that it would thus be enough to restore it to its former glory, much less to signal the “shaking of the nations” or the restoration of God's rule on the earth from Jerusalem. All other scholars treat this as an eschatological prophecy of events in the last days.

And what makes Payne's statement even more remarkable is that he generally represents the dispensational premillennial viewpoint with its usual adherence to demanding a literal fulfillment of all OT prophecies, usually in times yet future. But in this case he is alone in finding a satisfactory literal fulfillment of Haggai's words soon after the prophecy was made and denies that there is any future meaning. The only possible reason behind this unusual change of interpretative stance must be that it is impossible for him to find a place to fit a literal eschatological fulfillment of Haggai 2:7 into the incredibly detailed chronological scenario of future events that dispensationalists have developed over the years.

But note that even Payne agrees that the King James translation is faulty.