and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
Haggai's last message came on the same day as the one before it. It lifts the eyes of a small group of returned exiles far past their own moment, to a day when God Himself pulls down the governments of the world. Three questions follow: when does this happen, which powers are meant, and what should God's people do until then?
Still Future
The promise was made to a named man who has long since died, and that fact settles the timing. Nothing in history has matched what is described here.
T. B. BainesZerubbabel has been dead more than twenty-three centuries, and yet this shaking of the nations has not come. What could be clearer? The great event foretold here is the overthrow of every throne on earth. Then the Messiah, Zerubbabel's descendant, will set up His righteous rule over the nations of the world.
The Throne That Falls
"The throne of kingdoms" is not one nation among others. It is world rule itself.
Edward DennettFor now the throne of the earth is in the hands of the Gentiles. They have corrupted it and used it for their own evil purposes. It has certainly become a throne of godless tyranny and oppression — one that exalts man and shuts out God. The crucifixion of Christ has already declared its true nature, for the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ.
Behind the human rulers stands another power, and its end is fixed:
Dr. Daniel W. PatersonWe know who sits on that throne — the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil and Satan. He will be thrown into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:2-3). The strength of the kingdom, moreover, is in the hands of the beast and the false prophet, who will be thrown alive into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20).
Which Enemies Are Meant
Commentators differ on the exact target. One reads it as the nations that gather against Jerusalem, not the final world ruler:
J. N. DarbyIn my view, the judgment in verse 22 is not the judgment of the throne of the beast. It is the judgment of the nations who will come up against Jerusalem in that day. Everything that sets itself up against Jehovah's rights at Jerusalem will be overthrown. God established those rights according to His own purposes, and they were bound up with the house the people were building.
Another sets it later in the sequence:
William KellyThis is the judgment of the living, or at least the part of it that concerns the nations that gather against Israel. It comes after the destruction of the Beast, along with the kings and armies under him, whom the Lord destroys when He appears.
By Each Other's Swords
Notice how the fall happens. God raises no army. The armies turn on themselves.
Dr. Daniel W. Paterson"...overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother." Often in Bible history the enemies kill one another, as Jonathan saw (1 Samuel 14:20), and Gideon (Judges 7:22), Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:23), and Egypt (Isaiah 19:2)... It seems God will deliver Israel this same way in a future day. As to our enemies we are to "fear not" (2:5). God will clear the scene, but He will also fill it.
Cleared for a Kingdom
The tearing down makes room. God's judgment on the Gentile kingdoms is the ground on which He sets up David's throne.
William KellyBy His gracious power Jehovah will set up the throne of David on the judgment of the Gentile kingdoms... Zerubbabel was only a governor, yet he clearly pictures Christ as King. He was David's son and heir in his own day, so this was all the more fitting. The Messiah alone will fully set up the kingdom of Jehovah here below and keep it forever, while the earth lasts.
What the Faithful Do Meanwhile
The people who first heard this lived under those very powers. The verse divides the work: God takes the overthrowing, and their part is something else.
Hamilton SmithThose powers used their strength without mercy, then as now, to crush anyone who stood in their way. Faced with all this power of evil, the remnant had only to obey the word of the LORD and, in simple faith, get on with the LORD's work. It was no part of their business to oppose the world, to overthrow its power, or to try to put its wrongs right. The LORD tells them that in His own time He will deal with all the evil of the world.
Summary
- "I will." Every action in the verse belongs to God — He overthrows, He destroys, He brings the riders down. He gives His people no part in it.
- The throne. What falls is world rule in Gentile hands, with the devil behind the throne. Its rulers showed its true character when they gathered against Christ.
- The sword. The armies collapse by killing each other, as enemies have often done before. So the word to the fearful is "fear not."
- The signet. God clears the scene in order to fill it. He sets up David's throne by His own power, and Zerubbabel pictures Christ as King.
- Our part. Not to oppose the world or fix its wrongs, but to obey God's word and get on with His work until He acts.