From Background Notes [BN] for October 6th & 7th written by Pastor Bob Brown:
In the present context, the purpose of
the signet ring was to authenticate legal documents, identify property, or
authorize proxy, functioning much like our signature (Jeremiah 32:10-44;
1 Kings 21:8). If one person gave another person his seal, then he thereby
conferred authority and trust. God is making Zerubbabel the equivalent of a
seal in this sense.
The following additional text
illustrates the idea further:
"As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off” (Jeremiah 22:24).
Ironically, these words were addressed
to Zerubbabel’s grandfather in a moment of utter disgrace and rejection by God.
God removes Jehoiachin from his throne when the exile begins, but now a future
son has his relationship to God restored. Wolff comments:
Since
Zerubbabel was born in exile … he may very well have known his grandfather. Did
he, or did Haggai, know Jeremiah’s word of judgment addressed to his
grandfather? And was he therefore also familiar with the otherwise unknown
metaphor of the signet ring? … Does Haggai mean to tell Zerubbabel that through
him Yahweh is going to give the rejected Davidic dynasty a fresh continuation?
To answer these questions, the
scholars Meyers write:
The
naming of Zerubbabel is the choosing of Zion, which is the place where
Zerubbabel governs, where the temple is being restored, and where the locus of
universal well-being will be established.
They go on to argue that temple and
palace belong together in the Israelite history, and when a person builds the temple,
that action invariable helped to legitimize the founding of a royal house.
In these last words of Haggai, Yahweh is saying to Judah that:
…the
temple project brought Yahweh’s power back into the world as an active
presence. Could the overthrow of nations and the rule of Yahweh with his
Davidic assistant be far behind? … Haggai, by using a living individual in his future
vision, bridges the gap between present and future. It’s not that he makes the
future imminent; rather, he presents a view of time in which eschatology is not
distinguished from history — the two belong together for him.
It is this idea of Zerubbabel as “bridge”
that fascinates us in the present text. Here is a man who would never become
king, nor would any of his descendents after him. At some point in the future,
a false king would take the throne, Herod the Great, who did not belong to the
royal line of David, nor did God fold him into His promises like a signet ring.
Herod would transform the humble temple built by little Judah into an
expensive, and richly apportioned wonder of the Roman world. Even the disciples
of Jesus succumbed to its magic when they said to him about Herod’s temple, “Look,
Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” (Mark 13:1). But
Herod’s temple had nothing to do with the temple Judah raised up during its
recovery from exile. Herod was not heir to Zerubbabel’s promise.
But Jesus would be! [BN, 10]
Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:
* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:30pm
Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:
* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:30pm
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