Haggai 1:9

Ye looked for much, and, lo, [it came] to little,.... They looked for a large harvest, and very promising it was for a while; but in the end it came to little; it was a very small crop, very little

Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

Ye, O Jews, you toiled, and were at great cost, as . Looked for much; expected, hoped, promised yourselves a great increase, a plentiful harvest. And, lo, it came to little; but you saw, discerned, and were sensible that it answered not expectation; all dwindled into a very little, you were losers by all, went backward still. I did blow upon it: had your little been as the righteous man’ s little, you might have lived on it, and rejoiced in it; but it had not such a blessing upon it; it was blasted, and so was weak, and empty, and heartless, it profited little. Because of mine house that is waste; all this curse on your estate and labour was for your ungodly neglect of my house, leaving it waste. Ye run; did with eagerness carry on your own particular buildings, spared not care or cost for them; you stir not a foot about my house, you run with greatest earnestness about your own. Every man to his own house, domestic affairs and concerns, in which not one or two, or some few, but every one is culpable, scarce any free from this fault.

Haggai 1:9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, [it came] to little; and when ye brought [it] home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that [is] waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.Ver. 9. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little] Spes in oculis, luctus in manibus, as Jerome here. The hope of unjust men perisheth, Proverbs 11:7, etiam spes valentissima, his likeliest hope, as some render it; he thinks himself sure, as Esau did of the blessing, but he only thinks so; God cuts off the meat from his mouth, Joe 1:16, takes away his corn in the time thereof, Hosea 2:9, confutes him in his confidences, which prove like the brooks of Tema, Job 6:17, and serve him as Absalom’ s mule did her master; his high hopes hop headless, as one phraseth it. It happens with him as with those perverse Israelites in the wilderness, made to tack about forty-two times after that they thought themselves sure of the promised land. I did blow upon it] i.e. I dispersed it with ease. By a like phrase (for sense) God is said, Isaiah 25:11, to spread forth his hands in the midst of his enemies, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; and to bring down their pride, together with the spoils of their hands, with greatest facility. The motion in swimming is easy, not strong; for strong violent strokes in the water would rather sink than support. In like sort God blasted their treasure or blew their hoards hither and thither, he consumed their substance and cursed their blessings, as Malachi 2:2. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, &c.] Their sin of preferring their own private interests and self-respects before God’ s work and service is here repeated, and exaggerated, as the ground and cause of all their calamities: and all little enough to bring them to a sound and serious sight and hatred of their sins. Such a deep kind of drowsiness hath surprised us, for the most part, that whereas every judgment of God should be a warning peal to repent, we be like the smith’ s dog, who the harder the anvil is beaten on lieth by and sleepeth the sounder; or like the silly hen, which loseth her chickens one by one by the devouring kite, and yet, as altogether insensible of her loss, continues to pick up what lieth before her. This is to swelter and pine away in iniquity, as if nothing could awaken men, Leviticus 26:39, and it is threatened last of all, as worse than all their losses, captivities, &c. A lethargy is no less deadly than the most tormenting disease.

(9) Ye looked for much.—Literally, There has been a turning about for much.I did blow upon it—scil., for the purpose of dispersing it. Even the little that was brought into the garner was decimated by God’s continued disfavour.

Verse 9. Ye looked for much] Ye made great pretensions at first; but they are come to nothing. Ye did a little in the beginning; but so scantily and unwillingly that I could not but reject it. Ye run every man unto his own house.] To rebuild and adorn it; and God's house is neglected!

9–11. Having pointed out in ver. 8 the way of amendment and prosperity, the prophet resumes in these verses the expostulation of vv. 4–6, and again insists upon the depressed condition of the people and its cause.

Ye looked - , literally “a looking;” as though he said, it has all been one looking, “for much,” for increase, the result of all sowing, in the way of nature: “and behold it came to little,” i.

Haggai 1:7 urges the people again to stop and consider. It is possible, however, that “consider your ways” is an erroneous repetition from Haggai 1:5, and that Haggai 1:6 should be followed