This is the only place where the verb is used directly of what God does to people rather than to creation. The point is not a prediction of global chaos but the impact of the Lord’s presence among the nations. Isaiah 60:1–22 pictures the nations willingly bringing their gifts to Zion, and Haggai’s language fits that vision.1 God’s intervention disrupts human power structures and exposes the fragility of what nations build by their own wisdom.
The message to Haggai’s audience is pastoral: they feared what Persia might do, but God calls them to see earthly empires in light of his sovereignty. When their purpose is complete, he can overturn them with ease and redirect the course of history.
7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.