The Coming Glory of God’s House
“In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
The People Are Defiled
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Now, ask the priests concerning the law, saying, “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?” ’ ”Then the priests answered and said, “No.”And Haggai said, “If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean? “So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.” Then Haggai answered and said, “ ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.
Promised Blessing
‘And now, carefully consider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord— since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty. I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord. ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider it: Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.’ ”
Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet
And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: ‘I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. ‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
When Solomon built the first temple, he had lots of advantages. David, Solomon’s father, had been amassing all kinds of wealth for the building of the temple. David himself wanted to build the temple but God forbade it because David was a warrior. When Solomon built the temple, Hiram, King of Tyre, contributed cedar logs and carpenters. Solomon raised a forced work levy and also imposed high taxes. People rebelled against Solomon’s son Rehoboam because he refused to reduce their taxes. Now Ezra and the returnees from Babylon are building a structure that is far more humble than the one Solomon built. People are probably making fun of it and some of the older people are grieving because this temple doesn’t look anything like Solomon’s.
But God is reminding people that all the silver and gold belong to Him and that He is the One who can send His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit left the temple long before the Babylonian exile; Ezekiel witnessed the departure of the Holy Spirit in a vision. Now God is promising, ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Even though the people are defiled, God will bless their efforts and begin to bless crops and trade because work on the temple is going on as He has ordered.
APPLICATION: When Hudson Taylor first went to China in 1853, he went with a mission board that had numerous problems. Resigning from that board in 1857, Taylor and one friend became independent missionaries with little visible means of support apart from prayer. Taylor later founded the China Inland Mission, which had 1,368 missionaries in 364 stations throughout China by 1934. The China Inland Mission was a faith-based mission, depending on donations that came as a result of fervent prayer. One of Taylor’s favorite sayings was, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”
Zerubbabel and the people working with him learned this principle after fumbling around. But God promised Zerubbabel that He had chosen him as a key person and would promote him. Sometimes we might wonder if God has chosen us for any great work. The problem is this: Our concept of greatness and God’s are quite different.
We might be quietly caring for cancer patients, making their last days peaceful, comfortable, and memorable for their families. While we might not think much of our efforts, God might have a different opinion. We may work in very humble positions as janitors or bus drivers; yet, there have been graduating high school classes who have selected the janitor or bus driver to be their graduation speaker because that individual has meant so much to the students. When I was in school, caring school secretaries were an incredible encouragement. Sometimes, seeing the smile on the secretary’s face when I went through the school office was the highlight of my day. And I think of all the ward secretaries, janitors, and security people from the various hospitals at which I have trained – many of these people were my friends and I miss them. I remember being honored by a ward secretary in Memphis, Tennessee; this lady invited me to a family wedding held in a very poor part of Memphis. Such an invitation carried with it a large measure of trust, and I remain humbled when I think about that time.
MAKE NO MISTAKE! EVERY WORK FOR WHICH GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU IS A GREAT WORK! You are just as precious to God as was Zerubbabel! Let’s pray.
PRAYER: Father God, many of us feel totally insignificant and unworthy. We look at ourselves and compare ourselves to others and are ashamed that we have not achieved more. But Lord, You look on hearts and You are not impressed with outward appearances. Help each person who reads this prayer to realize just how precious they are to you as individuals. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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