Good Morning Friends,
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a
little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the
dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come,
and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘The silver is
mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘The glory of this
present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the
LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD
Almighty.” (Haggai 2:6-9)
At the urging of the prophet Haggai, the
people who had returned from captivity in Babylon began to rebuild the temple.
But the people of Haggai’s day did not have the resources of the people of
Solomon’s day when the first temple was built. In Solomon’s day, the nation was
at its height in power and wealth and the temple that Solomon built was a
marvelous building. They did their best in Haggai’s day with the building of
the second temple, but it did not measure up to the outward beauty of Solomon’s
temple. “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it
look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?” (Haggai 2:3)
The temple may have lacked more than just
outward glory. It also may have lacked some of the things that made the first
temple special. The most significant of those things was the Ark of the Covenant.
The ark had been with the people of Israel since the days of Moses. It had
resided in the tabernacle and transferred to the first temple. It represented
God’s presence. Yet, it may have been destroyed by Babylon and although a
replacement could be built, it would not have the same force to the people as
that first Ark.
But God promised through Haggai that although
the outward glory of this second temple would not equal the outward glory of
the first temple, He would fill it with a new and unique glory. “The desired of
the nations will come, and fill this house with glory.” “The glory of this
present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.” “In this
place I will grant peace.”
True to His word, God fulfilled this promise.
It would be to this second temple that God would send His Son! In its
courtyards, Jesus would preach, offering peace, His eternal peace. No glory of
gold or outward finery could compare to that glory!
God’s glory is not about gold and silver and
earthly splendor. God’s glory is about His presence and His work.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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