Haggai 2:9 - ‘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 Word of the Lord come through the prophet Haggai to His people.
To understand this verse better, we need to understand the background behind this.
Israelites were in bondage in the land of Egypt. From there, the Lord led them to the land of Canaan through 40 years of wandering in the desert. They settled in the land of Canaan and evolved as a nation of Israel. They initially had judges over them and later kings ruled over them. During the reign of king Solomon, he built a magnificent temple for the Lord. Later, the land of Israel was divided into two kingdoms - Judah and Israel. They disobeyed the Lord and refused to repent even though the Lord sent prophets to warn them. The Lord therefore give them into the hands of their enemies. The Babylonians came and attacked the land of Judah and took away the people as captives. The capital city Jerusalem was also besieged. All the treasures from Solomon’s temple and the people in Jerusalem were taken to Babylon as captives and the temple was burnt.
2 Kings 24:13 - And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
2 Kings 25:8, 9 - And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.
After about 70 years of captivity in Babylon, these Israelites found favour in the sight of the Persian king who was then ruling over Babylon. The exiles returned to their homeland and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah. They laid the foundation of the temple under the leadership of Ezra. However, the work was halted, mired in discouragement and derailed by a lack of focus.
Several years passed by but the temple was not completely rebuilt.
Why? The people were discouraged.
The word of the Lord comes through Haggai to these discouraged group.
Haggai 2:1 - In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying:
This marks the festive time in Israel. The 21st day of the seventh month was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Leviticus 23:33-36 - Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
The festival was celebrated to remember the goodness of the Lord when He led them from Egypt to the land of Canaan through the wilderness.
Lev 33:42 - You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'
The day prior to this (20th day) was the day of Atonement where sacrifices were offered to the Lord for the sins of the nation and the people
Lev 23:26 - Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.
So, these were the days when people had to be encouraged and remember the great things that the Lord had done to them in the past. Even now, they were released from the Babylonian exile and returned to their homeland.
However, the people were discouraged to build the temple.
Reason:
Haggai 2:2-3
“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?
More than 400 years ago, king Solomon built the first Jewish temple to the Lord. Solomon’s temple was a masterpiece. The temple was made using precious metals and gems. Solomon hired skilled workers for the job. That was a golden era in Israelite history. Israelites were so prosperous that silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. (2 Chronicles 9:20). People from other nations to the Solomon’s wisdom, Israel’s greatness and the temple’s glory.
However, the situation now was entirely different. Although the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland, they were still struggling under the Persian rule. They were still not an independent nation. They were struggling economically as well.
Owing to this, when the foundation of the second temple was laid, it seemed pitiful compared to the glorious temple that Solomon built.
Ezra 3:12 - But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy.
Older men who had seen the first temple wept when the foundation was laid. In their minds, the second temple would never match the glory of the former one. So they left their works and contribution insignificant.
Probably the ones shouting aloud for joy were the younger generation who had not seen the temple in the former glory.
So, the people were discouraged mainly because their perspective was wrong.
Eccl 7:10 - Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
Often, we make the same mistake. Our perspective can be wrong. Instead of looking ahead in faith, we look behind and regret.
How to get rid of discouragement?
1. Remember God’s promise of His presence with us
Haggai 2:4 - 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.
When God assures that He is with us in critical times, He doesn’t simply stand beside us but He fights for us, He is on our side and works for us (our advocate)
Many times we forget that the Lord is with us.
Illustration - Martin Luther was a very cheerful man, as a rule; but he had terrible fits of depression. He was at one time so depressed that his friends recommended him to go away for a change of air, to see if he could get relief. He went away; but he came home as miserable as ever; and when he went into the sitting-room, his wise wife Kate, Catherine von Bora, was sitting there, dressed in black, and her children round about her, all in black. “Oh, oh!” said Luther, “who is dead?” “Why,” said she, “Doctor, have not you heard that God is dead? My husband, Martin Luther, would never be in such a state of mind if he had a living God to trust to.” Then he burst into a hearty laugh, and said, “Kate, thou art a wise woman. I have been acting as if God were dead, and I will do so no more. Go and take off thy black.” (Illustration taken from - The Complete Works of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume 38 By Charles Spurgeon)
Several times in the Bible do we read the Lord saying, “I am with you.”
We are giving the same promise by Jesus in Matthew 28:20 - lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
In fact, Jesus is also named Immanuel meaning ‘God with us’
2. Remember the covenant relationship of God with us
Haggai 2:5 - ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
God assures the Israelites of His covenant with them when they came out of Egypt.
Our God is a covenant keeping God. He was faithful in his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the whole of Israel. We are the spiritual Israelites and the Lord has entered into a covenant relationship with us through Jesus. In Jesus, our sins are forgiven, our needs are supplied, and our peace is guaranteed. Above all, we have the Holy Spirit inside us to lead and guide us.
When we are discouraged and feel like our efforts are insignificant, we need to remember the promise of His presence and His covenant with us.
3. Remember the promises that God would have spoken in your lives
God is always faithful to fulfil what He had promised
What promise does God give to the Israelites at this juncture?
Haggai 2:6-9
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.”
God was saying that the best is yet to come. The perspective of the people were wrong. They believed that nothing would ever compare with the glory of Solomon’s temple. That was why, God says - The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine. He was saying that if He wanted to build an elaborate temple better than Solomon’s then He would give them more than they needed.
Strengthened by the astounding prophecy, the people of God completed the construction of the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel and prophets like Haggai and Zechariah.
Was the temple that they built as magnificent as Solomon’s temple? It was rather a modest structure, but later during the reign of Herod the Great, the temple was completely refurbished with large and magnificent edifices and facades. However, that does not define the promised glory of the latter temple exceeding the former one.
Then how was the latter temple exceeding in glory than the former one?
This happened when the Jesus, the glory of heaven himself honoured the temple with His presence. The Lord Himself manifested in flesh, visited and performed miracles in the temple.
Haggai was right when he said in:
Haggai 2:7 - 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.
God kept His promises.
In our lives, God is faithful to keep His promises but we need to commit to His way
Isa 55:8,9 – “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
