Ensign: Rebuilding God's House
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:9
THE GLORY OF THIS LATTER HOUSE 18 September 2015
Don't bug out, you're still reading the Ensign devotional I post on Fridays, but there's this verse I heard a few weeks ago that's been sticking in my head. Out of thirty-eight verses in this third to last book of the Old Testament -- please look for it, you really should be to make sure what I'm saying is Biblically accurate -- let's see what God has to say, and consequently say to us, through him.
THE GLORY OF THIS LATTER HOUSE 18 September 2015
Don't bug out, you're still reading the Ensign devotional I post on Fridays, but there's this verse I heard a few weeks ago that's been sticking in my head. Out of thirty-eight verses in this third to last book of the Old Testament -- please look for it, you really should be to make sure what I'm saying is Biblically accurate -- let's see what God has to say, and consequently say to us, through him.
In 50 words or less, Judah was conquered by Babylon (where the first half of Daniel takes place) which was in turn conquered by Persia nearly fifty years later. In not only God's prophetic timing but in a good public relations move, the Persian king Cyrus allowed all the conquered peoples to go home and practice their own faiths. About sixteen years after the Jews' return to the Holy Land, the prophet Haggai began to speak. (Oh, and if you counted that passage from "Judah was", that's 71 words. You need to check this stuff!)
The book of Haggai -- other than his being a prophet, we're not told anything about him -- contains four distinct messages from God.
HAG-ee-eye, hey GUY -- pronounce his name however you want, we're not being graded.
Haggai's first message from the first eleven verses (1:1-11) is a call for the people as they're rebuilding their lives to keep their God (our God) in perspective. "Consider your ways," God says twice in verses five and seven. While the people of Judah are rebuilding their lives, God's Temple stands neglected. "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but have not enough;" and the rest of verse 6 is not God's affliction but theirs.
When God does not have first priority in their lives or ours, there is never enough. Under the leadership of Governor Zerubbabel and Joshua, son and heir apparent to High Priest Josedech, the people in Jerusalem hear God's word through Haggai and turn to build the Temple. The LORD then says to them in verse thirteen: "I am with you." God doesn't need a temple to dwell in, but we need a focal point, an assembly-place for our worship of Him.
HAG-ee-eye, hey GUY -- pronounce his name however you want, we're not being graded.
Haggai's first message from the first eleven verses (1:1-11) is a call for the people as they're rebuilding their lives to keep their God (our God) in perspective. "Consider your ways," God says twice in verses five and seven. While the people of Judah are rebuilding their lives, God's Temple stands neglected. "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but have not enough;" and the rest of verse 6 is not God's affliction but theirs.
When God does not have first priority in their lives or ours, there is never enough. Under the leadership of Governor Zerubbabel and Joshua, son and heir apparent to High Priest Josedech, the people in Jerusalem hear God's word through Haggai and turn to build the Temple. The LORD then says to them in verse thirteen: "I am with you." God doesn't need a temple to dwell in, but we need a focal point, an assembly-place for our worship of Him.
Haggai's second message in chapter two, verses two through nine which came a month and twenty days after the first was a message of encouragement. The job Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the returnees had done on God's Temple (referred to historically as the Second Temple, it wouldn't come down save the Western Wall until the AD 70 Roman seige of Jerusalem) was a great one. It wasn't the original Temple built in the reign of Solomon (cf. verse 3, "Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?
. . . is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?"), but it was where God's presence would be felt, and "the glory of the latter house shall be greater than of the former". Again, God doesn't need the building, but we and the Jews do. When we commit ourselves to the goals God sets for us, He is welcomed into our lives and doesn't have to strong-arm Himself into our little world. The exhortation to "be strong" three times in verse 4 isn't one we can fulfill if God is not present in us.
. . . is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?"), but it was where God's presence would be felt, and "the glory of the latter house shall be greater than of the former". Again, God doesn't need the building, but we and the Jews do. When we commit ourselves to the goals God sets for us, He is welcomed into our lives and doesn't have to strong-arm Himself into our little world. The exhortation to "be strong" three times in verse 4 isn't one we can fulfill if God is not present in us.
Three months after the people of Jerusalem started work on the Temple, the word of the LORD came unto Haggai again (2:11-19). The people had the form of worship toward their God, but not the substance. Hence the catechism of the priests in verses twelve through fourteen and the castigation of the people in verse sixteen for not bringing the offering their ancestors did. When the people returned to God as first and foremost in their lives, there would be no shortage of blessing -- the seed, the vine, and the trees would bring forth fruit as they had not so far.
This isn't extortion on God's part, but our willingness (or not) to trust Him to provide for our needs. Sometimes that's not so obvious. The last message in verses twenty-one through twenty-three seems more of a pat on the back to Zerubbabel, but it's also a message of restoration. The LORD's promise to "shake the heavens and the earth" and "overthrow the throne of kingdoms . . . and the horses and their riders" is God's promise to one man, but it's also a promise of future greatness for the people he represents.
As the chosen people of God, the people of Judah were in for a fantastic destiny, all because they had chosen to rebuild God's house and restore His primacy in their lives. How close to Him, how close to that fantastic destiny, are we?
Closer than you and I think, David
P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager to action too! If you find that I'm not or you want me to get lost, just let me know -- thank you!
Thank You, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.
Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.
This isn't extortion on God's part, but our willingness (or not) to trust Him to provide for our needs. Sometimes that's not so obvious. The last message in verses twenty-one through twenty-three seems more of a pat on the back to Zerubbabel, but it's also a message of restoration. The LORD's promise to "shake the heavens and the earth" and "overthrow the throne of kingdoms . . . and the horses and their riders" is God's promise to one man, but it's also a promise of future greatness for the people he represents.
As the chosen people of God, the people of Judah were in for a fantastic destiny, all because they had chosen to rebuild God's house and restore His primacy in their lives. How close to Him, how close to that fantastic destiny, are we?
Closer than you and I think, David
P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager to action too! If you find that I'm not or you want me to get lost, just let me know -- thank you!
Thank You, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.
Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.
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