Return from Exile: Haggai (4)

Pray Psalm 132.8-10.
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.

Sing Psalm 132.8-10.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
Arise, O Lord, come to Your resting place; Your holy Presence meet with us in might.
Clothe us with righteousness in Jesus’ grace, and we will shout to Your divine delight!
For David’s sake, turn not away Your face, but look upon us in Your holy light.

Read Haggai 2.1-9; meditate on verses 6-9.

Preparation
1. Why were the people disappointed?

2. What did God promise them?

Meditation
We have already seen that many of the people, when they witnessed the foundation of the new temple, were disappointed (Ezra 3.12, 13). The new temple was not like the one Solomon built (vv. 1-3). Many of them must have felt, “What’s the use?”

But God would not let them languish in discouragement. He sent Haggai to Joshua and Zerubbabel “and all the people of the land” to encourage them to stay at the work, not only for the temple itself, but also for what the temple represented and would point to in the days to come (vv. 4, 5).

The temple would remind the people that God was with them and working to fulfill all the promises He made to their forebears (vv. 5, 6). Further, the temple would point to the last days and the coming of God’s glory and the Desire of All Nations into this very temple (vv. 6-9). God would shake the world and draw the nations to Him Whom they desire above all else, even our Lord Jesus Christ. God could lavish gold and silver on this new temple, if He so chose (v. 8). But He was saving the revelation of His greatest glory to a “latter temple” that would be greater than this or even Solomon’s temple. He was referring to the Lord Jesus, Who latched onto this language in John 2 by referring to Himself as the temple God would raise in His resurrected body (Jn. 2.19).

Paltry things can have great significance. This new temple would serve the faithful in seeking God, so that they could know His Presence with them. But it would also remind them that the Desire of All Nations was yet to come, and the greater glory and peace of God would come with Him (v. 9). The faithful among them would look longingly for that day and would worship and serve the Lord, captivity or no.

So today, in our own present captivity, let the faithful look to the coming of Jesus. And let us continue the work of building His temple—our bodies and our churches—that He may be glorified in all we do.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“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?” (Hag. 2.3)

In thinking about that temple and its former glory, we might be tempted to think about our aging bodies and flagging strength. But clearly, God wants us to finish well. He wanted us to begin and continue faithful, and to do so until the end. He has never looked on our outward person, He has only ever been concerned about our hearts toward Him. “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart’” (1 Sam. 16.7).

God wants us to be enthusiastic about Him and His Kingdom. He wants our focus always to be set on seeking Him first, no matter what age we are, or what condition we’re in. We must never compare ourselves to others or to a healthier or more able version of ourselves (1 Cor. 5.12; 10.12). We are His, always. And He was well pleased with the rebuilt temple, because it was not really about that temple at all; but about The Temple that was coming in the form of Jesus Christ our Savior.

“For who has despised the day of small things?” God wants to know. And He’s taking names.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 16-18).

We serve a risen Savior, Who said, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16.18).

Who is left among you who has served the Lord, and will serve Him until the end?
How do you see your great potential now?
It is not nothing. It is everything that God wants from you.
You, serving and glorifying Him, at any age, built on the foundation of His saving work, is well-pleasing in His sight (Heb. 13.20, 21).

For reflection
1. The “temple” of our bodies may seem small and insignificant, but how does the Lord teach us to think about it?

2. What can you do to make sure that He sees your heart as totally dedicated to Him?

3. God encourages us to keep looking to Jesus, to become more like Him. Whom will you encourage in this calling today?

He shall come, as the Desire of all nations; desirable to all nations, for in him shall all the earth be blessed with the best of blessings; long expected and desired by all believers. The house they were building should be filled with glory, very far beyond Solomon’s temple. This house shall be filled with glory of another nature. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Haggai 2.1-9

Pray Psalm 132.11-18.
Pray for the coming of God’s Kingdom within you and through you. Ask Him for a greater measure of our great salvation. Call on Him to fill you with joy and hope as you work your Personal Mission Field today.

Sing Psalm 132.11-18.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
Remember, Lord, the oath You swore to David. Do not turn back, do not deny Your Word:
“One of your sons, with your throne I will favor, and He shall keep My cov’nant evermore,
and walk within My testimonies ever. Thus He shall ever rule as Israel’s Lord.”

God dwells among us, and He will forever, to meet our needs and clothe us with His grace.
He has to us sent Jesus Christ, our Savior, and made us His eternal resting-place.
His foes are banished from His Presence ever, but we shall reign with Him before His face.

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help us understand our own captivity and lead us to seek revival and renewal in the Lord. The Church Captive asks us to consider the ways the Church today has become captive to the world. And Revived! can help us find the way to renewal. Learn more and order your free copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available free by clicking here.