Title: For the Glory of the Future
Contents
♡♥♡ For future glory / Haggai 2:1-9
*** Introduction
This is a more concrete version of what you said in the morning. The words of this text are the words of God encouraging and encouraging the Israelites who returned from their 70 years of captivity through the prophet Haggai.
After the Israelites disobeyed God and were destroyed by Babylon, they were forced to live in slavery in Babylon and Persia for 70 years. As promised, 70 years later, God moved the hearts of King Cyrus and Darius of Persia to allow the remnant of Israel to return to their homeland. The number of people who returned to their hometowns was 49,897 in the first return, 1,754 in the second, and 42,360 in the third.
The time of the prophet Haggai was the time of the first return. They returned to their hometown with a full heart, but 70 years after the fall of Jerusalem and Jerusalem's temple, the entire area was turned into a lush forest. I mustered up my courage and started rebuilding the wall and the temple, but people who oppose Israel appeared and interfered with the work, and in the end they gave up. 16 years have passed since construction stopped with only the foundation of the temple.
God sent the prophet Haggai to rebuke the Israelites. God said, “The time has not come for you to build the house of the Lord.” “Why do you live in a house made of planks, even though the temple is torn down?” (Haggai 1:2,4) You rebuked me. And because of this, the wrath of God came on, and everything fell into trouble. When these words were preached, the people of Israel feared and obeyed God. At that time, God said through the prophet Haggai, “I am with you, says the Lord.” When he heard these words, God excited the hearts of the leaders, the high priests, and the people. Together, they began rebuilding the temple again.
It was during this time that the rebuilding of the temple was in progress. An old man who had seen the splendor of Solomon's Temple before Judah was destroyed, wept as he watched the rebuilding of the Temple. The reason they wept was that the temple being rebuilt today was so insignificant compared to the splendor and majesty of the temple Solomon built. Ezra 3:12 describes the scene at that time, saying, “Many of the priests, Levites, and chieftains saw the first temple, so now they wept bitterly when they saw the building of this house being laid down, and many shouted for joy. do.
God saw this and encouraged the people again so that they would not be disappointed or discouraged. This is verse 4 of the text. “But saith the LORD. Zerubbabel, make yourselves strong. Be strong, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. I am the LORD, saith the LORD. All peoples of this land, strengthen yourselves and work. I am with you. saith the LORD of hosts.” And in verses 6-9, he spoke of the future glory to be accomplished through Jesus Christ. We want to see in this verse that people's perspectives and God's plans may be completely different.
First, the human point of view.
Let's look at verse 3. “Who is left among you, who has seen the former glory of this temple? Now how does this look to you? Isn't this insignificant in your eyes?" he asks. God pointed out the point of view of people. People evaluate and judge by what they see. So, to those who saw the splendor and majesty of Solomon's Temple, which was built with the finest wood and covered with gold and silver, the present temple was too small. But this was only the point of view of those who could only see reality.
Today, we too can fall into this danger. It is clear that God's promises are glorious and great, but we become obsessed with the reality we see right in front of us. What's more, what you've seen, heard, and experienced so far becomes the yardstick to judge other things. Such was the case with the Pharisees in Jesus' day. The Pharisees knew God's glorious promises, but they were desperate for gold and their status right in front of them. The Lord warns. Matthew 23:16-18.
“Woe to you, blind guides, for you say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, nothing will happen; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he will keep it.’ Blind and blind, which is greater? is that gold? A temple that sanctifies gold? You also say, ‘If anyone makes an oath by the altar, nothing will happen, but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he must keep it.’”
God's people who work for future glory should not judge God's work from the world's point of view. That's why the Lord said in Matthew 5:37, "But say what you say is right, it is right, and no, it is not. Anything that passes from this is of evil.”
Next, God's point of view.
God saw the weeping compared to Solomon's temple and encouraged and encouraged the leaders, the high priests, and the people. God said strongly that this was done by God, and that God is with him. He reminded us of the promises made at the time of the Exodus. Why would God so strongly encourage him to remind him of his old promises? This is to keep people from despairing.
Sadness and negative thoughts are contagious. This is when Israel sent out 12 spies in front of Canaan after two years of exodus from Egypt. Of the spies who returned from spying on Canaan, 10 reported negatively. He said that the land of Canaan, which God had promised, must be a fertile land flowing with milk and honey. But the people of the land reported that they were giants and could not be captured because they were mighty soldiers with iron chariots. The other two spies, Caleb and Joshua, made a positive report that they could occupy, reminding them of God's promises, but the people did not listen. Rather, they tried to kill Caleb and Joshua, complaining to God and weeping. As a result, all the people with negative thoughts had to die in the wilderness.
God strongly encouraged us not to buy the wrath of God because of these negative thoughts, which caused us to stop the construction of the temple again. In doing so, he promised the glory he would accomplish in the future. The future glory that God will accomplish will be accomplished through Jesus Christ. The main text is verses 6-9. “I, the LORD of hosts, saith. In a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the land. And I will shake the nations, and the treasures of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory. saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine. saith the LORD of hosts. The latter glory before this will be greater than the former glory. saith the LORD of hosts. I will give you peace in this place. saith the LORD of hosts.”
In these words, God continues to emphasize, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts.” This confirms that it is the word of God that will surely be fulfilled. He said that he would soon send Jesus Christ, the treasure of all nations, to this earth, and he would fill it with glory. Even after these words were proclaimed, the Messiah did not come until 520 years passed.
This Lord is with us now. And the temple accomplished through the Lord will be with the saints on this earth until the final glory, and will become a holy temple. This is John 2:19-21. “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple. I will raise it up in three days.' The Jews said, 'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?' But Jesus was referring to his body, which was a temple.” You said. Now, the person with whom the Lord who is this temple is with us is the temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Let's listen to God's words of encouragement and encouragement. We are God's people who live for the future glory that God has promised. Let's strengthen our hearts and give us strength until we can be with God forever in the kingdom of God. There is a reward for what we do. God blesses us when we begin God's work with our whole heart (Haggai 2:19). God clearly said that the silver is mine and the gold is mine. Let's go boldly in prayer to God.