Pst. IsiakaWednesday, September 23, 2009
Memorise: "Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?" (Hag 2:3)
Read: Haggai 2:3-9
3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
9 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.
"Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?" (Hag 2:3).
When Solomon's temple was built, it was a masterpiece. But at the time the Israeli exiles returned and were asked to rebuild, it had been reduced to zero in glory, beauty and value. Those who saw the same temple in its former glory could not believe that they were seeing the same temple. Yet God promised that by the time He was through with it, the temple will be filled with God's greater glory. This latter house would be more preferred to the former temple during the time of king Solomon. Thereafter God encouraged them on what to do to get there. From this we can see that life is in phases. Being down in one phase does not mean that you cannot be up in the next phase. It also teaches us that no matter what we face today - the difficulty, disappointments and failures, we should never lose hope for tomorrow. If you lose hope, you have lost everything. 1 Corinthians 3:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:19 says you are that temple of God today. You are more important to God than any physical church building. Is your spiritual life in ruins? Have you fallen into sin and have lost hope of being forgiven? Have you lost the graces of God in a very significant way? Don't lose hope. God is still interested in you. He will restore you not just to your lost glory, but to a glory and height far beyond where you fell from.
Another lesson from today's passage is that the latter house glory does not just come except provoked. That means, if you sit down and do nothing to provoke it, you may never see it. From this passage, to provoke your latter house glory, you must realize your need for it. You must be dissatisfied with your present state. Until you are completely dissatisfied with your present state, you remain stuck with it. Also, you must make sure God is with you. Without His presence, there is no latter house glory. In addition, you must resist all odds that will oppose your desired change. Such oppositions will come from your flesh, family, friends and enemies. You must work hard. No latter house for lazy people. You must also deal with fear and make a covenant with God on why you need the latter house glory. Then pray and seek God's face until it manifest.
