Scripture: Haggai 2:9 & 19c
‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts….Yet from this day on I will bless you.’”
Insights: Yesterday we learned that God intended for His rebuilding to have purpose that produced results. Today we will look at three of those results. First, the first part of verse nine tells us that this second temple would have greater glory than the first. Now what is interesting is that when the second temple was completed those who had remembered the first wept because of how small it was in comparison to the first. Yet the Lord is telling them that it was not about the size, but rather about what was done in the temple that mattered. In this second temple the people would be more faithful and God’s glory would be reflected more. Second, the second part of verse nine tells us that we would be given peace. I tell people all of the time, “If you are questioning your salvation, ask the Lord if you have His peace and joy in your heart. He will always answer this prayer.” Third, the last part of verse nineteen tells us that he will bless us. In the preceding verses God was telling the people the reason their crops were failing was because they had rejected God and had served themselves (you will remember that on Tuesday I mentioned that they had stolen all of the building materials to build their own homes rather than the temple). God tells them, if they will humble themselves and repent, then He would indeed bless them. This concept of blessing has come up the past two weeks. Remember from last week that the blessing I am referencing is not the same as that propagated by Joel and Victoria Olsten or the rest of the Word of Faith personalities. I am referencing biblical blessing which will take on the form of joy and peace. It will be contentment in the things of God. Is it true that sometimes the blessing is financial? The answer is obviously, “yes.” We, especially as Americans, focus more on the financial blessing than we do on the relational blessing found in being a child of the One True King. Let the Lord’s rebuilding of your heart result in glory, peace and blessing! May His name be praised.
Questions:
1. In what ways are God’s glory, peace and blessings on your life being made evident to a watching world?
2. Are you personally recognizing God’s glory, peace and blessing in your life?
Prayer: Father, thank You for your glory, peace and blessing. Help me to truly be mindful of Your activity in my life. I desire for others to see this transformation and wonder what makes my life different from theirs. Let me then have the courage to tell them about Jesus. Amen.
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