“The future glory of this present temple will be greater than the splendor of the former temple; and in this house I will give peace and prosperity. I the Lord Almighty have spoken.”

“Who is left among you that can remember this house in its former glory?” (2:3). I once worked for a well-to-do church. When I arrived on the scene, this church was in steady decline. They hired me because they needed fresh blood and a new vision. However, it wasn’t long before I realized they were stuck in a holding pattern. They were attempting to recreate and recapture their glory days of old by recycling the same dead programs and events, hoping that somehow this year it would magically rekindle the spark they had 10 years prior.

There is a lot that could be said about this mindset, but what I want to focus on is how we often get stuck in the memory of the good old days, rather than living in the present and working towards the endless potential of the future. This is what was happening to the people of Judah. They were tasked to rebuild the temple, but they didn’t have the resources to make it as beautiful and glorious as the original temple Solomon had built. Comparatively, this was a house of sticks.

Let’s zoom out for a moment and look at the overall picture of what is happening. King Cyrus of Persia had released a remanent of fifty thousand Jews to return home from exile. The remanent quickly began the work of restoring the temple; but after two years of hard work, and constant political and physical aggression from their neighboring countries, the people’s enthusiasm for this project had vanished. They turned their focus inward, making their own homes and land all it could be, rather than working on restoring God’s temple. Despite their efforts for self-success, scripture says they couldn’t meet their own needs. “Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!” (1:5-6). The reason for their lack was clear. God didn’t leave any room for doubt. He said, “Why are you living in luxurious houses while My house lies in ruins?” (1:4) “Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my temple” (1:8).

Now, this is really the key part. Please don’t miss it. Haggai 1:12 says, “Then…the whole remnant of God’s people began to obey the message from the Lord their God.” As soon as the people decided to be obedient to God, scripture says that God’s presence was with them, and His presence sparked excitement among the people to rebuild the temple.

Have you ever gotten excited about being obedient? If I’m honest with myself, some of the things God asks me to be obedient are not that exciting. In fact, some are downright terrifying. Such things as:  when God asks me to forgive someone I don’t want to forgive; or when He asks me to give more than I think I’m able to give; or when He asks me to do something that seems like it would be miserable to do; or when He asks me to yield my rights when I think I deserve them; or especially when He asks me to let go of all my expectations and completely trust Him in a certain matter or relationship. And yet, the odd thing I’ve discovered is that, when I am obedient to God, even in the uncomfortable things, I am filled with joy. Out of that joy comes a deeper desire to please God. In obedience, my initial self-satisfying disgust for what He asked me to do transforms into excitement to do what pleases Him. This is what happened to the people of Judah. In their obedience to God, God filled them with an excitement to do what pleased the Lord.

However, as the people started building the temple, discouragement once again quickly overtook them. They started comparing this new temple to the temple Solomon had built. Their focus shifted away from what God was doing or about to do, to what it was like in their glory days. They knew the resources they had to build this new temple couldn’t compare with the resources Solomon had when he built the first temple. It is easy for us to get stuck in the past. I find I must consistently fight off this mentality. It can be a real battle. Sometimes, I think about the years I spent in youth ministry, or about when my children were young and we were a happy little family, before hardships and heartaches came in, leaving these temples in ruin. It is not wrong to remember the past. God designed the past, both the good and the bad of it, to teach us valuable lessons which He wants us to apply to our present and future. The past should not define us but rather inform us, as we move forward in God’s plan. However, like the church I mentioned earlier, when we get stuck on the past, on what we used to be or how things used to be, we can prevent ourselves from being able to move forward. If we only see what was, we risk the opportunity of allowing God to redeem the ruins.

Now before we are too hard on the people of Judah, we should also realize their discouragement had sentiments of righteousness. How?  Because, at its root, it came from a deep desire to give God what He truly deserved. They came to realize this house of sticks was so completely unworthy of the holiness of God. Graciously, God looks at our hearts, at our temples. When our comparison is based upon an honest desire to please God and to bring Him glory, humbly recognizing that what we have is not enough, then God can use our desires to bring forth beautiful things.  

“My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid. For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place, I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!” (Haggai 2:5-9)

I had temples that were beautiful and glorious. But like the people of Judah, my own sin got in the way. I was carried off into exile, and my temples were left in ruins. I thought God was done with me, as if He shut me like a book with a bad ending and put me on the shelf to collect dust. Yet, despite my sin, He redeems. Despite of my current circumstances, He rebuilds. Despite all my lacking and inabilities, He makes new. God isn’t looking for a perfect house. He is looking for a heart that desires to love Him. God didn’t care that the new temple would be sticks and stones compared to the old temple, because the people were obedient and chose to put their love for Him above all else. God said this new temple would be blessed far beyond the old one. When I decided to act in obedience, out of love, God spoke to me and said, “I’m not done with you!” He gave me an vision that I was standing on the edge of something grand and glorious, bigger and better than I could even imagine, just beyond my what I could see.  

“The Lord God does not dwell in houses made by human hands…” (Act 7:48). “Don’t you know? You are the temple of God and His Spirit lives in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Yes, brothers and sisters, you are the temple of the Lord! The Lord Jesus dwells within you. His promise to you, no matter your circumstances, your sins, your heartaches, your disappointments, your failures, is that if you put your trust in Him and obey, He will be faithful to redeem. Your future will be far more glorious than you can imagine. It will not look like the old temple. He will shake things up with His presence. You are the gold that He brings to Himself. You are His belonging. He will fill you with His glory. And in this place, within your heart, mind, and life, He will bring peace.