The glory of the latter house
“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.”Haggai 2:9
Reflection
The context is one of discouragement. The Jews had returned from exile and begun to rebuild the temple, but the result seemed so modest next to Solomon's temple that the older ones, who had seen the old one, wept on seeing the new. Without gold, without grandeur, without the treasures of old, it seemed that Israel's glory had shrunk. And it is in this setting that God speaks through the prophet Haggai: "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."
Notice the reason for the promise: people were comparing the present with the past and concluding that the best had been left behind. God answers with a change of gaze: the best lies ahead. It is one of the characteristics of biblical hope: it looks forward. The past may have been glorious, but the God who created that past was not exhausted in it. Whoever only looks back grows sad at what is missing; whoever looks forward with God discovers that the Lord has greater things to come.
Centuries later, the promise was fulfilled in an unexpected way. That modest temple was the temple in which Jesus entered, taught and healed. The "greater glory" was not in the gold or the architecture, but in the presence of the Son of God Himself. And the promise "in this place will I give peace" finds its fulfillment in Christ, who is our peace. God often fulfills His promises in ways different from what we expect, and in forms greater than we imagine. What seems small in God's hands can carry a glory that only time reveals.
Have you been comparing your present with a better past, whether of health, of relationship, of spiritual excitement, of professional season? God's word to you is: do not despise the day of small beginnings and do not think the best has passed. He made a promise of peace and of greater glory. Keep building what He told you to build, even if it seems modest. God's work is always more beautiful in the end, and the Lord's best has never been left behind.
Prayer
Lord, forgive me for so often looking back and concluding that the best has passed. Teach me to expect Your greater things, not to despise small beginnings and to keep building what You asked of me. Give me Your peace in this place. I trust that Your latter glory will be greater. Amen.
Put it into practice
Write down one thing you have mourned as "lost" from the past and hand it to God. Then write a hope for what He can do anew and take one small step of building in something that seems modest.
To reflect on
In what area have you been weeping for a better past, and how can you believe today that the future glory God prepares will be greater?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).