Sept. 8 - Haggai 2:1-9

God will bring the splendour to the new thing

Haggai 2:1-9

2 In the second year of King Darius, 1 in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai, saying: 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, 3 Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.

The date on this prophecy matters: the 21st day of the 7th month. The work had begun on the temple on the 24th day of the 6th month. The people had been working for 4 weeks on the temple. Four weeks is a significant commitment of time. And God says, “So what does the temple look like?” Does anyone remember the way the temple used to look – it would be the seniors who remembered back to the way things were. God answers His own question – doesn’t it look like nothing (Vs. 3)? Doesn’t it look like you have made no headway on this project of rebuilding the temple?

Then come the important words from God – “Take courage” “Do not be afraid” “I am with you”. In the midst of what looks like a disaster – a mere shell of what used to be – God says “Don’t be discouraged – don’t give up – the best is yet to come.”

We do not know what life on the other side of COVID will be like. We don’t know what programs the church will have on the other side of COVID. There will be a huge temptation to say, “Remember the way it used to be back in 2019. It’s not like that now. It is no good.” God says to us, “Take courage” “Do not be afraid” “I am with you.” It would be easy to discouraged that the things we valued before COVID are not the same afterwards – but God invites us to look ahead to what He will do. We are not the ones who fill God’s house with splendour and glory – that is God’s work. Yes, the post-COVID world and post-COVID church will not be the same as things were before COVID. Will we let God do the new thing he is going to do as he shakes the world? Will we welcome whatever it is that he is doing as the result of God’s working?

PRAYER:
Lord God, we want things to go back to the way they were before, but they can’t. We look at what presently is and think of everything that we have lost, that will never be again. Give us hope. Help us to trust that you will do more than we can ask or imagine. In Jesus’ name. Amen.