Haggai 2 Devotional

The Glory Still to Come

“The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, says the LORD of Hosts. And in this place I will provide peace, declares the LORD of Hosts.””Haggai 2:9 (BSB)

Less than a month into the rebuilding, those who remember the first temple are asked how the new one looks to them, and it seems like nothing (2:3). God does not argue. He tells Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the people to be strong and keep working, because he is with them, as he promised when they came out of Egypt, and his Spirit remains among them (2:4-5). He will shake heaven, earth, and the nations, and this house's future glory will be greater than its past (2:6-9).

The chapter also holds a hard lesson. Holiness does not spread by touch, but uncleanness does, and so far the people's offerings have been defiled (2:11-14). Yet from the day the foundation is laid, God promises to bless them (2:18-19). Hebrews reads his promise to shake heaven and earth as pointing to an unshakable kingdom that believers are receiving now (Hebrews 12:26-28). What looks small in your hands is not small in God's plans, because his presence makes it glorious.

To think about: What work in front of you seems too small to matter, and how does God's presence change the way you see it?