"They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius." (Hag. 1:14b-15)

We have often bashed the Israelites for their stubborn rebellion to the Lord throughout their history, and rightfully so. However, we also often overlook that, at times, they exemplified obedience that should put us, NT believers to shame. Their immediate response to the words of the prophet Haggai is a case in point.

After the stoppage of the rebuilding work of the temple as decreed by the king, they have focused on the rebuilding of their homes and vineyards. Given the abject poverty that had plagued Jerusalem after their captivity, one can appreciate that the re-cultivation of the land was not going to be easy; it would take a lot of effort and time. Just the same, the prophet rebukes them for using it more as an excuse in totally forgetting their main mission of coming back to Jerusalem which is the rebuilding of the Lord's temple.

As the prophet reminds them of the futility of their effort, basically seeing very little result from their labor and toil for themselves and points out that it is, in fact, God's judgment of their negligence of their primary mission (1:6-11), amazingly they repented and resumed the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord.

The most amazing part is the fact that they resume this sacred project even when the royal decree has not been lifted. That speaks volumes of their obedience, which is not only immediate — taking only 23 days for them to resume the project (1:1; 15), but one that is certainly risky.

However, as is always the case with our obedience to God, when they step out in faith and obedience, the Lord honors His promise to be with them (1:13) and causes a new king, Darius to lift the royal decree (Ezr. 6:13).

"…and the desired by all nations will come and I will fill this house with glory." (Hag. 2:7)

It is unfortunate that some would translate "the desired by all nations" as "previous gifts", because they will not cause the house of the Lord be filled with glory.

It is a fact that the temple built by Solomon was an awesome one as he built it with gold and silver (1 Chr. 29:2, 7) and the Lord makes it clear, if they are needed to make the temple glorious, that is not a problem for Him, He says, "The silver is mine and the gold is mine" (2:8).

However, it is not the silver and gold that can make His house a truly glorious temple, but His very presence and thus He promises that "the desire by all nations will come and I will fill this house with glory" (2:7), and this "desired by all nations" is none other than the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. He has come to be the temple itself (Jn. 2:21) and has not only made the glory of the house of the Lord far greater than the former house, but have granted peace to it through His work of redemption (Eph. 2:14ff.), fulfilling not only the prophecy of Haggai and also those in other prophetic books including this in Micah:

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son and the rest of His brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will live securely, for then His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And He will be our peace…" (Mic. 5:2-5a; italics mine)

"Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled." (Hag. 2:14)

Yesterday we considered how the people listened to the preaching of Haggai and repented from their spiritual apathy, and immediately resumed the work of the rebuilding of the temple in spite of opposition from their enemies and the continued royal decree of prohibition. However, it is the Lord who now asks them not to proceed with the rebuilding with these words:

"Now give careful thought to this from this day on — consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord's temple…give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. Give careful thought." (2:15, 18)

Three times, the Lord asks them to "give careful thought" to the fact that He has cursed their work and their harvest as a discipline for their sins. Should they not repent and turn to Him (2:17), they might as well not resume the work of the temple, because "Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled" (2:14).

How does this rebuke speak to you today? Is there anything in your life that is unclean, impure and displeasing to the Lord? Others may see you as holy and God-loving, but God sees through you. Just as He did not want the people who were so eager to resume their service to the Lord to defile His holy temple, He does not want us to serve Him without true repentance from our sins, lest we defile His sacred work. We, too, need to "give careful thought".