‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place, I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.” Haggai 2:9
One of the many great things about the Christian life is that it gets better and better. One of the ways this is illustrated in the Bible is hinted at in our verse today. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians when God’s people were taken into exile. Afterwards, Ezra sets out on a mission to rebuild the temple and Haggai is encouraging the people to repent of their evil doings and build the temple for the Lord.
Let’s back up and look at the significance of the latter temple being greater than the former. The temple, as it is used here, refers to the dwelling place of God. In the beginning, there was no need for a temple, for God walked with Adam and had fellowship with him daily — nothing separated them.
After Adam sinned and was put out of the garden, he and Eve were separated from God and there was no “place” designated or set aside for the presence of God. Eventually, the Lord would instruct Moses, down to the smallest detail, concerning the building of a dwelling place for the presence of God. It would not be a permanent structure, but rather a tent, a tabernacle. God’s people did not yet have their permanent home so the place of the Lord’s presence would be portable to accommodate their wanderings.
Of course, this all has significance, since the Lord always does everything on purpose, but that will have to wait for another day. Right now, we keep moving from glory to glory as we explore God’s dwelling place. The presence of God was “off-limits” to almost everyone almost all of the time and even then, could result in the death of the one entering if everything was not just so.
Next, King David moves the presence of God into a tent he has prepared for that purpose with an eventual goal of building a permanent home for God’s presence; a temple! David’s tabernacle represented more access to the presence of God than did Moses’ tabernacle and again, all of this is by divine design. So, we already see a progression from glory to glory.
But David’s tabernacle could not compare to the glory of his son Solomon’s temple. Even then, we are brought back to our verse for today. Haggai is prophesying that the new temple will be even more glorious than Solomon’s.
And now, to the New Covenant — you are the temple of God, Jesus said He and the Father would make their home in you. You are the temple of the Spirit of God. In other words, as a Christian, you have the presence of God with you and in you always! That is way beyond anything Solomon experienced or Haggai or anyone else who experienced God’s presence before Jesus died and rose from the dead.
Finally, the most glorious of all will be our eternal home in the New Jerusalem when God creates new heavens and a new earth. From an earthly temple to our heavenly home, Glory!
Don’t forget to join our Email list and become a Fellow Traveler! Just Click HERE
And, please help us spread the word by sharing this post with others!