When the Temple foundation was rebuilt after the exile, everyone was stirred. Some were amazed but others wept, perhaps because what was before them seemed pathetic compared to the glory of the old Temple they remembered from before (seeEzra 3:10–13).

God knows about small ministries. And here, as the rebuilding project progressed, God gave them present encouragement and future hope. The present encouragement? Verse 4, ‘… work. For I am with you ...’ And the future hope? God’s plans for the future put past glories in the shade (vs 6–9).

As we serve in small and unimpressive ways, God is with us. And what about the unimpressive little church that we invest our energies in week by week? The glorious bride of Christ in the future will honour him beyond all that we can currently imagine. God’s history then was moving toward Christ, and his history today is moving toward Christ. So? So, the small stuff matters. 

‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!’¹

Haggai encourages the people to build the new Temple with strength from God. Those old enough to remember Solomon’s glorious edifice were in danger of making an unfavourable comparison with the one under construction, thus discouraging their younger compatriots. Haggai warns against this by reminding them that God’s presence will see the work through. Just as he had delivered them from Egyptian bondage, so he would restore their fortunes after the Babylonian captivity.

The Israelites left Egypt with enormous wealth donated by their oppressors. That wealth enabled them to make the tabernacle and its accoutrements during their desert wanderings. Many years later, the kings David and Solomon provided huge amounts of wealth for the building of the first Temple. By contrast, Haggai’s audience had few resources.

No panic! God, who owns all the world’s riches and rules over all the nations, would ensure that enough was provided for the work. He undoubtedly prompted King Darius to underwrite the building effort,² using treasures (‘what is desired’, v 7)³ gathered from the nations under Persian sway. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can thwart God’s construction plans! Jesus echoes the same certainty when he proclaims: ‘I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it’.⁴ The second Temple would never compare for splendour with the first. Surely, then, the glory God foretells in verse 9 points forward to another Temple, made of living stones – the people in whom God would dwell by his Spirit through faith in his Son.⁵ God’s presence, provision and power – all appear in this passage. Why would anyone choose not to believe and trust in him?

Older Christians often lament that standards have slipped in society and the church. Wherever we are, let us seek God’s mercy for our nation and church – and never lose hope.

¹ Isa 43:18,19  ² Ezra 6  ³ Some see this as referring to the Messiah, ‘the desire of all nations’, AV  ⁴ Matt 16:18  ⁵ 1 Cor 3:16