Haggai 2:7-9

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Please turn to Haggai 2.

Matthew — back three books

I’m not going to say much by way of introduction.

That’s because (as I’ve said twice before)...

…These are really, really deep verses...

And we need all the time we can get for them.

-We are going to read verses 1-9 for a reminder...

But, we’re going to focus on verses 7-9

Haggai 2:1–9 (ESV)

1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet:

2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say,

3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts,

5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, 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 nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.

9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’ ”

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Pray

-Let’s BRIEFLY be reminded of the setting of our text:

Less than a month after the rebuilding had continued

Last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (explain significance)

The people are discouraged because of:

The lackluster glory of the temple they were building.

Remember this graphic: (Click)

elaborate

This not only paled in comparison to Solomon’s Temple...

…it barely fits in the same category of the eschatological Temple that they were expecting

It had been foretold (Ezekiel) that the final temple of God (i.e., final dwelling place):

Would be filled with the glory of God forever.

Its arrival would be accompanied by true holiness among God’s people.

It would have a faithful priesthood

In its day the people would have righteous civil rulers.

That a river of living water would issue forth from its threshold...

…that would provide life and sustenance to all of creation.

That trees would grow on its banks...

…that would provide food and healing for God’s people.

That the land would be restored as an inheritance...

…Now, to even the sojourner!

The City will be restored, its walls made secure with Towering Gates...

…named after the respective tribes.

And the last thing we read is this:

Ezekiel 48:35 (ESV)

35 . . . And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”

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They knew these promises...

And they knew that:

Their circumstances

The temple they were building...

…simply wasn’t what they had been waiting for.

But, God had told them (in verse 4)...

To be strong

Build it anyway...

Because, even though it wouldn’t be the grand and final eschatological temple...

…it was something that:

He had commissioned

He was behind.

-Now, the last time we were here...

…we focused on verses 5-6.

What we saw in those verses, was:

God (again) affirming the validity of their work:

“My Spirit remains in your midst” (verse 5)

God promising to do something in the future...

…that would be so cataclysmic...

…that it would shake all of creation.

What we saw from Hebrews 12, was...

…that this shaking that affected the whole earth...

(which is theophanic language of God appearing on the earth)

…was the establishment of:

The New Covenant, and...

The Kingdom of God, and...

The Church of Jesus Christ!

-Verse 7 continues with this same imagery.

First, He says:

Haggai 2:7 (ESV)

7 And I will shake all nations...

Notice the narrowing of focus.

In verse 6, it had been:

the heavens

the earth

sea

land.

-Now, it’s the peoples that inhabit those realms...

And specifically, the connotation here is the gentile nations.

Now, to what end...

…will the nations be shaken?

Haggai 2:7 (ESV)

7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in...

Now, at a cursory reading this sounds like...

...simply a divine plundering of the heathen...

…in order to provide the materials necessary...

...to construct the New Temple.

And certainly this is the immediate connotation.

-But, here’s what’s fascinating...

And, it helps us to better understand the nature...

…of the Temple that’s ULTIMATELY being referred to...

…In this prophecy.

It’s the way the wealth of the nations...

…is said to come into the eschatological Temple...

…in other portions of Scripture.

It was long foretold...

…that a ruler of Israel would reign over the nations:

Genesis 49:10 (ESV)

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Of the Messiah, it was said:

Psalm 2:8 (ESV)

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

This is a prominent theme in the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 2:1–5 (ESV)

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,

3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Isaiah 11:9–12 (ESV)

9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from...

12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

But, Isaiah 60 is probably the closest parallel to our text:

Isaiah 60:1–20 (ESV)

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6 ...They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.

7 ...they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house.

10 Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.

11 Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.

13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you . . . and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

16 You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

19 The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Isaiah 61:4–11 (ESV)

4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;

6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.

...and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

-Now, let’s read verses 7-8 again:

Haggai 2:7–8 (ESV)

7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.

From the Nations...

…God is going to bring into his house...

…all that is His!

Remember what was said at the Jerusalem Council?

Acts 15:7–9 (ESV)

7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,

9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Acts 15:13–18 (ESV)

13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.

14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.

15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

16 “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,

17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things

18 known from of old.’

I believe this is what our text is doing.

Look at verse 9:

Haggai 2:9 (ESV)

9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts . . .

This latter glory was foretold many times over:

Ezekiel 43:1–5 (ESV)

1 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east.

2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.

4 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east,

5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

This is that Glory:

John 1:14 (ESV)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father...

He is the glory...

…that would forever fill His house.

And His coming into it, would produce this:

Haggai 2:9 (ESV)

9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former . . . And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’ ”

What place?

The Temple that He inhabits forever.

But there is no Temple!

It was Destroyed in 70 AD!

Oh, but there is!

Look at this.

Notice how all the prophecies we’ve looked at tonight...

…come together in one place:

Revelation 21:1–5 (ESV)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Revelation 21:9–11 (ESV)

9 Then came one of the seven angels . . . and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

Revelation 21:12–16 (ESV)

12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.

16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.

Remember this foursquare footprint? (Show Graphic)

Now, look at this:

Revelation 21:22–27 (ESV)

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,

25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.

26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:1–5 (ESV)

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

This is what Haggai was foretelling.

This is what:

Ezekiel

Isaiah...

Foretold!

The latter glory of God’s house...

…is already greater than the former.

Don’t set your hope on brick and mortar.

Most of the Jews did that...

…and they didn’t recognize the hour of their visitation.

Look to the Lamb!

2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)

20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Let’s pray.