10/31

Haggai 2:9

⁹The 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.'"

This is one of the many prophetic utterances that have an intermediate and an ultimate fulfillment. The Jews had just begun to return from captivity. They were convicted by Haggai's prophecies to stop working on their own houses and finish the house of the LORD. They had laid the foundation but were disappointed as it seemed like nothing compared to what Solomon had built (Ezra 3:12). That is when God encouraged them with our verse for today. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former.

Centuries later, Herod the Great would embark on a remodeling project that would bring these words to pass. During those centuries they had to hang on to that promise by faith, believing what they did not yet see. But this was only the intermediate fulfillment. The house of the LORD, His dwelling place, is the body of Christ. That includes all those who have received Him by faith. When God finishes the work He started in us, the glory of the house of the LORD will far surpass anything man has made (Philippians 1:6).

There will be the true place of peace, for we are indwelt by the Prince of Peace. The former temple was looted and defiled by Antiochus and then finally destroyed by General Titus. It was a place of peace only in the sense that through the sacrifices people looked forward to Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). True and lasting peace is the presence of our Redeemer living in our hearts.

Consider: Do you know that peace? Do you let Him bring peace to all the various events of your life by His presence in you? We look by faith into the future when His work in us will be completed.