Hag 2:3 | KingComments | STEP | This verse consists of three questions. The first question can only be answered by the old people who can remember the temple of Solomon they saw as a child. All others have only heard about that temple. The second question is in fact also meant for the old people, because only they can make the comparison between what they see “now” and how it used to be. They too will have to say that what they see now, is nothing compared to what they saw in the past. The building cannot match the glorious temple of yesteryear ( ). Moved by the fear of God, the people listen to the words of His messenger. But now there is yet another difficulty that stands in the way of faith and that is the painful realization that all the luster and glory of the former temple is lacking. The remnant cannot change that. They cannot retrieve the first glory. But how remarkable it is that God speaks of “this temple in its former glory”. The appearance of the house may have changed, but the house itself has not changed. For God there is only one house. So it is with the church, His house in our time. When we read in the book of Acts about the origin of the church, we see the glory of God’s house. There is not much of that glory to be seen today because of all the divisions and erroneous teachings. Yet for God it remains the same house. The questions asked are also important to us. They make us realize that there is no room for any self-satisfied thought. It is good not to have high pretensions. We are allowed to build God’s house, while we realize that the manifestation of that house is nothing to boast about. At the same time, we may leave room for God’s grace and power. We feel how far the church has deviated from its original state, but we do not need to become discouraged.

‏ Haggai 2:3

The Glory of the House

This verse consists of three questions. The first question can only be answered by the old people who can remember the temple of Solomon they saw as a child. All others have only heard about that temple. The second question is in fact also meant for the old people, because only they can make the comparison between what they see “now” and how it used to be. They too will have to say that what they see now, is nothing compared to what they saw in the past. The building cannot match the glorious temple of yesteryear (Ezra 3:8-13).

Moved by the fear of God, the people listen to the words of His messenger. But now there is yet another difficulty that stands in the way of faith and that is the painful realization that all the luster and glory of the former temple is lacking. The remnant cannot change that. They cannot retrieve the first glory.

But how remarkable it is that God speaks of “this temple in its former glory”. The appearance of the house may have changed, but the house itself has not changed. For God there is only one house. So it is with the church, His house in our time. When we read in the book of Acts about the origin of the church, we see the glory of God’s house. There is not much of that glory to be seen today because of all the divisions and erroneous teachings. Yet for God it remains the same house.

The questions asked are also important to us. They make us realize that there is no room for any self-satisfied thought. It is good not to have high pretensions. We are allowed to build God’s house, while we realize that the manifestation of that house is nothing to boast about. At the same time, we may leave room for God’s grace and power. We feel how far the church has deviated from its original state, but we do not need to become discouraged.