A message of Teun J. de Ruiter, The Netherlands
"I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty." Haggai 2:7 (NIV)
The prophet lived in the post-exilic days. The Jewish people had returned from captivity in Babylon and the temple at Jerusalem was being rebuilt. Hopes were high; was the Lord going to dwell with all His glory again in his house, the temple? Would the days of Solomon come back, those days in which people from all over the world came to see this beautiful building in Jerusalem? This was the context in which Haggai gave his prophetic utterance. He saw the temple filled with the glory of the Lord and the nations were coming, to pay tribute to the God of the whole earth.
But the temple of Haggai has been destroyed and for many centuries there has been no temple in Jerusalem, a fact, that is up to this day, deeply regretted by all believing Jews. The great question is if the temple ever will be rebuilt and filled with the glory of the Lord. Leaving this interesting question unanswered here, I dare to present another interpretation of this prophecy.
Jesus Christ said of Himself that He was greater than the temple. He claimed to be the true and living temple of the Spirit of God, as the Son of the heavenly Father. He even made the statement that the Queen of Ethiopia came ‘from the ends of the earth’ to see the greatness of Solomon - that statement included also the temple built by him - yet He was greater. The prophecy of Haggai could mean that he was speaking - though he did not realize this - of the Son of God, the living temple of God, to whom all the people would come to accept salvation and eternal life. In Christ people will experience the presence and power of God and worship Him in spirit and in truth. It is a glorious spiritual fact that in the Son the glory of the Almighty God, Creator of the whole earth, is manifested. And Jesus said, read it in John chapter 12, that He would draw all men to Himself. To make that happen, a global shaking is needed, for the nations and in general all their people, are very reluctant to glorify God in His Son, Jesus Christ; many are even directly opposed to Him. Nevertheless the apostle declares that every knee shall bow before Him and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
I would like to ask you a question: Do you need to be shaken in order to come to Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Saviour and Lord of your life? If you come, you will give fulfilment to Haggai’s prophecy and glorify God, Who sent His Son to be the global Saviour for all mankind.
May all people be shaken in such a way that they fall into the Saviour’s arms. There we all find rest for our weary souls. There we experience the presence of God. There we come to worship our great Creator. There we are in His wonderful temple.
Leusden, The Netherlands, 13 October 2000
Write me now, please E-mail to T. J. de Ruiter, The Netherlands
Some interesting pages on our sites