Day Ten – Haggai 2:2-3

“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?^[1]

At the end of the first chapter Haggai has just been successful in motivating the people to begin rebuilding the temple, but now he shifts gears and makes a comparison of this house to that of the one it would replace. Solomon’s Temple, in all its grandeur, was originally built four hundred years before the occasion of this writing. It was so magnificent that it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was destroyed approximately sixty-six years before the Jews had been charged with its reconstruction. There were likely not many remaining alive that would have remembered the glory of that original house, and those who did would certainly be able to attest to how inadequate this new house they were building was in comparison. In fact, Haggai offers that it “seemed like nothing in comparison.” Why would Haggai seemingly muddy the task with what appears to be an unnecessary comparison? The people already are challenged with the immensity of the task.

History is an interesting thing. The memory of adults can often get embellished over the course of time and once comparison begins the potential for yet another delay, perhaps through melancholy or malaise, is great. The move on Haggai’s part is therefore a shrewd political one. He acknowledges from the start that the two cannot compare. They were not charged with replicating Solomon’s Temple, but rather with building a temple for the Lord their God.

Sometimes the greater purposes of that for which we have been called can get lost in our memories of the past. Note how we tend to romanticize the things from our past while conveniently forgetting the horrors that accompanied them. The people needed to be able to put their task in its proper perspective. We need to do the same. What is past is past. We can never reclaim it nor should we want to. Instead we should see the potential of the future and seek to secure it. Getting stuck fixating on a skewed memory of the past only serves to paralyze. Perhaps that is why the Apostle Paul advises his readers to forget the past and press on to lay hold of the prize that yet lies before them (Philippians 3:12-14). Today determine to forget the past and lay hold of your future.

Dear Lord, thank you for the wonderful memories of the past. Help us to keep them in their proper place as we move into the future You have so graciously prepared for us. Keep us from unnecessary comparisons and open us to the joy of new beginnings. Quiet our minds that remember what we want to remember and cause us to look with great anticipation for what lies ahead trusting that You who do all things well have it well in hand. This we ask in the name of Your Son and our Lord Jesus. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Hag 2:2–3.