Haggai 2:9-10

‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”^[1]

This is a verse many love to quote because it speaks of a future reality that far outpaces and outweighs either the past or the present. The verse has often been quoted as the glory of the latter house placing the emphasis on the house, but the proper translation places the emphasis on God’s glory. One should ask, “What is God’s glory of which Haggai speaks?” The glory of God is a difficult concept to explain. It is rather like trying to explain the word beauty in that it cannot be done in a simple and short definition. But in essence it is the beauty of God’s Spirit, or as John Piper describes it, “it is the infinite beauty and greatness of His manifold perfections.”

Another way to get a handle on what it means is to consider passages like Psalm 19:1, “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” What do we see in the heavens? We see the blue sky, clouds, the sun, moon and the stars, and it is glorious. So the glory of God is manifested in our ability to see and understand what we could not see or understand before. One can look back over their past and see the places where they were filled with confusion and self-doubt, when things seemed impossibly complex, and now having come through it they can throw their head back and declare, ‘GLORY!’ because they see now why they experienced what they did.

Haggai offers to this early community an incredible ray of hope that is available to His readers today as well. The glory that is to be revealed, that is yet to come, that is on its way will be greater than anything that has been experienced in the past. Solomon’s temple was great and majestic. The glory in that house fell in such strength that the priests could not minister, but what is yet to come will outpace it all. That is marvelously good news because it means that the best is yet to come. But wait, Haggai is not finished. He adds, “and in this place [God] will give peace.” Peace here is more than just the absence of strife; it is wellness, wholeness, and soundness. It is securing the opportunity of every creation of God to attain their full potential in God. It is a promise well worth anticipating. What is to come will be greater because the glory of God will be greater in it.

Dear Heavenly Father, we receive today the promise of Haggai of a future that is greater and more glory filled than our past. You alone know our past struggles, our doubts and fears. You know our sorrows and grief. You know the things we have given up because our futures looked bleak. Help us this day to grasp hold of the hope for a brighter tomorrow you offer us today. Enable us to believe, claim and declare that our best days and blest days are not behind us but are yet in front of us, and then motivate us to move with haste to step into that future with confidence knowing that You never break a promise. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Hag 2:9.