THE GLORY OF THE SECOND HOUSE: A Christological interpretation The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former , saith the LORD of hosts : and in this place will I give peace , saith the LORD of hosts ( Haggai 2:9) . It is often local churches address change in order to provide improvements to members, as well as larger search space in order to accommodate a larger number of people. Often , too, that seeks to promote this and give a great importance to a larger cultic space , many end up using the passage of Haggai 2.9 . The logic is as follows : The first temple hold only 150 people . Already the second has the capacity for 500 people. Thus , according to them , it must be the Word of God in Haggai , because the glory of the second home is greater than the first . My purpose in this brief review is to analyze the passage quoted in context in order to obtain a conclusion about the way it is applied by those who understand that it relates to places of worship increasing . The Book of Haggai Haggai is known as one of the prophets of the restoration , which means that their prophetic role was when the Jews had returned to the Promised Land . The book begins with a historical background : In the second year of Darius the king ( 1.1 ) , ie , around 520 BC Along with Zechariah , Haggai prophesied during the restart of the rebuilding of the Temple , exactly in the year 520 BC According with O Palmer Robertson , Haggai was the first prophetic voice to speak from the time of the restoration of the nation . [ 1 ] The first subject receiving prominence in the prophecy of Haggai is the reconstruction of the house of the Lord : Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts : This people say the time has not yet come , the time that the house of the Lord should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet , saying : Did I just time ye dwell in paneled houses , while this house remains in ruins ? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts : Consider your ways . Ye have sown much , and bring in little ; eat , but not enough to satiate you , you drink, but you can not satisfy you , clothe yourselves , but no one is warm , and he who earns wages , welcomes you to put it in a sachet stuck . Thus saith the LORD of hosts : Consider your ways . Go up to the mountain , bring wood and build the house , I will take pleasure and I will be glorified , saith the LORD . Looked for much , and behold, it came to little , and that little, when ye brought it home, I blow upon it with . Why? - Says the LORD of hosts , Because of mine house that is waste , while each of you runs because of your own home ( Haggai 1.2-10 ) . The people of Israel were being negligent in rebuilding the Temple , the dwelling place of God among his people . Gods command was to the effect that the people abandon their selfishness and spent worrying about the house of the Lord . The idea passed by the people with their attitude was that God was irrelevant . They did not miss the Temple , the place where the Lord was worshiped , where the sacrifice was performed typological and forgiveness announced. The Second Home Compared to the First From verse 12 we see that the people responded to the commandment of the LORD by Haggai the prophet , Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest , and all the rest of the people attended the voice of the LORD their God , and the words of Haggai the prophet , whom the LORD his God had sent him to say : and the people feared before the Lord . The initial prophecy of Haggai was given on the first day of the sixth month ( 1.1 ) , while the reconstruction of the temple began in the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month ( 1:15 ) . About a month after the start of the reconstruction ( 2.1 ) , the elders who still had in his mind the splendor of the temple built by Solomon , seeing the construction of the second temple lamented its aesthetic inferiority compared to the first . So the Lord God said through the prophet Haggai : Who among you who have survived , watched this house in its former glory ? And how do ye see it now ? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? ( 2.3 ) . Compared with the previous , the temple they are building will have little of the primitive grandeur and beauty . Opinion them to be nothing . [ 2 ] A comparison is made between the glory of the First Temple and the apparent absence of glory of the second . It is important to remember that the Hebrew term kabod , translated as glory is used in other prophets with a different connotation this . Ezekiel , for example, speaks of kabod to refer to the presence of the Lord in the temple : As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the radiance around . This was the appearance of the glory of the LORD saw it, I fell upon my face , and I heard the voice of one that spake ( 1:28 ) . In chapter 10 , Ezekiel sees the Kabod of the Lord leaving the temple , symbolizing that God no longer dwell there would no longer be present in a special way and covenant : Then rose the glory of the LORD upon the cherubim , going to entrance of the house , the house was filled with the cloud , and the court , the radiance of the glory of the LORD [ ... ] Then the glory of the LORD from the entrance of the house and stood over the cherubim ( vv. 4,18 ) . However , Ageu not initially points to this glory of the presence of Yahweh . Rather, he refers to the beauty of the temple of Solomon . [ 3 ] Already in verse 7 , the term kabod has the same connotation of Ezekiels prophecy . The reference is to the presence of the Lord in his temple . While the elders remembered the beauty and splendor of Solomons temple , God promises that the second temple , smaller in size and wealth , will have a full glory , thus saith the Lord I will fill this house with glory . The Lord was teaching his people that the glory of the temple does not depend on outward form . Instead, the glory is seen in the very presence of Yahweh . [ 4 ] The message to those who were weeping and those who focus their attention on the physical structure of the building cultic , is that the beauty and size do not affect or diminish the glory site , but the presence of God with his people . The Glory of Jesus Christ and Second Home God has promised that His presence fill this house with glory , Yet once more , in a little while , I will shake the heavens , the earth , the sea and the dry land: and I will shake all nations , and the desire of all nations shall come , and I will fill this house with glory , saith the LORD of hosts ( 2:6-7 ) . The big question is whether the full manifestation of Gods glory would be limited to that second temple being built at the time , or if it points to something beyond that trims building . The language of the prophet recalls what happened when David became king of Israel. Several nations have recognized his reign and sent gifts , precious things ( 2 Samuel 5:11 ) . The same happened with Solomon , Davids son (1 Kings 5.8-10 ; 10:1-10 ) . Nevertheless , the reference is that nations will now come to behold the glory of the house of the Lord . God is speaking of Christ, who was both the son of David (Matthew 1.1 ) as a permanent dwelling of God among His people ( John 1:14 ) . O. Palmer Robertson makes an insightful comment in this regard : This second quake highlights a single descendant of David , who will have the power to act with divine authority over all nations . Just as the temple of God and the throne of David on Mount Zion merged with the coming of the Ark to Jerusalem , so the prophet anticipates a glorious future unification of divine worship and domination through a restored Davidic monarch . [ 5 ] Calvin s interpretation also takes into account the element of Messianic prophecy : But we can understand what he says of Christ , will come the desire of all nations , and I will fill this house with glory. In fact , we know that Christ was the expectation of the world , according to what was said by Isaiah . And it can be properly said that , when the desire of all nations shall come, that is, when Christ shall appear, who to everyones desires converge , then the glory of the second temple is magnificent . [ 6 ] For this reason it is that the Lord says in verse 9 : The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former . The glory of the second temple has no relationship to your physical space or your valuables . The glory of the second temple is directly and inextricably linked to the coming of Jesus Christ. Because it is a temple closer to the coming of the Messiah than what was built by Solomon , the second would be more glorious . Puritan Matthew Poole says that what God calls glory should be better than silver and gold. Greater than of the former , more truly glorious in many degrees . The least of Christ have glory greater than all the magnificence of Solomon . There were more than two houses erected by divine appointment , and in the second , personally entered the Messiah . [ 7 ] Calvin also says that we should not imagine, as some interpreters raw , the future glory of the second temple concerned reforms undertaken by Herod , aimed at restoring the sumptuousness of the temple . Rather, according to him , what is said here about the future glory of the temple is applied to the excellence of those spiritual blessings that appeared when Christ was revealed , and are still visible to us through faith . [ 8 ] The connection between the glory of the second temple and Jesus becomes more evident with the continuation of verse 9 : and in this place will I give peace , saith the LORD of hosts . In the Old Testament the promise of peace was always linked to the coming Messiah : The Lord gives strength to his people , the Lord blesses his people with peace ( Psalm 29:11 ) . The Old Testament concept of peace carries the notion of positive blessings , especially a right relationship with God . [ 9 ] This is evident in araônica blessing in Numbers 6.24-26 : The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto thee: the LORD lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. Furthermore, the prophetic passages of the Old Testament look forward to a period of peace would be ushered in by the coming of the Messiah : For a child is born to us, a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be wonderful Counselor , Mighty God , Everlasting Father , Prince of Peace ( Isaiah 9:6 ), Rejoice greatly , O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem : behold, thy King cometh unto thee , just and having salvation , lowly , riding on a donkey , on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem , and the battle bow shall be cut . He shall speak peace to the nations , and his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the Euphrates to the vicinity of the earth ( Zechariah 9.9-10 ) . The prophet Ezekiel announced that through the Messiah , God will make an everlasting covenant of peace with his people : I will make with them a covenant of peace , will be an everlasting covenant . I will establish them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forever ( 37.26 ) . Interestingly , the idea of a sanctuary , a temple linked to the establishment of peace also appears in the passage from Ezekiel . That said , when the disciples were gathered in the upper room with Jesus , heard his Master say, I leave you peace , my peace I give unto you not give to you as the world gives (John 14:27 ) . Surely they recounted the scriptural promises concerning the establishment of peace through the Messiah , who was the tabernacle of God among men . It is also important to note that Revelation 21:22 makes an extraordinary claim about the New Jerusalem : In it , I saw no temple because his sanctuary is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb . G. K. Beale and Sean M. McDonough stated that John probably got these Old Testament prophecies as being fulfilled in the future by God and Christ replacing the first physical temple and the ark by its glorious dwelling , which will make the glory of the first temple miniature . [ 10 ] conclusion The glory of the second temple did not relate to its size or splendor of the material used in its construction - because , compared to the first temple , the second was able to awaken the wailing of the elders who saw what was built by Solomon . The glory of the second house was linked to the coming Messiah , Jesus Christ , the true temple of God , Emmanuel, God with us . Using the passage of Haggai 2.9 to recommend a cultic huge space , with a capacity to house thousands of people is committing double error . Firstly , commits the mistake of twisting the meaning of the passage according to the context of the book of the prophet Haggai . The second house whose glory would be greater was small and devoid of ornaments compared to the first . But many use the passage to speak a second home larger than that used previously . Secondly , commits the error of disregarding Jesus Christ , to cling to the shadows of the Old Testament to the detriment of that which gives meaning to all solemn meeting and glory that fills any and every place where Gods people are gathered to worship him in spirit and in truth . Soli Deo Gloria ! [1] O. Palmer Robertson . The Christ of the Prophets . Phillipsburg , NJ : P & R Publishing , 2004. p. 368 . [ 2 ] Gerard van Groningen . Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament . Sao Paulo : Christian Culture , 2003. p. 813 . [3] Ibid . [4] Ibid . pp . 817-818 . [ 5 ] O. Palmer Robertson . The Christ of the Prophets . p. 383 . [6] John Calvin . The Minor Prophets : Habakkuk , Zephaniah & Haggai . Vol 4 . Edinburgh : The Banner of Truth Trust , 1986. p. 360. [7] Matthew Poole . A Commentary On The Holy Bible : Psalms - Malachiah . Vol 2 . Peabody , MA : Hendrickson Publishers , 2010. p. 987. [8] John Calvin . The Minor Prophets : Habakkuk , Zephaniah & Haggai . Vol 4 . p. 361 . [9] Andreas J. Köstenberger . John . In: G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson ( Eds.) . Commentary On The New Testament Use of The Old Testament . Grand Rapids , MI : Baker Academic and Apollos , 2007. p. 490 . [10] G. K. Beale and Sean M. McDonough . Revelation . In: Ibid . p. In 1153 .
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 20:53:21 +0000
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