Because of Israel’s refusal to abandon their idols and worship the one true God, they were chastened by the Lord and were taken away into captivity by the Babylonians. This captivity was to last 70 years, Jer. 25:11-12. This 70 year period began in 605 B.C., when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar invaded and subjugated Israel. Later, in 586 B.C., after Israel rebelled against him, Nebuchadnezzar completely destroyed Jerusalem, the temple and all the temple furniture. He also carried off all the treasures of the temple at that time. For the next 70 years Israel lived in captivity without a temple and without the feasts, sacrifices and rituals prescribed by the Law. Cyrus the Persian overthrew the Babylonians in 539 B.C. and in 538 B.C gave permission for the Jews to return to their homeland. Almost 50,000 Jews left Babylon and returned to Palestine. Three years later, in 535 B.C, they laid the foundation for a new Temple, thus ending the 70 years of their captivity.
Our text records for us the laying of the foundation for this new temple. For many of the Jews present that day, it was a time of great joy. The Bible says they “shouted aloud for joy,” v. 12. But, others who were there that day could not shout about what they were seeing. Instead, the Bible says, they “wept with a loud voice,” v. 12.
The question is why is it that one group is so excited and is praising the Lord, while the other group is sad and weeping? I believe the Bible holds the answer to that question. I also believe that by answering that question, we can also uncover some very valuable truths for our church today. Today, as the Lord gives us liberty, I want to preach on this thought: are you going to cry, or are you going to praise. When we look at the story we see that the young men of that generation shouted, worship God and praised him while the old men cried, whimpered, and Wept. And New Galilean God has something here for us, in this passage, if we are willing to receive it today.
When we revisit the scripture we see that the old men remembered something, the older men remembered the first temple.
They remembered the magnificence, the grandeur, the splendor, the brilliance, the gold and the glory of the first temple. They remembered the old days when the temple of the Lord was one of the wonders of the ancient world.
They remembered a temple that, if built today, would cost multiple millions of dollars to build. They remembered a temple that housed the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat.
They remembered that within that Ark were tablets containing the Law of God that was handed down to Moses.
They remembered the Shekinah glory cloud that filled the temple. They remembered a day when Solomon’s temple was literally the House of God.
They remembered how good it was to show up at church and have a good time by praising and worshiping God.
But what they realized and what they understood is that this new temple would never be the same, in Hag. 2:3 it says: Haggai 2:3 “Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Do you not see it as it was? In other words they could see that it would be smaller. They knew that they did not have the resources to rebuild it like it had been all those years ago.
They realized that all the things that made the first temple precious, the Ark of the Covenant, and its contents, the mercy seat, and the Glory Cloud, was gone forever. Understanding the magnitude and the extent of the seriousness of these facts broke their hearts and the old men wept bitterly.
There are many with us today who remember the days of old, The Glory days of the church. We remember a time when the Word of God and the House of God were held in high regard by all. Some of us can remember a time when the fear of God was on the community; even those that were lost and unsaved respected the things of God. Some of us remember the day when pulpit and pew were both filled with the Spirit of God. We remember a time when God’s presence and His power were manifested in the Lord’s house, we remember how souls were saved, and the men and women of God shouted how we made it over, and how the storm clouds has passed over. We remembered how the church enjoyed the power of God.
The Saints who can recall those days look at the church world today with a shattered heart, as they long for the things that have passed. There are many who are haunted by the ghosts of the past. I can say that I am guilty of looking back to the days of people being healed in the church. I miss the days where the church was a place that I can take my burden to the Lord and leave them there. I remember the days when it was easy to praise the Lord from the time devotion started until the benediction was given. That’s what they remembered.
But also in that number were even more people, who did not remember the first temple. They had no idea of what it had looked like or the glory that had been in it.
All they remember was a life of captivity and bondage in a foreign land. No doubt many of these people had been born during the time of Israel’s captivity and all they could remember was their slavery.
But, they also remembered how God in His power had delivered them from that bondage. They could not remember that first temple, but they were thankful for what they had!
They realized that these young people could not remember the old days, but they could see that a new day of opportunity had begun for them and they embraced it. These young people had no frame of reference concerning the old days, but they were excited about what God was doing in their day.
And my brother’s and sister’s it is easy to end up on either side of this thing. Some people are so caught up in the past that they cannot get excited about what God is doing in the present. Still, there are others who are so willing to embrace the right now fashions and methods that they forget about what God did and how He worked yesterday.
The bottom line is this, the past is gone forever. and we live in the present. We need to look back and glean what we can from days gone by, but we have to live in the here and now.
Does that mean we have to change to fit in with the times? Does that mean that we need a new Bible? Does that mean that we need to throw our song books? Does that mean that we need to replace preaching?” Does that mean that we must lower our standards to accommodate the world? Does that mean that we need to be more like the world? The answer is not at all.
But what it does mean is that we need to look at how far God has brought us, and where God is taking us to. We need to be thankful for God is giving us in these days. You see, we can become trapped in the past and totally miss what God is doing in the future.
And we have to be careful that we don’t get so caught up in all the trends of the day that we fail to realize that God never changes. What He was doing in our great-grandfather’s day, He is still doing today. God is still saving souls; he is still blessing us day by day. God is still lifting up the bowed down head, and he’s turning things around for our good.
Here was the problem with both of these viewpoints. They both waste time in trying to prove what’s right when they can take that time lifting up the name of Jesus.
What I need you all to see is they laid the foundation for the temple, but the work was halted. For 15 years, they went about their lives, built their own houses and did what they wanted to do.
For 15 years the house of the Lord stayed unfinished, Hag. 1:1-5; 12-15. All those who were looking back dotingly, failed to move forward in the things of God. All those who had been so excited about what God was doing in their day also failed to carry it out to completion.
What I and saying is that we can sit here looking back to the past, longing for the old days, dreaming of the way things were, and get absolutely nothing done for the glory of God. We can become all caught up in the latest thriller, the last movie, or movement and fail to do anything for the Lord.
The Lord doesn’t want us to look back, but h wants us to join in on what He is doing in these days for His glory.
To prove the point John 5:19-20 says “For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.”
What they should have done was went back to the work at hand, rebuild that temple and get about the business of serving the Lord. Instead, they were all sidetracked by their own little agendas.
God help us to do what we have been called to do. We can’t go back a hundred years. But here is what we can do: we can bow down before the Lord, commit my life to Him, ask Him to show us what He wants us to do and get busy doing the Lord’s will.
But then there is the promise of God. After 15 years, the work on the temple still had not been completed. God raised up two prophets Haggai and Zechariah to preach to the people. God used these men to stir up the people of Israel to get busy and to get the work done.
It was a difficult time for both the old people and for the young people. Remember the old people were sad because things were not like they used to be. The young people were being discouraged by the attitude of the old people.
But in the midst of this turmoil, God used the message of Haggai to bring hope and encouragement to all the people of Israel.
His message still gives hope to us in this day as well. We live in a day when many are discouraged and wonder about the relevance of the church in this world. Others wonder what the future holds for the house of God. I think Haggai has some words of comfort for all our hearts this morning.
God promise His presence, God said, this temple may not be as great as the first one, but I am still here with you. And my brothers and sister we have the same promise this morning. Things may not be like they used to be, but the same God who moved then, is still moving right now, God is still showing up, the same God is still blessing you right now. The same God is still lifting up your bowed down heads. God is still an on time God, yes he is.
Not only does he promise his presence, but God promises his peace. God told them to “fear not.” He is still with
them and His peace will keep them as they continue to serve Him.
And we ought to thank God, in the midst of our trials and afflictions; in the midst of our labors and activities; in the midst of our feeble attempts to serve the Lord of glory, because we have his presence and his peace to sustain us.
In verse 6 we have the promise of His power to keep us. God reminded them that He is still in control, regardless of how things may look. And we ought to thank God today that he is still good, he is still kind, and that he still has the power.
Even when it looks like evil in this world is in control. When it looks like the devil and his imps are having their way. I must remind you that we serve a God Who is still on the throne, and that He still has all the power,
We don’t have to worry because the bible reminds us that “the glory of this latter house will be greater than the former.” He is referring to the coming of Jesus.
Years later, this new temple was remodeled by Herod, and into that newly remodeled temple walked the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Lord came to that temple and fulfilled the words of Haggai. You see, He came to Solomon’s temple in the glory cloud, He walked into this temple in the flesh.
What does that mean for us? Well, we can look back with envy on the days when God moved in the yesteryears. We can long for the old days, but the fact remains that we have a privilege to serve the Lord.
So, we have the choice we can cry about how things use to be, or we can praise God for what he’s about to do.
In those days, the old men cried, and the young men praised. We can’t go back to the yesteryears. But we can grab hold of the time that we have right now.
