When Haggai spoke (520 B.C...
Illustration
When Haggai spoke (520 B.C.), the people had returned from exile and had lived in Jerusalem for some time, but the Temple still lay in ruins. He held before them the splendor of the new Temple, encouraging them to rebuild.
How shall we translate the meaning of the ruined Temple for our day? Certainly not architecturally. But then ruined temples abound, don't they? Perhaps vestiges of the Temple in our day can be seen in family systems that have fallen prey to disease and are no longer sources of vitality and hope, or in individuals who have succumbed to despair and now try to shore themselves up by means of drug or drink, or in church families who now more closely resemble dry bones than living organisms. How needful for these the hearing of God's Word through Haggai:
"When you came out of Egypt, I promised that I would always be with you. I am still with you, so do not be afraid ... The new Temple will be more splendid than the old one ..."
How shall we translate the meaning of the ruined Temple for our day? Certainly not architecturally. But then ruined temples abound, don't they? Perhaps vestiges of the Temple in our day can be seen in family systems that have fallen prey to disease and are no longer sources of vitality and hope, or in individuals who have succumbed to despair and now try to shore themselves up by means of drug or drink, or in church families who now more closely resemble dry bones than living organisms. How needful for these the hearing of God's Word through Haggai:
"When you came out of Egypt, I promised that I would always be with you. I am still with you, so do not be afraid ... The new Temple will be more splendid than the old one ..."
