The latter glory of this house shall be greater.
God's promise about the second temple.
The episode in a glance.
- 01The returned exiles built a smaller, sadder temple.
- 02Older people wept comparing it to the first.
- 03God promised greater glory was coming.
- 04Jesus himself entered this temple — that's the greater glory.
Read along.
Haggai 2:9: 'The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.'
Israel has returned from exile and rebuilt the temple. It's smaller and less impressive than Solomon's. Older people who remembered the first temple wept.
Through Haggai, God promises something startling: the glory of this lesser-looking temple will exceed the first.
How? Jesus would walk into this very temple. The God whose presence Solomon's temple housed would arrive in person.
The greater glory wasn't gold and cedar. It was God in flesh. The same is often true in our lives — what looks smaller can carry greater glory because of who shows up there.