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Solomon’s Temple was in ruins caused by the Babylonians and the people were resigned into thinking that things would never go back to the “good old days”.  The days when nations (Queen of Sheba was one) came from near and far to pay tribute to King Solomon and to admire his Temple in the days when he walked with God.  But in Prophet Haggai’s days, the remnant exiled Jews, many years after the Temple was destroyed, were left with a sad state of affairs.  To the older crowd who had seen King Solomon’s Temple in its glory, God asked: “Does it (the Temple) not seem to you like nothing?” (Hag. 2:3).

But in Haggai 2:7, God said that He would “fill this house with glory”.  The glory would be that Begotten of the Father, Jesus who is the “desire of all nations”.  Desire here can mean treasure.  Jesus is the desired One who would be the treasure of all nations because by Him all the nations of the world would be blessed.  Later Jesus became the personification of this glory when He walked in Solomon’s Temple (rebuilt by King Herod) during His day.

Why did God have to “shake all the nations” before their desire comes?  Bible scholar Matthew Henry says: “The shaking of the nations is often to order the settling of the church and the establishing of the things that cannot be shaken.”  King Herod and “all Jerusalem” (Matt. 2:3) were troubled when the wise men heralded to them news of the newborn King.  On the cross, the sun darkened, the earth shook and the rocks rent when the King died for His subjects (ref. Matt. 27:50-53).  As it goes in the Christmas carol, ‘Hark The Herald’: “Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die.”

Perhaps the dilapidated Temple represents the crumbly areas in our spiritual affairs.  We take God’s work as nothing and prefer first to look into our earthly welfare.  Or, like the people in Haggai’s days who rebuilt the Temple for about a month, then stopped out of resignation that they would not recapture the glory days, we become discouraged about our work, our relationships or service.  Let us like the wise men bring afresh our time, talent and treasure to the King, letting the Son of Righteousness adorn these gifts with His light and life, and healing in His wings.