Haggai 2:1-9; November 9, 2025; Pledge Sunday
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“The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former.” Haggai 2:9
Haggai is a tiny book that packs a big punch. It only has two chapters and 38 verses in total. And yet it speaks about such a significant event in the life of God’s people that it would be a mistake to overlook it or not know where it is (basically turn to Matthew and go back several pages).
To better understand our particular text, let’s frame out the context, shall we?
Haggai was a prophet during a time when the Jewish people were given permission by Cyrus the Great of Persia (interestingly, he was also named as a Messiah in the Old Testament; Isaiah 45:1) to return to the Holy Land from the Babylonian Exile. We learn in chapter one of Haggai that the Jewish Temple, previously destroyed, was commissioned to be rebuilt, but that the circumstances were less than ideal.
For instance, there was a drought in the land, a struggling economy, and a general disinterest amongst the people. In other words, things were not going as expected… the building use policies were not fully formed, and the room rates were under fresh scrutiny.
And so, as enthusiasm started to wane, in stepped Haggai to give them a word of hope that out of this will come something great – a latter splendor – that is, if everyone just practiced a bit of patience, but also, a bit of faith; that their work would yield a greater end and a brighter tomorrow, more than even the glory of the past.
Which is such an important point, if not the most important. For the Temple, though being restored, would never resemble exactly what came before. For nothing in life ever does. Because we can’t go backwards in time.
“Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory?” Haggai asks in verse three. And the answer is no one, as no one whom Haggai was addressing was even alive pre-exile. None then had even seen the previous Temple. They had only heard stories about it. They couldn’t go backwards even if they tried, and the moral of the story is neither should we, as much as we try.
Remember when there were like 60 kids in the youth group; and the deacons washed the communion shooters? Remember when all these pews were full week after week, and when Stewardship season resulted in a surplus rather than a slight deficit? Remember that?
Well, time has changed, my friends. And while it’s good to remember what came before – heck, all of last week’s sermon basically said as much – we also need to remember to move forward and to live in the reality that is actually upon us.
Which means being thankful for all that we have now, where there are 30 rambunctious kids in the youth group every Tuesday night (praise be to God, and thanks be to Joel), and all of these families who came forward with their pledges just moments before Not to mention an awesome choir, and the best staff, and oh, and a 3.2-million-dollar Community Center right beneath us!
When so many other churches might be envious of all that we have, perhaps we could do better to recognize and celebrate all that we do: our present splendor.
Anyone here ever see the movie, Midnight in Paris? Such a great movie, notwithstanding its director and his questionable proclivities. But it is a great movie, with a beautiful actress, and an even better premise: that the past, though often romanticized, was not as idyllic as we want to believe; and that the future holds as much promise if not more than the present.
“Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory?” “The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former,” says the Lord of Hosts.
Nostalgia is a heck of a drug, isn’t it? It often washes our memories with a veneer.
Not too long ago my family went to “Medieval Times” in north Jersey. Anyone ever been there? As a kid, I remembered it being this HUGE castle, with Goliaths for knights, and duels to the death while a wench would serve you a giant turkey leg and some gruel. Well, upon my return as an adult, I came to find out there was no longer any gruel (praise be to God), that there was the same size turkey leg, more or less (thanks be to God?), but the duels were clearly choreographed and not very convincing, and the knights were about my height only, and the castle was nothing more than a three-story stucco façade.
It was a great time, don’t get me wrong. But the former glory wasn’t as glorious as I remembered it, and the experience didn’t translate as I had hoped to the present. We can’t go backwards in time, and perhaps, we’d be better off not even trying.
Verse five of our text reads: “My spirit abides among you, do not fear…” And verse four tells us three distinct times to “take courage.”
Do not fear either the present or the future, but take courage, even if you think it doesn’t stack up to the past. Do not fear.
Easier said than done, especially as we live in a world that sells fear… Every city is dangerous! The mayor is a communist! And the refugee is a rapist! Be fearful, and angry, and at all times suspicious! …of what?… Don’t ask! Just, be afraid!
It’s hard to be courageous, especially when your world view is so narrow, and when every change is framed as being bad.
But change is inevitable. And change is instructive. And the path towards greatness is almost always forwards, not backwards.
One of the greatest theological errors we have made, in my opinion, is fashioning God as being changeless. As if God would be opposed to change, when literally God gave us an OLD covenant and a NEW one, and an OLD Testament and a NEW one.
God is literally all about change, and has been changing the hearts of pharaohs, and prophets, and kings, and disciples, and apostles, and pastors, and choir masters, and elders, and members, and has been doing so since the great flood, and the dawn of all time.
And, my friends, what God is DOING will achieve a future far more promising than anything already DONE before. For “the latter splendor shall be greater than the former,” thus says the Lord of Hosts.
So, let’s work at being patient.
Let’s work at being hopeful.
Let’s work at being expectant.
And, let’s work at being joyful.
Keeping faith that in the onward march of time, God will deliver a tomorrow that is ever brighter than even the glories of the past.
Amen.
