When the people of Israel
came out of Egypt, the LORD covenanted not only that He would be with
them, but also His Spirit would remain among them. Now that they were
back in Jerusalem after being exiled in Babylon and were busy about
rebuilding the temple, He reiterated the same promise to them and
they could “be strong” because He was going to “shake
the heavens, the earth, the sea and the dry ground”. In chapter
two and verse seven of his prophesy, the LORD through Haggai the
prophet shares another way He would demonstrate His power – by
“shaking the nations”. We read:
And I will shake all
nations, and the desire of all nations shall come:
and I will fill this
house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.
The
verse begins, “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of
all nations shall come:” Haggai began with the phrase, “And
I will shake” which means “quake and cause to spring and
leap” “all nations” which refers to “each and every
people group” “and the desire” or “that which is
desirable, pleasant, precious, goodly and delightful” “of all
nations” which means “each and every people group” “shall
come” or “enter, fall upon, come to pass, attain and be
enumerated”. The “shaking” of the nations will have all
people “desiring” someone to come and save, and we see
this as a reference to “the Messiah” Jesus Christ.
The
verse goes on to say, “and I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of hosts.” Haggai went on to say, “and I
will fill” or “make to be full, abundant, accomplished,
consecrated, armed and satisfied” “this house” which
literally means “dwelling, habitation, shelter and abode” and
refers to “the temple of the LORD” “with glory” or
“honor, abundance, riches, splendor, dignity and reverence”
“says” which means “utters, speaks and avows” “the
LORD” or “Yehovah or Jehovah” who is “the existing One”
and “the proper name for the one true God” “of hosts”
which refers to “that which goes forth to war as an army or
warfare”. Not only with “the desire of the nations come”,
but when He does, “God's glory and splendor” will be upon the
rebuilt temple designated for Him.
As we
think through these words of Haggai, we can only imagine the power
that it takes to “shake the nations”. However, the LORD is
all-powerful, omnipotent and more than capable of accomplishing this
feat, and His reason for doing so is to create a “desire”
within “all nations” for a Savior. Without this “desire”,
most people would continue in their miserable state, and oh how we
see this plan coming to fruition today. The LORD is “shaking the
nations”, and we hear over and over again about perplexing
troubles and unanswered difficulties that inundate our world. May
words like these from Haggai stir us to know, the LORD Jesus will be
the only one who will fulfill “the desire of the nations”,
and when He comes, “the glory of the LORD” shall be upon
the earth.
Next
time the LORD shares how “the silver and the gold are”
His, so read ahead, and we shall
join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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