I Will Fill This House With Glory

Haggai 2:1-9 (ESV) 

The Coming Glory of the Temple 

2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet:2“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say,3‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?4Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts,5according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.6For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.7And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.9The 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.’” 

Main points 

1) Discouragement and former glory 

2) Be strong, work, for I am with you 

3) I will fill this house with glory 

Some relevant Scriptures (all Scripture references are in ESV) 

1) Discouragement and former glory 

● Ezra 3:11b-12: And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.12But many of the priests and Levites and heads of

fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy 

2) Be strong, work, for I am with you 

● 1 Thessalonians 5:14: And we urge you brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 

● Ezra 6:14a: And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. 

● Exodus 29:45-46: I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.46And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. 

3) I will fill this house with glory 

● Colossians 1:19-20: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 

● Ephesians 2:19-22: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 

● 1 Corinthians 3:16-17: Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

● 1 Kings 8:10-11: And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord,11so that the priests could not

stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. 

● Revelation 21:23-24: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it 

Discussion Questions for E-Groups and further personal application 

1. What areas of your life have kept you discouraged and longing for the “good ol’ days”? How does the promise of God’s presence with His people motivate you to begin to look forward and live with hope? 

2. In what ways (habits, sinful behaviors, desires) are you destroying the temple of God (that is, in what ways are these affecting your life personally and the body of Christ as a whole)? 

3. What ways have you been cultivating and building up the body of Christ (God’s new temple)? How can you continue to grow in those areas where you are doing well and how can you encourage others to grow as well? 

4. This week, how can you seek to cultivate (in your home, church family, work, and/or school) the peace that we have been promised in Jesus Christ?