Haggai 2:1

His prophecy carries exact dates, and this shows it divides into four sections, though all were spoken in the second year of Darius... Our first remark must be that God always recognizes the validity of His own governmental actions. He had set Israel aside as a nation, and the times of the Gentiles had begun. So the dating is that of the ruling Gentile power and not that of the Jews.

It is striking (Haggai means feast of Jehovah) that this word came to the people of God on the 21st day of the 7th month. This appears to be the Old Testament equivalent of the last day of the feast, when Jesus stood up in the temple (John 7:37). Gloomy clouds of disappointment and despair darkened what should have been a time of the greatest joy.

The record of the date shows plainly how He delights in the obedience of His people. He watches over them with longing, and He notices the very first movements of response to His word!... Before a month had passed, "in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month," He spoke again to the hearts of His servants, to feed and encourage them. The subject of this message, like the earlier ones, is still the house of the Lord at Jerusalem.

The remnant has been stirred up to "work in the house of the LORD." But in a day of ruin there is always the danger of losing heart in the LORD'S work, because the results look so small and there is so little outward display. To meet this danger... the remnant are asked to look back to the glory of the house in the past (1-3). They are reminded of their resources in the present (4, 5). And they are encouraged to look on to the coming glory in the future (6-9).

The point we want to draw attention to is that the Lord read these thoughts of His people, and sent a message of comfort and consolation. It is good for us to understand this. He regards even the feelings of His people with tender concern — feelings stirred up by His ways or by His service.

The message comes first to the leaders of the people, Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. But this work was not carried on by leaders only, for it names "the rest of the people" too. We must not think that the Lord's work belongs to leaders only. All of us are in this work today, just as they were in their day; we all have work to do according to the ability given to us.

God did more than pledge His presence with them. He added, "The word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, and My Spirit, remain among you: fear not." He threw them back on the word He gave at the start of His dealings with them, a word they could trust to direct their ways. He threw them back, too, on the guidance and power of His Spirit, who was still among them.

Instead of looking back and lamenting over what has been, let us rather look on with rejoicing to what will yet be. The greatest glory is not behind, it is still on before.