“Not by Might, nor by Power”
389
will never come to nought. It will go on from strength to strength, “not
by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6
.
The promise, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation
of this house; his hands shall also finish it,” was literally fulfilled.
Verse 9
. “The elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through
the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of
the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and
Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on
the third day of the month Adar [the twelfth month], which was in the
sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.”
Ezra 6:14, 15
.
Shortly afterward the restored temple was dedicated. “The children
of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of
the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy;” and
“upon the fourteenth day of the first month” they “kept the Passover.”
Verses 16, 17, 19
.
The second temple did not equal the first in magnificence, nor was it
hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained
to the first temple. There was no manifestation of supernatural power
[597]
to mark its dedication. No cloud of glory was seen to fill the newly
erected sanctuary. No fire from heaven descended to consume the
sacrifice upon its altar. The Shekinah no longer abode between the
cherubim in the most holy place; the ark, the mercy seat, and the tables
of testimony were not found there. No sign from heaven made known
to the inquiring priest the will of Jehovah.
And yet this was the building concerning which the Lord had
declared by the prophet Haggai: “The glory of this latter house shall
be greater than of the former.” “I will shake all nations, and the Desire
of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith
the Lord of hosts.”
Haggai 2:9, 7
. For centuries learned men have
endeavored to show wherein the promise of God, given to Haggai, has
been fulfilled; yet in the advent of Jesus of Nazareth, the Desire of all
nations, who by His personal presence hallowed the precincts of the
temple, many have steadfastly refused to see any special significance.
Pride and unbelief have blinded their minds to the true meaning of the
prophet’s words.