Haggai 2:1-9; 2 Cor. 6:14-16, YAHWEH-Shammah (3)

The glory departed from Israel.  Ezekiel saw it happen.  Yet, the same prophet, would record the promise of God, that He would still be YAHWEH-Shammah.

·       Haggai 2:3,7,9: Before we hear from Ezekiel, hear the prophecy of Haggai, one of the prophets who ministered after the return from Babylon.  As the people were building the second temple, Haggai encouraged them, saying, ‘the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts.  How can this be?  For one thing, do you remember YAHWEH Tsaveot, the LORD of hosts?  He is the God who can marshal all the hosts of heaven to do His will; nothing can stop Him.  In fact, Jesus walked and talked in this temple.  In fact, the second temple was honored more than the first. 

·       Ezek. 43:1-5:  We noted earlier that Ezek. 40-48 gives detailed instructions as to the construction of a temple, we believe, in the Millennial reign of Christ.  This passage speaks of the return of God’s glory to the temple.  In his vision, Ezekiel is taken to the eastern gate, where he earlier saw the glory departing for the Mt. of Olives.  But now the glory is returning, through the eastern gate, into the temple.  And the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 

·       Ezek. 48:35: And then we come to where we started.  Jerusalem will bear the name, YAHWEH-Shammah, The-LORD-Is-There! 

Jesus is YAHWEH-Shammah.  We have seen this in His Millennial reign.  Because Jesus rules from Zion, the LORD is there.  His entrance into the city fulfills Ezekiel’s prophecy of the glory of the LORD entering through the eastern gate.  Remember how  Jesus rode the donkey down the Mount of Olives and into the city.  He will come again, in a similar manner.  What a glorious day that will be.

But Jesus was YAHWEH-Shammah in His first advent.  John 1:14 says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  He dwelt, or literally, “tabernacled” among us, just as the LORD tabernacled with Israel in the wilderness.  In what sense did John behold His glory?  Did He have a halo?   In John 2:11: when Jesus performed His first miracle, at the wedding in Cana, John says Jesus manifested His glory.  His glory was evident on occasion in His first advent; in His second it will be on full display.

Given this, what should we do concerning YAHWEH-Shammah?  We must be a holy place, a sanctuary, for we are the temple of the living God (2 Cor. 6:14-16).  God’s desire to dwell with men has not changed.  By His Spirit, He dwells in the believer in Christ.  We cannot be His temple and the temple of another god, or a temple to ourselves.