Desire of the Nations

April 11

“I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory," says the LORD of hosts,” Haggai 2:7.

“Why?” That question haunts mankind when natural disasters and man’s inhumanity to man defy our ability to grasp. Why? We ask, are there mudslides and earthquakes and terrorist attacks and random shootings and disease and war? Why?

Some of it can be attributed to the geological configuration of an area that makes it vulnerable to certain types of natural, destructive events. Some of it can be explained by societies that stamp hatred for those who are not like themselves upon their young. Some can be blamed upon the proclivity of people to advance their own agenda at any cost.

But, “Why?” The bottom line of any rationale is that we live on a fallen planet. The beautiful paradise of Genesis 2 and 3 is recognizable for its beauty, for indeed, there are lovely evidences of God’s original handiwork in many places in our world, but the peaceful interaction of the various species of animals, including the Holy One’s supreme creation, Man, has long since vanished.

The seismic and oceanic events cannot be placed at the feet of sinful man, but the societal and interpersonal problems we face are certainly attributable to our sinful nature that leaves us flawed in our ability to interact with others of our species. In our vanity, we fail again and again to gain any real advantage, for all our striving, all our duplicity, all our selfish goals leave us empty.

Though we may achieve a momentary ‘high’ from our endeavors, we are left with a profound sense of the veracity of I John 2:16 which affirms that, “All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” And these do not leave us satisfied.

But we do have a HOPE, and His name is Jesus. He who is “the Desire of the Nations,” will come to us again when we have collectively longed for the peace and the hope and the truth and the righteousness and the love that only He can impart to this dark planet, to our dark hearts.

When we are truly shaken to our core by the renegade storms and the tumultuous oceans and the erupting earth beneath our feet and the insufferable way we treat one another, HE WILL COME AGAIN! The Temple will be filled with His glory.

When the Temple of man’s spirit (see I Corinthians 6:19, 20) will be surrendered to His Spirit, and man will be filled with the glory of the indwelling Christ, then shall we be at peace with all men and then shall we have paradise restored.