I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. – Haggai 2:7

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 21, 2020): Haggai 2

American journalist H. L. Mencken remarked, "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." Mencken died in 1956, so he was not commenting on our contemporary political situation. Having said that, I think that almost every President who has adorned the White House during my lifetime has been considered by some to be "a downright moron." But that highlights part of the problem. We struggle with what we want. We always have. What we should want, we discard into the trash. And what we should throw away, we give an honored place in our lives.

There is a little confusion concerning the phrase "what is desired by all nations." The NIV uses it as a descriptive phrase, allowing us to consider what is desired by all nations. And we can come up with answers. Power? Possibly. Wealth and comfort? Yes. Health? Definitely. All of these things can and are desirable.

But some translators have treated Haggai words as a title, instead of a phrase, The Desire of All Nations.  And using it as a title changes the way we interpret the phrase. For biblical scholars, the answer to the mystery of what is desired by all nations is a simple one. The answer is The Messiah. But just because all nations desire the Messiah, does not mean that we understand that.

For Christians, we understand the Messiah, or the Christ, to be Jesus of Nazareth. He is the "Desire of All Nations." And when he came and was presented at the Temple that was built during the days of Haggai, he finally filled Zerubbabel's Temple with glory, something that had been missing until the day he arrived in the arms of Mary and Joseph. But as far as opponents to Christianity are concerned, part of the problem is that Jesus, especially at the end of his ministry, was not desired. Jesus did not bring the power or wealth and comfort or even the health that the nations expected and desires. Instead, he brought a path to spiritual health, a way for the nations to mend their relationship with their God.

And so, we did not recognize the Messiah. We did not understand that we needed him. If we were to possess real power and wealth, that path starts with our relationship with God. All that ails this world, he heals. Instead, we discarded the very thing that we needed and desired, echoing the truth of Mencken's comment. It seems that whether we are talking about a president or a Messiah, the desire of heart's is that these positions be inhabited by "a downright moron."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 1