Never downgrade the promises of God and the blessings that you have got in hand. The people who shouted aloud for joy were right. We do not want to discourage any from going for pastoral help, because they are in trouble, or difficulty, or assurance has waned, or their hearts have grown cold, but so often the pastor finds himself saying the same thing to such people. It is similar with people who come and they say, ‘I am desperately trying to find the Lord, and to know with certainty that I am saved. I am searching my heart all the time and I am in constant anguish. Am I saved?’ The pastor will say to them, ‘Well, what has God already done? He has changed your whole manner of thinking. There was a time when you were running from him, and wild horses wouldn't bring you to church, and you wanted to avoid this and you were against that, and now you are desperate to find him and you want to be sure that you are his. What a change! Now you have seen the gospel and something has happened, and you know, you absolutely know, that it's true. You are certain of it and you must have Christ. Just look at how much has already done. If you're not there yet, you are three quarters of the way there. He has done so much in your heart. You owe him your praise; you owe him your thanks and your trust. Trust him, thank him, live now as a Christian; he has changed you so much.’ This is what should have been the case with these ancient men. They should have pulled themselves together. ‘Look what the Lord has done, and look at his promises.’ Never downgrade such experience as you have, and the promises of God that are in your possession, however rough the going or difficult your circumstances may be.
The temple prefigures Christ. When you are looking at the first temple built by Solomon, or before that when you are looking at the tabernacle in the wilderness, you are looking at Christ. This all prefigures him and it's full of pictures of him, his grace, and his work. When you look at the second tabernacle – the tabernacle of Zerubbabel as some call it, the tabernacle of Ezra as others call it, which by this time had just got the foundations down – you are looking at Christ. Actually, while the first temple prefigured Christ so as to show his riches and glory – he is the Son of God; he is glorious; it reflects something of his riches, as well as his grace – the second tabernacle is actually a more accurate portrayal of the incarnate Son of God, who came into this world and had no form nor comeliness, no beauty externally that we should desire him. The second tabernacle is a much better picture of Christ than even the first. It is a tabernacle built in times of trouble, built in spite of troubles, a small, inconspicuous, tabernacle, despised by the flesh and by the world. And yet in spite of these troubles, the tabernacle is raised up again; it is raised up out of ruins – a resurrection, if you like. The story of Christ is in the tabernacle. Furthermore, his second tabernacle could be said to be the one in which Christ walked and personally taught. We know that the second tabernacle was greatly enlarged. In 20 BC the work was started by Herod, so-called Herod the Great. Herod wasn't great. He was very small. He was called the Great because he built lavish public buildings. The Jews all thought he was going to knock down the second temple, but he decided to extend and build up and renovate the temple to ingratiate himself to the Jews. He made it much bigger, and it built a perimeter wall which was filled in to extend the area. The site was more than twice as large. He also built a great fortress in it, Fortress Antonia, which in due course was occupied by the Romans, and he extended to the length of the original tabernacle by 90 feet. He did all that, but the original paving, the heart of the second temple – which was inside Herod's rebuilt third temple – was still there. It was the authentic temple in which Christ walked. So the second temple that the old all men wept over, was the one that the Son of God would personally honour and stand in. Never go according to the flesh. God works according to the Spirit.
God was doing a new thing. The old temple was more grand, but the worship that took place in it was mixed with hypocrisy; Israel was a mixed multitude. What God was doing was really a much grander thing – previous grand your worth little. The people were unspiritual and therefore came under judgement. Now it was a smaller number, but they were there because God had moved them to come. The new smaller temple is for those who mean it. They want to be there. It is closer to the New Testament church. We have deeply felt our need and come voluntarily to God as members of a regenerate church, every one of whom is born again. Some of the Jews puzzled over the New Testament church. What a small church which includes the flotsam and jetsam of Gentiles! Yes, but they love the Lord. We have to be careful of carnal attitudes towards God’s work. I won’t be satisfied till this local church contains five thousand people. Yes, we want blessing, but post-millennials and reconstructionist are saying this, ‘we won’t be satisfied till all the world follows Christ.’ We may see a big church with a name that it lives, but perhaps it is smaller to God when he sees those who are really dedicated to him.