Small things

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. – Haggai 2.3-5

For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.  – Zechariah 4.10

This is a sad scene. Everyone got together and got the work done and the Temple was built. The young men were overjoyed and elated that the Temple was built. How exciting!

But there was a damper on their fervour. While the young men we excited about the Temple the old men, many of whom could remember Solomon’s Temple, despised it. ‘In my day the Temple was huge and opulent. This Temple is nothing in comparison. What are you so excited about it.’ There were tears of joy among the young and tears of sorrow among the older men.’ And no one could tell the difference.

The point here is made by Zechariah later in his prophecy. He told the older men not to despise the day of small things. This wasn’t the old Temple. It wasn’t going to be. What we see happening in the church today isn’t the same thing the church saw in the day of great revivals. Especially here we function in the world of ‘small things’ in the eyes of the world.

We need to be careful to honour God just as much in the small things as in the big things. The little things and the big things are only in our eyes. That comes from looking at the externals. We never know how God is working in the unseen.

The Temple that had just been built was going to be the Temple where Jesus would minister. It was small in man’s eyes but big in God’s eyes. Many of us minister in small ways and small churches and small ministries. Don’t despise them. God is not limited by size as long as we are faithful. God is with us in the small things.