KJV Isaiah 53:2: “… He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”

NASB Isaiah 53:2: “… He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 

KJV Haggai 2:7: “… and the Desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory …”

NASB Haggai 2:7: “… and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory …”

Isaiah 53 is the mournful song of repentance, which a redeemed nation will one day sing, looking back on the first advent of their Messiah. Viewing it then through the lens of redemption, they will realize the tremendous mistake they made when He came to them.

They were looking for a hero to smash the Roman oppression. He came as a humble carpenter to meet spiritual needs. They were expecting a Messiah Who would appear in majestic power and lead them to liberty and supremacy; He was marked by meekness and grace. All the qualities they valued and expected were absent in Him. Thus, there was no “beauty” for their eyes to appreciate.

If we can gauge something of the condition of the nation at His arrival with the spiritual condition we have in Malachi 400 years earlier, the value system of the nation was skewed (“… everyone that doeth evil is good” Mal 2:17). Their hearts were cold and given to ritual and not reality (“where have we robbed Thee” Mal 3:8).

Eyes were blind to the true beauty He displayed; ears were deaf to the Words of life. Only the Father and those whose eyes had been enlightened appreciated the moral worth of the Lord Jesus. The vast majority of men saw nothing desirable in Him.

One of the last of the prophets, a post-exilic prophet Haggai, was raised up to stir up the consciences and to strengthen the small remnant that had returned from Babylon, in the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. His ministry was a brief four months, but unlike the majority of prophets, his message was heeded, and the people were prodded to return and finish the temple.

One of his prophetic messages concerned the Temple. As men looked upon it, especially the older men who remembered Solomon’s magnificent temple, they felt their work was insignificant compared to what Solomon had built. Haggai takes their thoughts to a future day and the latter glory of the house. What will give the house ultimate value is that the “Desire of all nations” is going to come to that house, and His presence will fill the house with glory. Just as the glory filled it in the day of Solomon, so the coming of the Lord Jesus Himself would be the glory that would fill the house.

What gives value to the Temple is His presence. What gives value to any assembly gathering is His presence.

Haggai speaks of this coming glory as “the Desire of all nations.” The Hebrew root is the same word as used in Isaiah 53:2. There will be a complete reversal of the value system that has marked the nation and, in fact, all the nations. Now, He is the Desire of all nations. Here is the One Whom they recognize as the Prince of Peace; He is the Sun of Righteousness who will bring healing to the nations. In that coming day, all nations will call Him blessed (Ps 72:17).

Isaiah 53:2 still prevails in the minds of the nation of men currently; in the not-too-distant future, Haggai’s designation will be the universal appreciation that will fill the earth with thanksgiving and praise.

May He be, at this time, “all my desire” (2 Sam 23:5).

Consider:

This is only one of the many contrasts between His first and second advents. Look at Ps 24 and note the contrasts when He enters the city, the next time, as a victorious King.