Established on a Promise

John 2:19-20 - "Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”

 When I read this verse, God spoke something to me. He said the temple took so long to complete because it was a man made temple. It was built in the flesh. It was built under Herod's command, not God's.

Solomon's temple was completed in 7 years because God had ordained Solomon to build it. The temple that was built after the Israelites returned from captivity took 19 years due to resistance of the surrounding nations that resulted in the stopping of work on the temple for 16 years. Yet, in the end God and his people were victorious and finished. the work. They were successful because God had commanded them to build it.

This is the difference in doing something commanded by the Lord and established on a promise. When we do something in according to God's will and in his power we will be able to do greater things. We will be blessed in what we do because God is working through us to accomplish His plan. Solomon's temple was greater than both of the following temples and built in a shorter period of time. The post exile temple was built in a shorter time than Herod's despite great hurdles they had to overcome. When we work according to our desire and in the flesh, the work becomes greater and more strenuous.