COMMENTARY OF THE SAME ON THE PROPHET HAGGAI

The purpose of the prophecy of Haggai having come about for certain other reasons we might observe, and not for the reasons one might suppose the words of the others came to be. For the divine Hosea and indeed those who follow, up to Zephaniah, foretold what would happen to the Jews at various times, and as the times of the captivity were all but upon them, they tried to frighten Israel, naming up and down the phalanxes of the enemies, the destructions of cities, the burnings, the plunderings, and usefully foretelling the devastation of the whole land to those who had chosen to be contemptuous. For they thought that even if they did not choose to fulfill what is pleasing to God from a good disposition, and to be engaged in efforts for the better, they would at least be such as to shudder at the magnitude of the disaster. But Haggai, as the times of the captivity were already completed, and Israel had been brought back to the holy city from the land of the Persians and Medes, makes his speeches, for such reasons. For Cyrus released them from captivity, and together with the sacred vessels he commanded them to go home, and to build again the divine temple, the one in Jerusalem, and in addition to this also to wall the city itself, if they chose. When this had happened, and the temple was in its first foundations, certain men in Samaria, Belemus and those with him, being envious, wrote against those from Israel, feigning goodwill toward the rulers of the Babylonians, saying that Jerusalem had become warlike and hard to encounter, and unbearable even to the kings of the Persians. Then they persuade them to order the Jews to be quiet, and neither to raise the temple any longer, nor indeed to apply themselves to the diligent work on the city. After a short time had passed, Darius succeeded to the kingdom, and it was the second year of his reign. And when some of the Jews in Babylon fell down and besought him to finally permit them to raise the divine temple, Darius ordered, and wrote to those administering the governments throughout all Phoenicia, not to hinder the Jews if they chose to rebuild the temple; but even to lavish upon them a supply of money, and to allow the cedars in Lebanon to be brought down by them unhindered, so that, lacking nothing for their need, the things for the honor and glory of the God who rules over all might finally be easily completed. But since the history has been told subtly and clearly in the first book of Ezra, I think it superfluous to speak slenderly of these things for the present. Therefore, since it was now possible for those of Israel to labor, and to build the divine temple, and to offer sacrifices and prayers, and to live according to the customs of the law, those of Israel were neglectful, each one setting his own affairs in order, and having turned completely to what was pleasant and dear to themselves, and holding the things for the glory of God in very little account, they were afflicted again, as God struck them, not with war, but rather with famines and barrenness and destruction of cattle. For He wished to make them better, not by subjecting them to punishments equal to their offenses, but at once pitying them as weary, and again correcting them out of love. This, in brief, is the occasion of the prophecy of Haggai. The word is mixed, and with the things done and spoken historically, the mystical and innermost and fitting contemplation for spiritual people is infused. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying. I said before, that the laziness regarding the temple had a good excuse for those of Israel, their authority having been taken away, and those in Samaria being very envious of this, and having made a great denunciation of Jerusalem before those directing the Persian powers. But when Darius was now in his second year in the kingdom, and then he had given them unimpeded and free authority for their love of work, and commanded them to do what seemed good, and to hold to holy endeavors, and had also assigned resources of money, their laziness no longer had a good excuse, but seemed beyond all reason, and the pretext was utterly implausible. Therefore the word comes by the hand of Haggai; and "by the hand" you will understand as "by the administration of," that is, by one ministering the words from God, and carrying out the service of prophecy. He also usefully points out the very times in which Darius commanded such things, cutting off beforehand, as I said, the foolish pretexts of those of Israel for choosing to be lazy again. Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, of the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jozadak, the high priest, saying, Thus says the Lord Almighty: This people says, The time has not come to build the house of the Lord. Shealtiel was the son of Jeconiah, being of the tribe and blood of David. Therefore, while this man was exercising the royal rule in Jerusalem over Judah, the city was sacked, and all Israel went away captive, Nebuchadnezzar at that time burning down the divine temple itself, and Jeconiah himself was taken, and was a captive along with the others. And Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Therefore, when Israel returned to Jerusalem, since he was indeed of the blood of the tribe that had obtained the kingdom, he reigned over Judah. But Joshua, being of the tribe and blood of Levi, and as from the root of Aaron, held the honor that was pre-eminent and select from the others, and was high priest. For thus the law named him who was appointed to lead the sacred orders, saying that those in the cities of refuge should not be released from their flight, but wherever each one might be, to remain there, "until the high priest dies," that is, the chief priest. Therefore the word came to both, I mean the king and the one who presided over the sacred orders. For it was fitting for them to announce to all the others what was prophesied. Not to those ignorant, I think, of the peoples' excuses did the God of all command to report it, but as if smiling at those who fall back into laziness at an inopportune time, and at those who had immoderately neglected the very things of which they ought to have taken earnest care. For it was better to consider that, if the things of God were of more urgent account to them, they would certainly, being maintained in well-being by His forbearance and grace, have lived in prosperity and wealth, and had the necessities of life in abundance. Therefore, as it were, somehow he bears witness through the voice of the Prophet, how impiously Israel had neglected those things which were most useful for it and looked to the glory of God. For concealing, as they think among themselves, their accusations with specious pretexts, they say that the time has not yet come to rebuild the temple of the Lord; but the time for being willing to do rightly is always present, and for the good and upright to fulfill the things that tend to the glory of God, is always in their power. And if indeed that which hinders and seems to stand in the way should somehow be removed, then truly the postponement is very grievous, and the accusations are henceforth of sloth and of extreme indolence, whatever arguments might be made about this. And this, I think, is what is said through the voice of David, "Incline not my heart to words of wickedness, to make excuses in sins." And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the Prophet, saying, Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies waste? A second oracle from God to Haggai, condemning Israel with a clear reproof, and showing that they placed things for their own rest and luxury above the glory of God. For is it, he says, that the time has not yet come when the God of all should be honored by the raising of the temple, but your own affairs have reached such a point of timeliness and glory, that you live luxuriously in richly furnished homes, and take pride in paneled courts? Then does it not seem burdensome and unbearable to you, to see the temple so dishonorably outraged, overturned and in a most unseemly state, and almost crying out against the impiety of the Babylonians and those ancient conflagrations? And yet how is it not better to see it in good condition and in its former state? For thus it would be possible hereafter both to sacrifice to God, and to make prayers for whatever you might choose. And paneled houses, he says, are those whose doorposts, that is, the posts of the doors, might be hollowed out with iron, with carpenters, I suppose, carving them around, and engraving intricate designs from their own skill. This is a sign of those who are already living in luxury, and are henceforth taking pride in their wealth. For such ambitious construction of houses beyond what is necessary would be a very clear proof of an abundance of possessions. It is truly terrible, then, and has the sin without excuse, if we should put the things of God in second place and after human things. And now thus says the Lord Almighty: Set your hearts on your ways. You have sown much, and brought in little; you ate, but not to fullness; you drank, but not to drunkenness; you clothed yourselves, but were not warmed in them; and he that earns wages has earned them for a bag with holes. Having been sparing, as I said, of the more urgent things, those of Israel, and having neglected the things pertaining to the glory of God, turned to concerns for themselves, raising up luxuriously furnished houses; then saying ignorantly, "The time has not come to build the house of the Lord." For since it was necessary for them to contribute to the construction of the divine temple, and then they were unwilling to do this, for this reason, alleging a lack of money, they said that it was necessary first to gather it, and as it were, to first rub off their poverty, by farming for the time being, or by trading, or by gathering herds of cattle, or by practicing some other such thing. But it was better to be of good courage in God, who finds ways even out of impossible situations, and has the power to enrich and to bless those who farm, and who discovers the paths of holy provisions. But since, lacking pious reasonings, they have fallen away from favor from above, having in no way acted rightly, for this reason he necessarily says, Set your hearts on your ways. which is like as if he said, Consider carefully what paths of life you have walked, or what things for the sake of love of gain having undertaken it, you acted according to your wish. you sowed much and brought in little. But it was better, with God blessing, to sow little, but to gather in much. But since that which was necessary was absent, the labors were many, but the fruits very few. You ate, and not to fullness. This is a terrible thing, and holds the proof of both the utmost want and misery, if the things sown are many, but the fruits so few, that for those who have toiled the penalty of famine is attached, and their food falls short of satiety. You drank, and not to drunkenness. For the vineyard was not rich in grapes. And the trees, though having very fine branches, were sick along with the crops. You clothed yourselves and were not warmed in them, a plague perhaps having fallen upon the flocks of sheep, so that even those who possessed many were in want of clothing. But also he who gathered wages, gathered them into a bag with holes. And through these things he indicates those who have a commercial practice, who in a way collect the wages of commerce, always adding extra charges to each of the things bought, and making their purses fat with the increases in prices. But not even for these was there benefit, he says, from their love of gain. For falling, perhaps, into unexpected losses and shipwrecks, they seemed to differ in no way from those who put money into a bag with holes. It is better, therefore, and wise to seek to be blessed by the God who offers all things to us. And this would easily come to those who have chosen to mind His things, and have preferred the things for His glory over their own. Thus somewhere the Savior Himself has also said to us "Do not be anxious "for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put "on. But seek rather the kingdom of God and "His righteousness, and all these things shall be added "to you." Since I think the story contains its own narrative sufficiently, come, let us apply our mind to spiritual contemplations and consider this: that what happened to the Jews might be a type, and a very clear one, of the universal and most general economy which came to be through Christ. For they were in Babylon, weighed down by the yoke of involuntary servitude, and paying the penalty for their sins; and for this reason they were placed and acted under the hands of their enemies, but they were redeemed at times when God took pity, and they were brought back home again, and inhabited the holy land, with Zerubbabel and Joshua leading and presiding. And Darius, although still attached to the worship of idols, is seen to have commanded that the divine temple should be rebuilt, also providing timber from Lebanon and resources of money; but they were still lazy and slow concerning the need to fulfill what was pleasing to God. And they were also found making excuses, saying, The time has not come to build the house of the Lord. And the whole earth was also subject to the deceiving and tyrannizing Satan, and it was captive, ensnared for this through sin, and by not knowing the God who is by nature and truly, and the Creator of all. But God in Christ delivered it, having broken the bonds of servitude. For through Him we have been guided, and leaving our sojourns among enemies, and having abandoned the polytheistic error like some foreign land, we have run up to Zion, that is, the spiritual one, that is to say, the Church. For observe how Christ is prefigured for us in Joshua and Zerubbabel. For, as I said, Zerubbabel was from the tribe of Judah. And from it also has sprung our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore He has also reigned over Israel. For thus somewhere he says through the voice of David "But I "was appointed king by Him on Zion His holy "mountain, declaring the Lord's decree." And Joshua indeed was from the tribe and blood of Levi, and was also named high priest; and Christ has also become our high priest, ministering Himself on our behalf, as a spotless sacrifice, as a true lamb, offering Himself to God the Father for a fragrant aroma. And somehow he will confirm the one upon this for those choosing to speak with lean words, also the clarification of the names themselves, that is, the interpretation. For Zerubbabel signifies a flow transferred; and Salathiel, a Turning Away of God. And Christ said somewhere, "Behold, I turn upon them as a river of peace, and as a torrent flooding the glory of the nations." For He is confessedly himself the torrent of delight, and, as it were, the flow of peace. But he has turned to us, and is all but transferred, having left Israel. And he has gone, as I said, to those called from the nations, very well bestowing an abundant outpouring of good things from above and spiritual things. And Jesus again signifies "Iao salvation," and indeed Josedec "Iao righteousness;" and Iao is the God of all. And Christ has become for us both salvation and righteousness from God the Father. For in him we have been saved, having fled the net of death, and we have been justified through faith, having shaken off the sin that tyrannized over us. Therefore; for I will bring the discourse back again to the beginning; we shall contemplate him as king in Zerubbabel, and as high priest indeed in Jesus. But let the eager learner see again the Jews' relapse into sloth concerning choosing to labor for the things for the establishment of the divine temple, that is, of the Church of Christ; and let him observe in addition to these things also the eagerness of the nations, and their being very greatly stirred up to a love of labor. For Darius, as I said, had commanded the temple to be raised, and the things for the glory of the God who rules over all to be fulfilled; but they were slothful and most unwilling to work, and preferring their own things to the things pleasing to God, and very greatly inclined toward more earthly things. for it says they were building wainscoted houses. Therefore, the divine David says concerning the nations, "You have heard the desire of the poor, O Lord; your ear has attended to the preparation of their heart." For those from the nations were more ready to believe, but those from Israel were very slothful. And you might see what I am saying also in the evangelical writings, that is, the parables. For the servants inviting to the supper were running, gathering people to the wedding feast; but they did not wish to come, but made "excuses in sins." For one said, "I have bought a field;" and another, "I have married a wife;" and others went to their business. Therefore those in the roads were called and ran in to the wedding feast, those found by the hedges, and truly the first have become last, and the last first. Thus also Christ spoke through the voice of David concerning both those of the blood of Israel and the nations: "A people whom I did not know has served me; at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me. Alien sons lied to me; alien sons have grown old and have limped from their paths." Thus says the Lord Almighty: Set your hearts on your ways. Go up to the mountain and cut timber and build the house, and I will be pleased in it and will be glorified, said the Lord. You looked for much, and it became little; and it was brought into the house and I blew it away. He makes a frequent reminder, knowing that the matter contributes to the benefit of the hearers. Thus also the divine Paul writes to some, "To write the same things is not tedious for me, but for you it is safe." Consider therefore, he says, your own ways, which you have now made. And what these are, he immediately makes clear: You looked for much and it became little, and it was brought into the house and I blew it away. For they have missed their hope, I mean, the one in choosing to till the earth. For having spent long sweats, they barely gathered little. But they have been deprived of these things too; for they have been blown away, that is, they have become others', and are by no means for them, but have rather been spent by those accustomed to be greedy. Therefore, then, their effort and toil was in vain, because they were not more willing to accomplish what was pleasing to the Master, and they made their care for the baser and more earthly things more important than the love of labor for better things. Did he then leave Israel unadmonished, not has he shown to the erring the way of correction? And indeed we shall immediately observe this very thing happening. For he said, "Go up to the mountain and cut wood and build the house, and I will be glorified in it again, and I will be well pleased," that is, I will both accept and praise the efforts and zeal of those who have labored for this. It is, therefore, good and pleasing to God to hasten to fulfill whatever things might appear useful and necessary for the establishment of the Church and for its building. And we shall do this, and very prudently, gathering, as it were, the most necessary material, and cutting wood, as from a forest, the spiritual insights in the divinely-inspired scripture; by which one might make the glory or understanding concerning God secure and well-founded, and show that the manner of the economy in the flesh is well-ordered and excellently made; and in addition to this, he will bring to an accurate knowledge of spiritual craftsmanship, and of the gentleness understood in character and manners. Through these things, we say, the house of God is built and the establishment of the Church is accomplished. And I will say in addition to this, that each of us might be understood as a temple and a house of God. For Christ has dwelt in us through the Spirit; and we are temples of the living God, according to the scriptures. Therefore, let each of us build his own heart through right faith, let him have as a foundation Christ himself, the Savior of all, who is truly precious; and let him add to these other material, I mean obedience, and compliance in everything whatsoever, courage, patience, self-control. For being thus joined together "through every joint of the supply," "we shall grow into a holy temple and into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." But those who are slow to faith, or even having believed, are yet somehow sluggish towards turning away from passions and sin and worldly love of pleasure, for this very reason have all but cried out, "The time has not come to build the house of the Lord;" for this reason they also fall into shortages of heavenly goods, and into spiritual barrenness, their mind wasting away within them, like some piece of land, so as to have neither grain, that is, strength, nor indeed wine, which is a symbol of gladness. For it is written that "bread strengthens a man's heart, and wine gladdens a man's heart." Therefore thus says the Lord Almighty: Because my house is desolate, while you each run to your own house, for this reason the heaven will withhold dew, and the earth will hold back its produce from you. And I will bring a sword upon the land and upon the mountains and upon the grain and upon the wine and upon the oil and upon all that the earth brings forth, and upon men and upon cattle and upon all the labors of their hands. He does not permit those who are utterly negligent of divine things to put their own affairs in a better state, and to place earthly things before those that are for his glory; but rather he persuades them to consider that if the incomparably superior things are not well-ordered, then the lesser things, in which they wish to be, could never be well-ordered. For this reason he says, "Because my house is desolate, while you each run to your own house," for this reason this and that will happen, by which the things in the fields would immediately be destroyed, heaven no longer sending down dew, the earth checking its own strength, and indeed a sword, or wrath, being brought upon them, with crops and vines and olive trees withering together, and in addition to this, men and cattle being devoured. Therefore, for those who are slow to fulfill the things for the glory of God, and those things by which his house would be seen to be established, that is the Church, there would be neither spiritual dew, that is, the comfort from heaven that enriches souls and hearts; nor indeed fruitfulness from the earth, that is, the achievements through the body; no grain, no wine, no use of oil. For they will be entirely and in every way powerless, and far from being gladdened, and they could in no way be enriched by the spiritual oil of gladness, and they will remain altogether without a taste of and without a share in the blessing through Christ; and in addition to these things they will be subjected to the sword, and they will endure a completely unrewarded labor, even if some manner of equity were practiced for them. For no one is crowned, "unless he competes according to the rules," as it is written. Therefore, let us consider zeal for better things to be especially important and among the most venerable of things; and let our own affairs be considered of less account, and let them come after things for the glory of God. And not only hearths, and possessions, and things for empty glory, but indeed also kindred, and brothers, and fathers. For thus Christ also says somewhere, "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." And Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, of the tribe of Judah, and Joshua the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people heard the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him to them; and the people feared the presence of the Lord. That He does not make His threats in vain, and that fear is not an unprofitable thing for those accustomed to be idle, one might easily perceive from this. For behold, behold, as soon as they heard the divine words, they turn immediately to diligence, and henceforth they obey those appointed to lead, I mean both Zerubbabel and Joshua, and they treat the prophet's words with the greatest possible reverence, and they are moved by his mission, although previously they had considered the matter worthy of very few words. Therefore it is true and is seen through the events themselves that "Whom the Lord loves, He disciplines; and He scourges every son whom He receives." For the fear of being punished sometimes changes the mind for the better; and the onset of gloomy things shifts us into the fear of God; and what is in the book of Proverbs is true, that "He who fears the Lord, this man is healthy," and again, "The fear of the Lord is life for a man." and likewise Wisdom, "The fear of the Lord is glory and a boast;" and "The fear of the Lord will delight the heart, and will give, in addition to these, gladness and joy and length of days." But see how gently God strikes us, and as would be fitting for Him. For He does not immediately bring the things of wrath upon human bodies, but rather He terrifies with external and small fears, and by losses of foodstuffs He refashions them for the better and for choosing henceforth to work at His things. And Haggai the messenger of the Lord said to the people, I am with you, says the Lord. See philanthropy immediately accompanying the changes for the better. For the God of all in a way changes along with those who have chosen to repent, and He promises to be with them, and what could be equal to this? For with God being present, all harm will depart from us, and good things will certainly enter, and the ways of prosperity will immediately appear established, and whatever is most pleasant will happen. But if the sacred Scripture calls Haggai the messenger of the Lord, let no one suppose that he is an angel by nature, but was born as we are, a man from a woman; for to think thus is utterly senseless. But we shall rather suppose, if we are of sound mind and an intellect that sees what is true, that he was called and named a messenger from the act of announcing a message. Since nothing prevents us from falling into another absurdity, confessing that those who announced to Job the things that happened in the fields from the horsemen are also angels by nature, and indeed also that his children died when the house collapsed. And the Word of God is also called "Messenger of great counsel." For He announced to us the will of God the Father. Therefore, a messenger is from the act of announcing a message, and not at all, if the title should happen to be said of men, from being by nature not what we are. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel of the tribe of Judah and the spirit of Jesus the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the remnant of all the people, and they went in and did the works in the house of the Lord Almighty their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. The children of Israel feared the presence of the Lord. But consider again for me, how they had not previously proceeded to choose to do the things pleasing to God, unless He was with them, and stirred up their spirit. We shall know then from this, that even if one should choose to voluntarily do good; and even if he should happen to be in such readiness, yet he will accomplish nothing at all, unless God is with him and rousing him to courage, and sharpening him for patient endurance, and cutting off the sloth that hinders industriousness. Therefore the divine Paul also says concerning those entrusted with the divine preaching that "I labored more "abundantly than all of them;" but he added with all wisdom, "Yet not "I, but the grace of God which was with me." And indeed the Savior Himself says to the holy apostles, "Without me," He says, "you can do nothing." For He is our desire and our readiness for anything good whatsoever, He is our strength, and when He is with us we will prosper, building ourselves up "into a holy temple, into a dwelling place of God "in the Spirit;" but when He departs and withdraws, how could anyone doubt that we will accomplish nothing, being overcome by sloth and cowardice, and shaking off the labor as unprofitable? But see those who formerly fell under wrath on account of much disobedience, at last running into the house of the Lord and working, with Zerubbabel and Jesus the high priest being with them. And this affair would again be a type of the calling of Israel which will take place in the last times of the age; who were indeed disobedient in the beginning, and for this reason they have remained fruitless, without dew and grain and wine and indeed also oil; and they have also fallen by the sword. But since they at last feared the presence of the Lord, and were put to shame by the words of the holy prophets, they will have the God of all with them, and their spirit will be stirred up, and they themselves will also work on the things for the temple of the Lord, that is, the Church. And these things are in Christ; for He is prefigured, as it were, in Zerubbabel and Jesus; for He is at once king as God, and again high priest as man, and mediator between God and men; for the priest mediates. And the phrase, On the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, was necessarily added, clearly showing the quick-turning of the mind of those of Israel. For the word came to them by the hand of Haggai in the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, but they rushed into the labors on the temple on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month; so that the days in between for delay, that is, for deliberation, were twenty-three in number. In the second year of Darius the king, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the Lord spoke by the hand of Haggai the Prophet, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, of the tribe of Judah, and to Jesus the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, saying, Who is there among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now, as though it were nothing in your sight? They were entering the house of God and taking charge of the works on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month; then immediately on the twenty-first day of the following seventh month, the word of God came to the blessed Prophet Haggai. What then shall we reckon upon this, and what is the reason, it is necessary to say. Having begun to endure hardship, and having taken up the cares for the divine temple, having now completed the twenty-seventh day at this, they were found to be fainthearted, and perhaps whispering that very thing either among themselves, or to one another, that they were laboring in vain; and even if it should happen that the temple be rebuilt, it will in no way be like the first one. For the one was exceedingly splendid and constructed with an ambitious hand, beautiful with gold and silver offerings; but the other was unadorned and lacking all ornament and deprived of the ambition that comes from wealth. For that first one, those who had reigned at various times in Jerusalem, still boasting in their wealth, lavishly adorned, and before all others, Solomon; but they were commanded to build the other, having barely recovered, and still dripping with the sweat of captivity, and having absolutely nothing in their homes. Swimming in such reasonings and being distressed, they worked, but having become unenthusiastic and sluggish, they were again found out. For this reason God strengthens the weak, and brings a most useful question to them, if indeed there is anyone among them who has seen the former temple in its first glory. But they were very few and aged. For the temple had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and Israel was in captivity, and was released only after seventy years had passed. Therefore, it was hard to find and a very old man who was alive before the destruction, and had lived in captivity, and returned again to Jerusalem. For this reason he says, "Who will be the man among you who saw this house in its former glory, then will see the future and new one as not existing at all?" And indeed, there is a rebuke in the question, as though they did not think that even if they themselves were very poor and in want of money, yet God would not be weak, but he himself would again suffice, I say, to make his own temple all-praised and glorious. "And now be strong, Zerubbabel," says the Lord, "and be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and let all the people of the land be strong," says the Lord, "and work, because I am with you," says the Lord Almighty, "and my word which I covenanted with you when you came out of the land of Egypt, and my spirit stands in your midst. Take courage." He does not allow them to be shaken by despondency, nor indeed to be overcome by fears leading to sluggishness; but rather he widens them to diligence, and produces in them a vigorous zeal; and at the same time he trains them for faith, and shows them to be steadfast, having said that they must take courage, and that which is beyond these things and truly most desirable, he promises to be with them; and in what manner, he added, saying, "My spirit stands in your midst. Take courage." No one with a good mind and a sound understanding would doubt that to those who labor generally for the building of the divine temple, that is, the Church, he bestows both strength and gives courage, because he will be with them through the Holy Spirit, and will accomplish all things for them through which they might be able to show their own life to be splendid and of good repute. Thus also our Lord Jesus Christ, to the holy apostles who were about to build the Church and to gather the believers into a holy temple, necessarily said, "Behold, I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age." That he was about to be with them again through the Spirit, he himself will clarify again, at one time saying, "I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you;" and at another time making the manner of his arrival clear, by saying again, "It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you." Therefore he is with those who build his house, but he departs again and completely withdraws from those who shake it. And these would be, again, those who in Beelzebul say, "Jesus be anathema," and who pervert all that is right, and pour the poison of destruction into the souls of the more simple. "Because thus says the Lord Almighty: Yet once more, I will shake the heaven and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all the nations, and the elect of all the nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory," says the Lord Almighty; "mine is the silver and mine is the gold," says the Lord Almighty. He brings the discourse back to the the church from the gentiles, and to the times of the coming of our Savior. Then indeed he promises to shake both heaven itself and the earth, and also the sea, and in addition to these, all the nations. For he said, "Yet once I will shake." This seems to imply some such meaning, at least according to what seems right to me myself. Therefore, when he planned to free Israel, which had worshiped idols and been brought up in the customs and laws of the Egyptians, and wanted to transfer it to the knowledge of the truth, he is seen having all but shaken all things: the waters having been turned into blood, the heaven sending down hail, the sea being parted and its waves being solidified in the form of walls, heaven dripping manna. And the psalmist implies something of this sort, saying, "O God, when you went forth before your people, when you passed through the wilderness, the earth shook, for the heavens also dropped." And we say that the earth was shaken at that time, not by enduring its usual tremor, but as the exodus of the sons of Israel became a sign and escaped the notice of no one on the earth. He says that a certain shaking of this kind will happen again at the time of our Savior's coming, as no one will be ignorant of the achievements through it. For heaven knew the mystery, and Paul is a witness to this, saying, "That now to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." And likewise the whole earth also knew, and the sea, that is, the islands. For who at all is seen to be deprived of this knowledge? What sea, what nation, what portion under heaven? The gospel "has been preached to all the nations," according to the Savior's voice. So then, he says, "Yet once I will shake the heaven and the earth, and then the chosen of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory." For very many, from every nation, and illustrious and chosen, have become believers, and have been gathered into the house of God as in the order of splendid offerings, and through this attaching glory to him, rendering it renowned and celebrated, and having been glorified by Christ. For they have learned both to pray and to say, "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us," and again, "We are blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth." And that God does not need inanimate matter, but intelligible comeliness, he implies by saying, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord Almighty." For it is as if he were to say, "Do not consider the temple inglorious because it may happen to lack gold and silver and the splendor from wealth. I have not needed such things; whence? For all the silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord Almighty; but I seek rather genuine worshipers, with the splendor of such I will gild my temple. For just as, when he was putting Israel away from the sacrifices according to the law, he necessarily said, "I will not accept calves from your house, nor goats from your flocks; for all the beasts of the field are mine, cattle on the mountains, and oxen;" so also here, rejecting adornment from matter, but seeking rather the intelligible, he says, "The silver is mine and the gold is mine," that is, "I have received in full and am filled, and I have needed none of these things;" but let him rather come who has right faith, who is distinguished by the boasts of virtue, who is resplendent with love for me, the pure in heart, the poor in spirit, the compassionate and good. For being so gathered into my temple, that is, the Church, they will render it renowned and conspicuous. Because great will be the glory of this house, the latter more than the former, says the Lord Almighty, and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord Almighty, and peace of soul for a possession to everyone who builds to raise up this temple. For according to the at the time of the coming of our Savior, the divine temple was shown to be incomparably more glorious, and so better than the former and superior, by as much as one might think the worship in Christ and according to the Gospel differs from the worship according to the law, and the truth from the things in shadows. And besides; for I shall think it necessary to say that other thing usefully; there was one temple of old, and only in Jerusalem, and there was one nation from Israel performing the sacrifices in it. But since the Only-begotten, being God, became "Lord and has appeared to us," according to the scriptures, the world under heaven has now been filled with holy houses and innumerable worshipers, who honor the God of all with spiritual sacrifices and intellectual fragrances. And this, I think, is what was proclaimed beforehand through the voice of the prophet Malachi, as from the person of God: "For I am a great king, says the Lord, and my name is glorified among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice." Therefore, the saying is true, that the glory of the latter temple, that is, of the Church, will be greater. But that to those who have taken care to build it, Christ will be given as a kind of gift from the Father and a present from heaven, he who is the peace of all, through whom "we have access in one Spirit to the Father," he will make clear by saying that I will give peace in this place and peace of soul for the preservation of everyone who builds to raise up this temple; for Christ himself also said somewhere, "My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you." And how this thing benefits those who have loved, Paul will teach again, writing: "The peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your bodies;" and the wise Isaiah also pleaded somewhere, saying, "Lord our God, give us peace, for you have given all things to us;" so that for those who have once been deemed worthy to receive the peace of Christ, it is possible easily to save their own soul and to direct the mind toward the achievement of virtue. Therefore, he says that peace will be given to everyone who builds. For whether one builds a church, and is appointed as an initiator into the mysteries over the house of God; or whether he benefits his own soul, presenting himself as a living and spiritual stone "for a holy temple, for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit," such a one will in every way and entirely gain the ability to save his own soul easily. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the Prophet, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Ask the priests concerning the law, saying: If a man carries holy flesh in the hem of his garment, and the hem of his garment touches bread or cooked food or wine or oil or any food, will it become holy? And the priests answered and said, No. And Haggai said, If one who is defiled by a dead body touches any of these things, will it be defiled? And the priests answered and said, It will be defiled. And Haggai answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, says the Lord, and so are all the works of their hands, and whoever draws near there will be defiled. This is another oracle through the Prophet to Israel, and we say it came about for such a reason. For in the second year of the reign of Darius, in the seventh month, when God was reproaching those who had been redeemed from captivity, and accusing them of hesitation, I mean concerning the need to work on the temple, they had scarcely run to it, and were then laying claim to the sweats of industry. Then God praised them for having done this, and promised to be with them, and to bless them, and commanded them to be of good courage, as the Spirit was standing in their midst; but they were no less hesitant and reluctant to work, and when scarcely two months had perhaps passed, they relapsed into idleness, and were again caught being terribly distressed. for toward the works of commerce terribly and strangely having turned away, and being incontinent towards avarice, they admitted listlessness, as if it were not permitted for them as in ample leisure to be occupied with the cares of commerce; then bringing sacrifices, they said the matter would suffice for them for it to be necessary to be sanctified, even if by chance the divine temple had not yet been built. The Prophet, therefore, is commanded to wound them with clever reproofs and to teach that even if they should choose to fulfill vows and sacrifices, but being slothful were found to be so concerning the need to complete the house of God, it will not be for their benefit, but rather for both wrath and judgment, this not wishing to sacrifice oxen at the proper time and to approach the divine altar; and he makes clear in addition to these things, that on account of the commercial enterprises set before them, mingling with wicked and foreign men, and certainly also with idolaters, they are utterly defiled. But the question is exceedingly legal and indeed difficult to interpret; however, as is possible, I will make it clear, presenting what is meant through what words I am able. Therefore the Prophet asks the priests for a law; for it is written, "That the lips of a priest will guard judgment, and they will seek the law "from his mouth;" and what is the question? If a man carries holy flesh in the corner of his garment and the corner of his garment should touch bread or cooked food or wine or oil or any food, will it be sanctified? And the priests answered and said, No. And holy flesh, he says, is that taken from an animal offered for sacred service to God; but he wishes to teach them this: the priests, when at times performing the sacrifices according to the law, touched, also through their garments, the flesh that was about to be burned as incense. Therefore, he says, if a sacred garment, sanctified perhaps by holy flesh, should touch some other thing, that has not been offered to God, will that also be holy? The priests denied this according to the law. Therefore, let us proceed from the example to what is more true: Will the one who offers a sacrifice, if he should provoke God in other ways, be sanctified by it? By no means, but rather he is condemned, as not yet having been cleansed, but having offered a sacrifice. And that the word is true, hear what the lawgiver says in Leviticus: "And "the flesh that touches any unclean thing, shall not be eaten; it shall be "burned with fire. Every clean person shall eat the flesh, but the "soul who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of "salvation, which is for the Lord, and his uncleanness is upon "him, that soul shall perish from his people. And "the soul who touches any unclean thing, either from "the uncleanness of a man or of unclean four-footed animals "or of any unclean abomination, and eats of the "flesh of the sacrifice of salvation which is for the Lord, that soul shall perish "from its people." You see how useless, but rather even a cause of wrath and death, it is to offer sacrifices with unwashed hands. Just as, therefore, the garments of the priests, although having been sanctified through the flesh of the sacrifice, would not sanctify anything touching them; so, he says, the act of sacrificing to God would not make holy those who have chosen to grieve Him in another way, and who wish to be idle concerning what is pleasing to God. And that, as I said, on account of commerce and the profits from it, mingling with profane men, they themselves will also certainly be in participation of their abomination, he makes clear through the other question; for he said again, If one who is defiled by a dead body should touch any of these things, will it be defiled? And the priests answered and said, It will be defiled. For the law through Moses has commanded those who are consecrated not to touch a dead body, nor indeed to approach dead men. And at any rate he said it is necessary for the priests not to be defiled, except only for a father and mother and brothers, but for the one who presides over and is pre-eminent in the sacred orders, not even for these at all. But what was commanded was a riddle; for the law is a shadow; for a dead person would again be a type of dead works and worldly uncleanness. But I think it is necessary for those who have practiced a sacred and all-holy life, of dead works to be separated and to love to stand aloof from worldly corruption. But if it happened at that time that one who had visited the dead touched some one of the others, or a man perhaps, or even food, this was altogether according to the law in a state of pollution. The Prophet therefore asks, if when someone has touched a dead body, and then, having remained unwashed, should happen to touch something else, whether he defiles it in every way and altogether. And when they said, 'He will defile it'; God then adds: So is this people, and so is this nation before me, says the Lord, and so are all the works of their hands, says the Lord, and whoever approaches there, will be defiled. For since he touches dead works, he says, not only is he himself defiled, but he has come to such a point of worthlessness, as to be fit to be able, and that very vigorously, to defile others. Therefore, one must take care of good works, and let us be zealous to fulfill that which is most truly dear to God, and let us thus sacrifice spiritually. For then He will accept it, and not for condemnation the prayer, but we will have it rather for benefit and blessing; and let us shake off dead desires, and as it were lifeless pleasures and worldly impurity. For God will be with those who are thus cleansed and sanctified. Because of their morning gains they will be pained because of their wickedness, and you hated those who reprove in the gates. They say that neither the Hebrew edition, nor indeed the other interpreters, either say or know these things; however, the meaning appears to be consistent with what has gone before. For since, as I said, they were excessively obsessed with love of gain and greed; and this proved to be a pretext for their laziness, although they had been commanded to build the divine temple; He therefore necessarily accuses them for these things. And He calls them 'morning gains' because for no other reason did they make their early morning journeys and efforts, except for this alone, I mean, for the sake of desiring gains. And He says that they will be pained on account of these things, since their desired goal does not come to fulfillment for them. For when God does not direct, and does not smooth the path of what must be done by us, a man's zeal for anything is surely altogether in vain and unprofitable. For it is written that, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." Therefore, having preferred the gains as it were at dawn and in the morning to raising the divine temple, and putting the baser things before the better, they were found to be afflicted with another terrible thing in addition to this. For they hated those who reprove in the gates. And you will understand 'in the gates' as 'clearly'. But why did they hate them? For to those once overcome by evil pleasures, and who have slid unrestrainedly into choosing to do what is not lawful, those who have the strength to correct them would not be pleasant, but rather burdensome and hated; and what of such things would they not be accounted? A completely terrible sickness of the mind, therefore, is to be inclined to wicked things, and to abhor those who know how to help, and to be sick most pleasantly with what has happened, even if what is occurring is seen to be one of the exceedingly outrageous things. But it is better and wise to repel generally the harms that pour into the soul and mind. But if it should happen that one suffers something, to seek physicians with all speed, and to love those who reprove, and to prostrate oneself as it were before God, saying "Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved; for you are my praise." And now, set your hearts from this day and forward, before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, what you were like, when you put into a bin of barley twenty satas, and there were ten satas of barley; and you went into the winepress to draw out fifty measures, and there were twenty? I struck you with blight and with mildew and with hail all the works of your hands, and you did not turn to me, says the Lord. From necessary reasonings He persuades them that they have acted rightly, having chosen to build the divine temple, and they are better than long ago, having undertaken the zeal for this. For consider, he says, and remember who you were, that is, how and in what manner you were disposed, before you placed a stone upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. For then, he says, what was gathered with difficulty by long toils from the fields and the threshing floor, twenty satas of barley—and I think the saton is a measure—you would store in a bin—and this could be understood as a type of storehouse for produce—and it would become ten satas of barley, clearly with the moth consuming them perhaps and reducing the grain to dust out of divine wrath. And if indeed someone came to the winepress, intending to draw and pour out fifty measures, finding the measure unexpectedly reduced, he was then astonished. You were struck indeed, he says, with other plagues, with barrenness, with blight, with hail; and again you were stubborn. For you did not return to me, he says. What then shall we know from this? It is manifest that for those who are unwilling to build the house of the Lord, that is the Church, or who are excessively lazy in making their own souls a temple of God, even the good things already acquired will vanish into nothing, and there will surely be harm from unclean spirits, and barrenness and hail, that is, unbearable visitations of temptations shaking down every sort of evil, and things from divine wrath will happen. Set your hearts now from this day and onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, and from the day the temple of the Lord was founded; set in your hearts, if it will be known on the threshing floor, and the vine and the fig and the pomegranate and the olive trees that do not bear fruit, from this day I will bless. Having well convinced them through what we have just said, that for those choosing to neglect the divine temple a very great assault of troubles has occurred, he says they will be fully assured by him who knows how to cheer, that they will have prosperity as the fruit of their zeal for the things that please him, and as a reward for their goodness toward his house, they will be broadened in every good thing. And he promises that he will especially supply them with fruitfulness from the fields, so that the matter comes close to disbelief, and the heaps from the threshing floor appear beyond all expectation, and of the trees growing in the gardens, the vine is seen as rich in clusters, and the fig, and the pomegranate, and simply that the seasonal produce will have blossomed richly for them, and indeed also the olive yielding its own fruit to them in unexpected abundance, on account of being blessed by God. For just as for those who choose to neglect building the Church, that is to present themselves as a holy temple to Christ, everything collapses for the worse; and indeed it is seen to happen that they are in temptations and spiritual barrenness; so also is the opposite true, that for those willing to build and who have honored the toil of goodness, it will be given by God to be seen in every good thing, and to be enriched with spiritual fruitfulness, and to have the innermost garden, as it were, blooming with various boasts of virtues, and almost laden with ripe fruits, so as to be able henceforth to cry out with boldness what is in the Song of Songs, "Let my kinsman come down into his garden, and eat the fruit of his choice trees." For the sprouts of virtues are like food for God, and the grace of spiritual fruitfulness. And the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai the Prophet on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, Say to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel of the tribe of Judah, saying, Yet once I will shake the heaven and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and I will overthrow the thrones of kings, and I will destroy the power of the kings of the nations, and I will overthrow chariots and riders, and their horses and riders shall come up, each one by the sword against his brother. The prophetic word for us always proceeds somehow from the particular, and from the matters at hand it makes an excursion to the universal and most general things. for if it somewhere makes mention of the redemption of some, it often departs to the one through of Christ. The prophetic word now hints at something of this kind to us; for these things have necessarily been added to what has already been said, subtly introducing the proclamation of the mystery concerning Christ as if still in riddles and shadows. For the Prophet is sent to Zerubbabel of the tribe of Judah, to say that the heaven and the earth and indeed the sea and the dry land will be shaken, and the thrones of kings will be cast down. And the most wise Paul, applying himself to the contemplations of the preceding matters, says that word "will be shaken" means that there will be a removal of the things that are shaken, "so that the things that are not shaken may remain." But these things had to be accomplished through Christ, for in him all things are new and "the old things have passed away," things drunken and shaken, and new things have come to be through him, that is, things that are firm and established and abiding. See, therefore, the economy of the word; for having promised them an admirable fruitfulness, and having said he would provide all things for cheerfulness and delight in abundance, he immediately introduced the time of true fruitfulness, that is, the lavish provision of the spiritual and heavenly blessing. For "I shook," he says, "the things under heaven when I led Israel out of the land of Egypt; but I will shake them yet again," that is, "I will do something notable and famous again for those throughout the whole world, as if shaking all things." And I will cast down the thrones of kings, and I will destroy all their power, and I will cast out, as it were, certain horsemen charging over all under heaven with greed against all, but I will raise up other horsemen, that is, warriors, drawing a sword against family and brothers. Through these things he seems to hint to us of the wicked and opposing powers cast down through the strength of our Savior, the principalities and authorities which he triumphed over on his own cross, and having cast out the greed against all, he came to the aid of the wronged, that is, us. And indeed the holy and blameless virgin, while still conceiving Christ, since she bore a mind full of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed beforehand such things, saying: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior." And after other things again: "And holy is his name, and his mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever." Therefore the mighty have been brought down, and they have fallen from their own thrones. Yet the accomplishments of our Savior's coming do not end here; but a swarm of horsemen has been raised up, men who are fighters and experienced in war and know how to command, and who generally lead out against the perversities of the devil. These would be, in turn, the divine disciples, who have intellectually drawn the sword of the Spirit; that is, the word of initiation, which is living and active and very sharp. They went forth against every person and against family and against brothers, not inflicting deadly blows, but rather destroying the ignorance in them, and, as it were, making them dead to the world, and preparing them to be dead to sins, so that they might live to God, having loved the glorious and blameless life, that is, the life of the Gospel. But that for the sake of love for Christ sons were destined to be set against fathers, and indeed daughters against mothers, and brothers against brothers, how can one doubt? When the Savior says clearly: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household." Enemies, therefore, insofar as they are of a different mind; friends and not for long, as in one accord of faith and as in unity of the Spirit and of the love that is in Christ. In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will take you, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, my servant, says the Lord, and I will make you as a seal, because I have chosen you, says the Lord Almighty. This word is not truly to Zerubbabel, but it came to be rather as to our Lord Jesus Christ, as being very well depicted in Zerubbabel; because he is both from the tribe of Judah, and indeed also a king, and a leader of those redeemed from captivity, and as it were an overseer of those building the house of the Lord. you, therefore, He says, taking you my servant; that is, the one who appeared in the form of a servant, yet by nature free; at that time, in which I would choose to cast down the mighty from their thrones and to cast out principalities, I will make you as a seal. For the Son is the seal of God the Father, having His whole and pure likeness, and in His own beauty flashing forth the nature of the One who begot Him. And in Him God seals us also into His own likeness; if indeed being formed into Christ, we gain the image that is toward God. The Son is therefore the exact seal of God the Father, and He has chosen Him, that is, made Him chosen and elect. And indeed He confessed Him at the streams of the Jordan, saying "This is My Son "the beloved, in whom I am well pleased, hear Him." For God the Father was pleased to restore all things, and to bring them back to the beginning, and as the divine Paul writes, "to sum up all things in heaven and on "earth" in Christ, through whom and with whom to God the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.