Haggai 2:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They commenced their work in the house of the Lord on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, and on the twenty-first day of the following seventh month, the Lord spoke again to Haggai. It is important to explore the context of this message, as it arises from specific circumstances. After patiently dedicating themselves to the care of the divine temple and designating the twenty-seventh day for this purpose, they began to succumb to fear, perhaps murmuring among themselves that their efforts were futile. They worried that even if they succeeded in constructing the temple, it would never resemble the first in grandeur. The former temple was magnificent, meticulously arranged through devout contributions, adorned with gold and silver offerings.

In the same year, specifically during the seventh month designated for sacred festivals, on the twenty-first day of that month, after a period of three complete weeks and a time of rest in the mystery of the Trinity, the message of God came to the prophet Haggai for the third time. Haggai labored diligently, working hard so that God’s word could always reach him. Indeed, with a heart focused on the future and forgetting what lay behind (Philippians 3:12-14), he toiled each day as if his previous efforts had never existed.

Then in the seventh month, the Lord instructs the Prophet once more to convey these words: "Speak now to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel of the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the people, saying: Who among you has seen this temple in its former splendor? How do you view it now, in comparison to what it was?"