Before commencing the construction of the temple, you visited the grove and anticipated gathering twenty measures of produce, yet you barely obtained half of that amount. In accordance with the Septuagint, when you poured into the designated room twenty measures of barley, believing it would suffice for the cattle, you returned to find merely ten. Similarly, when you approached the grape press, expecting to yield fifty vessels visually, you managed to extract only twenty vessels. This I orchestrated, sending upon you scorching winds, blighted air, withered fruits, empty husks, and unfruitful branches on the vines, so that through these calamities, I might draw you closer to understanding Me; yet, even amid this, there was no one who turned to Me.
In the book of Hebrews, the entire passage is articulated in this manner: "Turn now your hearts from this day and then backwards... The vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate tree and the olive tree have not yielded... I will bless from this day." Indeed, the temple's foundation has now been laid. From this moment, when the foundations were set (for previously, I disciplined you through barrenness, famine, hail, and drought), focus on the future to witness how all shall flow graciously for you. The initiation of building My temple signifies that you hold My House in esteem and are not solely reliant upon the altar.
Concerning interpretations of this nature, we can note that some offer sacrifices to God in vain, mistakenly believing that alms and gifts can please Him while failing to establish a temple for the Holy Spirit within themselves. Truly, offerings presented to the altar are of value only when one first becomes a temple dedicated to God, making their offerings after establishing this sanctuary.
Metaphorically, for those of us who put our faith in Jesus Christ, it is imperative to reflect on the period when we were idolaters, daily engaged in vices, neglecting to erect a temple to God within ourselves. As a skilled builder joins stones with mortar, the spiritual architect (as the Apostle describes himself: "As a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation" (1 Cor. 3:10))—whose removal from Jerusalem the Lord warns—understands how to link one element to another, gradually constructing the temple of God. The foundation of this temple is established by Jesus Christ, and each believer must determine what they shall add to this foundation. Some contribute gold, silver, and precious stones, while others use wood, hay, and straw; the three noble materials are set against three inferior ones. The first are the materials with which the Lord will build Jerusalem: "Behold, I will prepare for you your stone of carbuncle, and your foundations of sapphire, and your fortifications of jasper, and your gates of stone of crystal, and your wall of chosen stones" (Isaiah 54:11-12).
It must not be imagined, influenced by Jewish myths and simplistic stories, that God constructed Jerusalem with gold and precious stones alone, neglecting the living stones scattered across the earth—stones that, by their nature, may be fiery in faith like a carbuncle, heavenly like sapphire, or reflective of innocence and good deeds like crystal. Therefore, you are called to acknowledge what we endured prior to erecting the temple of God within ourselves. He states: "When you shall come to a heap of twenty quarters, and there shall be ten" or, according to the Septuagint, "When you shall pour into the barn twenty measures of barley, and there shall be ten measures." What we once perceived as virtues and good works before Christ's advent was not true wheat; rather, it resembled barley, which yielded considerable potential but resulted in diminished return.
When we entered the winepress with intentions of yielding fifty vessels—this number representing completeness—the sacred number thirty was lost to us, leaving only twenty. Esau cherished this final number; thus, Jacob, cognizant of its appeal, gifted him twenty animals. However, consider that Jacob, despite being a righteous man, labored for twenty years under the avaricious Laban.
Let us not be misled by the idea that some may experience partial returns on their efforts before believing in Christ and building His temple, as the deeds of the unfaithful bear no good fruit. They may seek a yield of twenty, only to attain ten, reflecting half their labor. Both Jews and Gentiles, along with modern-day philosophers and boastful wise ones, may presently enjoy the rewards of their endeavors, yet all hope for eternal recompense is stripped from them. This is so that in total despair, they may not overlook the necessity of repentance and, upon conversion, commence constructing a temple for God.
If they persist in disbelief, they will forfeit even what they seem to possess. As it is said, "I have smitten you with a burning wind, and with jaundice, and with hail—all the works of your hands.” Everything afflicted by pestilence, hail, and scorching wind turns to dust and ash, devoid of anything nurturing or beneficial. God orchestrated these events to ensure no one turned to Him; for if they had turned and erected a temple for the Lord, from the moment they began building, they would have realized the blessings foretold by the prophet.
THEOSIS