Commentary on the Prophet Haggai

completed, and of Israel having returned to the holy city from the Persians and the Medes, frames his discourse upon such causes as these. For Cyrus had set them free from captivity, and commanded them to return home—together with the sacred vessels—and to rebuild the divine temple, that in Jerusalem, and in addition to this, if they so chose, to wall in the city itself. When this had been done and the first foundations of the temple had been laid, some men from Samaria, being stirred by envy—Belemus ^B and his associates—denounced those of Israel, feigning goodwill toward the king of the Babylonians, and declaring that Jerusalem had resorted to arms and had become untameable, and that it would henceforth be intolerable to the kings of the Persians themselves. Then they persuaded him to command the Jews to desist, and to permit them neither to raise up the temple further, nor indeed to apply themselves to the restoration of the city. Not much time passed before Darius took over the kingdom, and it was already his second year. But when certain of the Jews residing in Babylon fell down and suppliantly begged that it might be permitted to raise up the divine temple, Darius gave the command, and wrote to the ^C magistrates governing throughout all Phoenicia, that they should not hinder the Jews if they chose to restore the temple, but rather that they should liberally assist them with funding and money, and permit them to carry away the cedars from Lebanon without hindrance, so that with nothing lacking for their needs, they might henceforth easily complete the things pertaining to the honor and glory of God. But since the history is described accurately and clearly in the first book of Esdras, I think it superfluous to discourse upon these things too intricately at present. Therefore, when the power was already granted to the Israelites to labor, to build the divine temple, to perform sacrifices, ^D to observe prayers, and to live according to the ordinances of the law, they became slothful, each caring well for his own house, and being poured out in every way toward private pleasures, while they deemed the things relating to the glory of God of very little account; they were again sorely punished by God, not indeed with war, but with pestilence, lack of produce, and the destruction of herds. For He wished to amend them, not subjecting them to punishments in proportion to their transgressions, but at once pitying those worn out by evils, and at the same time correcting them out of charity. This, as I have briefly explained, is the occasion of Aggaeus’ prophecy. The discourse is mixed, and in historical deeds and utterances there lies hidden a mystical and inward meditation, suitable for those who are spiritual.

CHAPTER I

VERS. 1. *In the second year under Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the one of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggaeus the prophet, saying.*

II. I said earlier that the sloth of the Israelites regarding the rebuilding of the temple had been excusable, as their power had been removed...

[GREEK ^A] and those who envied them among the Samaritans had brought the greatest possible accusations against Jerusalem before those who held the power of the Persians. But with Darius already in the second year of his reign, and having released to them the power for their industrious work, unimpeded and free, and having ordered them to look to what they thought best and to hold fast to holy pursuits, and having furthermore apportioned the means of funds, sloth was no longer reasonable; rather, it appeared to be beyond any rational excuse and was clearly an impossible pretext. The word, therefore, comes to be in the hand of Aggaeus—that is, in his care, as if he were an administrator, or one serving the words of God and performing the ministry of prophecy. He usefully points out the very times in which Darius ordered such things, cutting off in advance, as I said, the foolish excuses of those of Israel for their sloth.

"Speak to Zorobabel son of Salathiel from the tribe of Judah, and to Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty, saying: This people say: The time has not come to build the house of the Lord." ^B

III. Salathiel was the son of Jechonias, being of the tribe and blood of David. While this man was administering the royal authority in Jerusalem over Judah, the city was razed, and all Israel was led into captivity, at the time when Nabuchodonosor set fire to the holy temple itself; Jechonias was also captured and became a captive along with the others. Zorobabel was the son of Salathiel. Thus, when Israel returned to Jerusalem, Zorobabel, as one born of the royal tribe, was in charge of Judah with royal authority. Jesus, however, being from the tribe and blood of Levi, and as if from the root of Aaron, assumed the dignity that was set apart and chosen from others, and he was the high priest. For so the law named the one who had been allotted the leadership of the sacred orders, saying that those who had fled to the cities designated as asylums ought not to be surrendered, but that each should remain where he was until the high priest—that is, the chief priest—should die. ^C Therefore, the word came to both, I mean the king and the one standing at the head of the sacred orders; for it was fitting that they announce to all the others what was spoken by the oracle. I think, however, that the God of all commanded them to announce it, not as if he were unaware of the people’s excuses, but as if he were somehow mocking them, for having untimely fallen into sloth and having greatly neglected those things which in fact it was most fitting to treat with diligence. For it were better to consider that, if the things of God were of greater importance to them, they would certainly have been preserved by His indulgence and grace for happy times, and, with matters succeeding according to their prayers and with wealth [GREEK ^D], they would have lived their lives and abounded in the necessities for maintaining it. Therefore, through the mouth of the prophet, he testifies in a way that what is primarily advantageous to Israel and to the glory of God L (LATIN COLUMN) VERS. 2. Dic ad Zorobabel filium Salathiel de tribu Juda, et ad Jesum filium Josedec, sacerdotem magnum, dicens: Hæc dicit Dominus omnipotens, dicens: Populus iste dicunt: Non venit tempus ædificandi domum Domini.

III. Salathiel filius fuit Jechoniæ, natus ex tribu et sanguine David. Eodem Jechonia Hierosolymis regnum Juda administrante, urbs excidium passa, et omnis Israel in captivitatem actus est, et Nabuchodonosor ipsum sacrosanctum templum inflammavit; comprehensus est etiam ipse Jechonias, et una cum cæteris captivus factus. Salathielis filius fuit Zorobabel. Reverso itaque Israele Hierosolymam, Zorobabel, ut regia tribu progenitus, Judæ cum regia potestate præfuit. Jesus autem, ex tribu et sanguine Levi oriundus, et ut e radice Aaron propagatus, eminentiorem aliis et eximiam magni sacerdotii consecutus est dignitatem. Sic namque lex sacrorum ordinum principem nominavit, cum dixit, non oportere tradere fugitivos, qui ad urbes pro asylis designatas confugerint: sed manere unumquemque ubi fuerit, donec sacerdos magnus, hoc est, summus sacerdotum moriatur. Factum est igitur verbum ad ambos, ad regem, inquam, et sacrorum ordinum principem: ipsos enim cæteris omnibus oraculi responsum nuntiare æquum erat. Opinor autem, universorum Deum non quasi populi excusationem nescientibus ferre nuntium jussisse, sed velut nonnihil irridentem eos, qui intempestive ad segnitiem simul prolapsi essent, et quæ studiosissime curare conveniebat, ea ipsa magnopere neglexissent. Præstabat enim cogitare, siquidem ipsis res divinæ potiores fuissent, se utique illius indulgentia et gratia ad tempora felicia conservatos, in rebus ad votum succedentibus et divitiis vitam agitare, illique tuendæ necessariis affluere. Quare per os prophetæ testificatur quodammodo, Israelem sibimet inprimis conducibilia et ad gloriam Dei

^A they impiously neglected the things that concerned them. For covering their crimes with specious, as they themselves thought, but empty veils of words, they supposed that the time for building the temple of the Lord had not yet arrived; but for those who wish to do well, the time is always present, and the good and just always have the power to devote themselves to divine glory. But if that which seems to prohibit and oppose is removed from the midst, then those things which can be said about this will most certainly find it difficult to excuse the delay, but will rather accuse their torpor and extreme inertia. And this is, as I think, what is said by the voice of David: "Do not turn your heart to words of malice to excuse excuses in sins."

VERS. 3, 4. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying: Is it time for you to dwell in your paneled houses? But this house is desolate.

IV. Another oracle to Haggai, by which Israel is not obscurely condemned, and it is demonstrated that they prefer things pertaining to private rest and delights to the glory of God. What? he says, is the time not yet come for honoring the God of all by rebuilding the sacred house from the foundation, while your own affairs have reached such a point of time and delights that you live voluptuously in elegantly built houses and boast of paneled halls? Is it so? Does it not seem troublesome and intolerable to you to look upon the temple overturned and most foul in appearance, and ^C all but proclaiming with a loud voice the impiety of the Babylonians and those ancient fires, and violated most injuriously and wickedly? But how can you not be pained to look upon the temple built and most decent to behold? For thus in the future there will be an abundance both of sacrificing to God and of pouring out prayers for whatever things you wish. He calls them paneled houses, whose door-frames, or door-posts, are carved with iron, and adorned all around by the skill of craftsmen with emblems of wonderful variety and artifice. Which indeed is a proof of those who institute their life softly and possess ample riches. For to spend so ambitiously on building houses beyond necessity most certainly convicts one of great money. Wherefore we truly commit a huge sin, nor can we pretend anything to excuse ourselves, if we consider divine things as secondary to human ones.

VERS. 5, 6. And now thus says the Lord Almighty: Set your hearts upon your ways. You have sown much, and brought in little: you have eaten, and not to satiety: you have drunk, and not to drunkenness: you have been clothed, and have not been warmed in them: and he who gathers wages has gathered them into a bag with holes.

V. Having postponed, as I said, the more important things, and neglected those pertaining to

^A Since the Israelites were indifferent to the glory of God, they turned their concerns toward themselves, establishing sumptuously constructed houses, and then foolishly affirming that the time had not yet come to build the house of the Lord. Because it was necessary for them to contribute what was required for the construction of the divine temple, they did not wish to do so. Therefore, excusing themselves with a lack of funds, they argued that expenses must first be acquired and poverty, as it were, wiped away beforehand, by cultivating fields in the meantime, or through business, or livestock, or some other such pursuit. But it would have been better to trust in God, who finds a way even through trackless paths, and who is able to bless those who work the land and search out the paths of righteous acquisition. ^B But since they were lacking in pious reflections and had fallen away from the favor from above, having acted uprightly in no way, the word necessarily says, "Set your hearts upon your ways." It is as if he were saying: Consider carefully what paths of life you have walked, or what you have achieved according to your desires by pursuing things for the sake of profit. "You have sown much, and brought in little." But it would have been better, with God blessing, to sow little and gather much. But because that which was necessary was absent, the labors were many, but the fruits were very meager. "You have eaten, and not to satisfaction." This is a sign of a very terrible and extreme state of want and misery combined, if the plantings are many, but the fruits are so few that hunger hangs over the laborers as a punishment, and food is below what is needed for satisfaction. "You have drunk, and not to inebriation." For the vineyard was not productive. Along with the crops, the trees, which were flourishing with very beautiful branches, withered as well. ^C "You have clothed yourselves, and have not been warmed by them," perhaps because the plague fell upon the flocks, with the result that even the wealthy lacked clothing. And furthermore, "he who gathers wages, has gathered them into a bag with holes." By these words, he signifies those who have a commercial profession, who in a certain way gather the wages of trade, always throwing additions onto each of the items bought, and making their purses heavy by raising the prices. But even for them, he says, it was not permitted to fulfill their greed. For, perchance by falling into losses and unforeseen shipwrecks, they seemed to differ in nothing from those who put silver into a bag with holes. It is better, therefore, and wise, to seek to be blessed by God who provides all things to us. And this would readily happen to those who have chosen to set their minds on His things, and who have preferred His glory to their own affairs. ^D Thus, somewhere, the Savior Himself said: "Be not anxious for your life, what you shall eat. But seek rather the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Since the history has been explained as far as is sufficient, as I think, come, let us fix our mind on spiritual contemplations and consider that, being a type of the universal and most general economy that took place through Christ, and...

^A a most clear one, are the things that happened to the Jews. For they were in Babylon, oppressed by the yoke of an involuntary servitude, and were paying the penalties for their own sins, and for this reason they were subject to their enemies and lived under their power. But at times, God having pity on them, they were liberated, and having returned home, they inhabited the holy land, with Zorobabel and Jesus as their princes and leaders. And Darius, indeed, although he was addicted to the worship of idols, ^B is seen to have commanded that the divine temple be rebuilt, and to have contributed wood from Lebanon and revenues of money. Yet they were sluggish and slow to perform the things pleasing to God. Moreover, they also made excuses, saying, "The time has not come to build the house of the Lord." The whole world, too, was lying under the seducer and tyrant Satan, and was held captive by him, and through sin and through ignorance of Him who is by nature and truly God and the Maker of all things, it had been caught in a net. But God, in Christ, having broken the bonds of servitude, delivered it. Following His leadership, having left behind our dwellings among the enemies and the error of the worship of many gods, like some desolate land, we have fled to Zion, that is to say, the intelligible Zion, which is the Church. Consider, therefore, ^C in what way Christ is depicted for us in Jesus and Zorobabel. For Zorobabel, as I have said, was from the tribe of Judah, and the Lord did not spring forth from elsewhere. Therefore, He also reigned over Israel. For thus He says somewhere through the mouth of David: "But I have been set up as king," and the rest. And Jesus was also from the tribe and blood of Levi, and he is named the high priest. And Christ has become our high priest, sacrificing Himself for us as a spotless offering, offering Himself to God and the Father as a true lamb in an odor of sweetness. ^D Those who wish to argue this subtly will find the very notion or interpretation of the names provides proof. For Zorobabel signifies in Latin "liberation" or "redemption," and Salathiel, "decline of God." Furthermore, God says somewhere: "Behold, I will decline upon them as a river of peace, and as a torrent overflowing with the glory of the nations." For He is, without doubt, the torrent of delights, and as a flowing stream of peace. But He has declined toward us, and has been, as it were, transferred, leaving Israel behind. He went, however, as I said, to those called from the nations, upon whom He has lavishly and freely and most justly poured out an abundance of heavenly and spiritual goods. Now, Jesus signifies "salvation," and likewise Josedec signifies "salvation and righteousness." But [Iao] is the God of all, and Christ has become for us salvation and righteousness from God and the Father. For we have been saved in Him, escaping the net of death, and justified through faith, the sin that was ruling over us having been cast out. Therefore, that I may return to where I turned aside, we shall consider the king in Zorobabel, and the high priest in Jesus. However, let the one desirous of learning see again the useful matters in the falling away of the Jewish people into sloth, and

^A in their unwillingness to work for the construction of the divine temple, that is to say, the Church of Christ. And let him consider in addition to these things the readiness of the nations, and how very greatly they are roused to diligence. For Darius, as I said, commanded the temple to be raised up, and the things pertaining to the glory of the almighty God to be performed. But they were sluggish and most averse to labor, preferring their own interests to the things of God, and strongly inclined toward more earthly things. For he says that they were preparing paneled houses. Therefore, David says concerning the nations: "The Lord has heard the desire of the poor. His ear has attended to the preparation of their heart" ^B. For those from the nations were more ready to believe, while those from Israel were very sluggish. You might observe what I say also in the evangelical scriptures, or parables. For those who invited to the supper were running about, gathering them for the marriage feast. But those invited did not want to come, and feigned excuses in their sins. "For one, indeed, said: I bought a field. Another: I married a wife. Others went to their businesses. Wherefore, those who were found in the ways and by the hedges were called and flew to the marriage, and truly became the first last, and the last first." So also Christ spoke through the voice of David concerning those born of Israelite and Gentile blood: "A people whom I have not known has served me; strange children have lied to me" ^C.

Verses 7-9. Thus says the Lord almighty: Set your hearts upon your ways, go up to the mountain, and cut wood, and build the house, and I shall be pleased with it, and I shall be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and it became little. And it was brought into the house, and I blew upon it.

VI. He makes frequent admonition, knowing that the matter is for the benefit of the hearers. Thus Paul writes to some: "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not slothful, but for you it is safe." Consider, therefore, he says, your ways, which you have made now. And what sort these are, he declares immediately: "You looked for much, and it became little. And it was brought into the house, and I blew upon it." For they were frustrated ^D of the hope of the expectation, I say, by choosing to farm. For having spent long sweats, they harvested but a little, and were even deprived of that. For they have been "blown away," that is to say, they have become the property of others, and not in the least their own, but were rather consumed by those accustomed to getting more. Vain, therefore, is their zeal and labor, because they did not rather choose to fulfill what seemed good to the Master, and made the care and concern for base and earthly things more important than the zeal for leading a holier life. Therefore, he did not leave Israel without admonition, but showed the way of correction to those who had wandered. And we shall see this fact clearly. For he says: "Go up to the mountain, and cut wood, and build the house, and I shall be glorified."

again in it, and I shall be well-pleased; ^A that is, I shall accept and praise the zeal and readiness of those who have labored for this."

It is therefore good and pleasing to God to fulfill with fervor whatever is deemed useful and necessary for constituting the Church and for its edification. And we shall perform this most prudently if, gathering the most useful material as if from a forest, we cut down wood from the divinely inspired Scriptures—namely, spiritual theorems, by which one might fortify a safe and well-grounded apprehension of the glory of God, and demonstrate, in a way that is excellent and well-founded, the manner of the economy of the incarnation. Furthermore, one should derive from them whatever is suited to the perfect knowledge of spiritual instruction and of the goodness that is perceived in the conduct of life. By these things, we assert, the house of God is built and the Church is set in order and joined together. I will add, moreover, that each one of us can be understood as a temple and house of God; ^B for Christ dwells in us through the Spirit, and we are temples of the living God, according to the Scriptures. Therefore, let each one of us build up his own heart through the right faith, and have the Savior himself as the truly precious foundation. Then let him add other material to these—obedience, for instance, and readiness for anything whatever, courage, patience, and self-control. For being joined together in this way through every ligament of supply, we shall rise up into a holy temple and a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit. But as for those who are slow to believe, or who have indeed believed, yet are still in some way reluctant to depart from the passions and sin and the love of worldly pleasure, they do, for this very reason, as it were, cry out: "The time has not come to build the house of the Lord." Therefore, they fall into a dearth of heavenly goods and into an intellectual barrenness, such as we perceive in the mind; and the soul within them withers like some parched land, so that it has neither wheat—that is, strength—nor wine, which is a symbol of joy. For it is written: ^C "Bread strengthens man's heart," and, "Wine gladdens the heart of man."

VERS. 10, 11. *For this reason, thus says the Lord Almighty: Because my house is desolate, but you run each one to his own house, for this reason the heaven shall withhold its dew, and the earth shall withhold its produce. And I will bring a sword upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon all things that the earth brings forth, and upon men, and upon the cattle, and upon all the labors of their hands.*

VII. He does not permit those who have grown slothful regarding divine things to absurdly pursue their own affairs over better ones, and to prefer perishable things to those that pertain to his glory. He impels ^D

^A one to think that unless things incomparably superior are well-ordered, those that are inferior will never proceed properly, nor will they turn out as they themselves might wish. Therefore he says: "Because my house is desolate, but you hasten each to his own house," for this reason this and that shall come to pass, through which the crops in the fields might soon perish, since the sky will no longer release rain, and the earth will restrain its own strength, while the olive also refuses its fruit, and the crops and vines wither, and furthermore, there is the sword brought on by anger, consuming both men and cattle. Consequently, for those who neglect to fulfill what pertains to the glory of God, and those things through which his house—that is, the Church—would be seen to be standing, there would be no spiritual dew—that is, no consolation from heaven, fattening souls and hearts—nor, I think, any fruitfulness from the earth—that is, the accomplishments of the body, no grain, no wine, no use of oil. ^B For they will be utterly and entirely weak and far from being cheered, nor would they be fattened in any way with spiritual oil, and they will remain entirely untasted and devoid of the blessing that is through Christ. And in addition to this, they will be subjected to the sword, and they will undergo labor without any reward whatsoever, even if someone should cultivate a manner of gentleness. "For no one is crowned unless he has contended lawfully," according to his kind. Therefore we consider the zeal for better things to be what should be pursued with the greatest urgency and held in the highest esteem. Let our own affairs be reckoned as of lesser account, and let them be postponed to the glory of God. And not only houses and money and things conducive to empty glory, but also kin, and brothers, and fathers. For so did Christ ^C somewhere say: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me."

And Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and all the rest of the people heard the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Aggaeus the prophet, as the Lord their God sent him to them, and the people feared from the face of the Lord.

VIII. That it is not in vain that he makes his threats, and that fear is an asset not useless to those accustomed to being slothful, one might easily perceive even from this. For behold, behold, as soon as they heard the divine words, they immediately gird themselves with diligence for the work, and from then on they obey their leaders—I mean Zorobabel and ^D Jesus—and they reverence the prophets’ voices to a greater degree, and they heed the command, even if they had regarded the matter as being of small value some time ago. Thus it is seen even from their very actions that it is true: "Whom the Lord loves, he disciplines." For the terror of punishment sometimes changes the mind toward better parts; and the introduction of sad things adapts us to the fear of God; and it is true what the book of Proverbs holds: "It is well for him who fears the Lord." And again: "The fear of the Lord is unto life for a man."

And likewise Wisdom: "The fear of the Lord is glory and boasting." And: "The fear of the Lord will delight the heart, and will give in addition to these cheerfulness and joy." Observe, furthermore, how gently and in a manner befitting Himself, God strikes us. He does not immediately inflict punishments upon human bodies, but rather He terrifies us with external and slight alarms, and with the loss of food, and calls us to things conducive to salvation and to the performance of His own will henceforth. ^A

Vers. 13. And Haggai the messenger of the Lord said among the messengers of the Lord to the people: I am with you, saith the Lord.

IX. Observe how kindness immediately accompanies movements toward the better. For the God of all in a certain way changes with those who have changed their mind, and promises that He will be with them: to whom could anything be compared? For if God is with us, every affliction will depart far from us, and benefits will clearly arrive, and stable forms of prosperity will soon appear, and every delight will encompass us. Now, because holy Scripture calls Haggai the messenger (angel) of the Lord, let no one think that he consists of an angelic nature—which would be utter madness—but let him believe that he was a man born of a woman, according to our custom. Rather, if we are mentally capable and look inward at the truth, we shall maintain that he is called and named "messenger" from the act of delivering a message. For nothing would prevent us—should we stumble into other absurdities—from also confessing that those who reported to Job the events involving the horsemen in the field, and the death of his children from the collapse of the house, were angels by nature. The Word of God is also called "the Messenger of great counsel." For He announced to us the will of God and the Father. Therefore, [He is called] messenger from [the act of] delivering a message. And certainly, if this title is applied to ^B men, it is not spoken of in terms of an essence that we do not possess.

Vers. 14. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Salathiel of the tribe of Judah, and the spirit of Jesus son of Josedec the high priest, and the spirit of the rest of the people, and they entered in, and were doing works in the house of the Lord Almighty their God, on the twenty-fourth of the sixth month.

X. The Israelites were afraid before the face of God. Yet consider with me again, that they did not apply their hands to a work pleasing to God until He had been with them and had stirred up their spirit. We shall understand, therefore, from this also, that even if anyone decides to apply himself to good works, and even if he perhaps feels an impulse of this kind, he will accomplish nothing at all to the end if God is not with him, and has not stirred him up to dare, and whetted him to the enduring of labors, and cut away his slothfulness in performing works. ^C Therefore, Paul also, concerning those for whom the preaching of the word of God

^A is credited, says: "I labored more abundantly than they all." He most wisely adds: "Yet not I, but the grace of God which is with me." And indeed, the Savior Himself says to the holy apostles: "Without me ye can do nothing." For He Himself is the desire, He is the eager spirit toward every good thing, He is the strength; and with Him present we shall be approved, building ourselves into a holy temple, into a habitation of God in the Spirit. But when He departs and abandons us, who would doubt that we shall be idle, corrupted by sloth and cowardice, and casting off labor as if it were fruitless? ^B Nevertheless, consider how those who formerly had fallen under wrath because of great unbelief are at last entering into the house of the Lord and laboring, with Zorobabel and Jesus the high priest present with them.

This matter might also be a type of the future calling of the Israelites at the end of the age. They who were unbelieving in the beginning remained barren likewise, without dew, and corn, and wine, and indeed also oil. And they have fallen by the sword. But since they have now feared the face of God, and have reverenced the words of the holy prophets, they shall have the God of all with them, and their spirit shall be awakened, and they too shall bring labor and industry to the work of the temple of the Lord, ^C that is to say, the Church. These things are modeled in Christ, just as in Zorobabel and Jesus. For He is King as God, but again High Priest as man, and mediator of God and men. For the priest mediates.

It is also added necessarily, "on the four and twentieth day of the sixth month," to signify very clearly the inconstancy of the will of those from Israel. For when the word had come to them in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, they entered into the labors for the building of the temple on the four and twentieth of the sixth month, so that the delay which intervened, or the deliberation, was twenty-three days in number.

CHAPTER II

^D VERS. 1-4. *In the second year under Darius the king, in the seventh month, on the one and twentieth of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggaeus the prophet, saying: Speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel of the tribe of Juda, and to Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and to all the rest of the people, saying: Who among you saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now as non-existent before you?*

XI. They were indeed going into the house of God and taking up the work on the four and twentieth of the sixth month; then immediately on the one and twentieth of the following seventh month, the word of the Lord came to Aggaeus. What, therefore, are we to think regarding this also, and what was the occasion, and

it is necessary to explain. Having begun to endure toil and having laid their hands to the cares of the divine temple, they had set aside the seven and twentieth day for this matter, yet they were found to be pusillanimous, ^A perhaps murmuring either within themselves or to one another that they were laboring in vain; and should it happen by chance that they built up the temple again, it would by no means be like the former one. For that one was exceedingly brilliant and constructed with ambitious hands, and adorned with golden and silver votive offerings; but this one was unlovely and in need of every ornament and destitute of the glory of wealth. For they had indeed built that former one, and had abundantly illuminated it, when those who once reigned in Jerusalem still abounded in wealth, and before others, Solomon; but this one they were commanded to build, barely having recovered, and still dripping with the sweat of captivity, and possessing nothing at all in their homes. Tossed by such thoughts and wandering in sorrow, they were indeed working, but were nevertheless found to be dejected and hesitant in the meantime. Therefore, God strengthens the infirm, and ^B usefully puts to them the question, if indeed there be any among them who has beheld this temple in its former glory. They were, however, very few, and worn out by age. For the temple had been razed by Nebuchodonosor, and Israel had been captive, and only with difficulty were they released when seventy years had passed. It was therefore hard to find, and he must be a very old man, one who had existed even before the destruction, and had lived in captivity, and had returned again to Jerusalem. For this reason He says: “Who is there among you, O man, who saw this house in its former glory, and then considers the one that is to be and the new one as though it were nothing at all?” There is a reproof in the inquiry, as though they thought that even if they themselves were straitened and greatly pressed by lack of money, yet God would not be weak, but would again be able to render His own temple one to be celebrated by the tongues of all and glorious.

“And now be strong, Zorobabel, saith the Lord, and be strong, Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and let all the people of the land be strong, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord Almighty, in the word which I covenanted with you when you went out of Egypt, and My Spirit abides in the midst of you. Take courage.”

XII. He does not allow them to be cast down by sorrow, nor to be overcome by fears leading to sluggishness; but rather He incites them to zeal for labor, and infuses into them vigor and alacrity. He exercises them also toward faith, and confirms their minds, saying that it behooves them to be confident, and—what is truly and in fact more than these things and most desirable—He promises that He will be with them; and by what manner, He adds, saying: “My Spirit abides in the midst of you. Take courage.”

No one, moreover, who is of a good mind and of sound understanding will doubt that, to those who work generally for the building of the divine temple, that is, the Church, He both grants strength and imparts confidence, since He will be present through the Holy Spirit, and will bring all things to an end for them

so that they might be able to render their own life brilliant and commendable. Thus, it was necessary for the Lord, when He was about to build the Church through the holy apostles and to gather the believers into a holy temple, to say, "Behold, I am with you" (Matt. xxviii, 20). He declares that He will be with them again through the Spirit, when He now says, "I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you" (John xiv, 18); and at another time, clarifying the manner of His departure, by saying, "It is profitable for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you" (John xvi, 7). Therefore, He is indeed present with those who are building for Him, but He departs and altogether removes Himself from those who shake Him off; such, again, would be those who say by Beelzebub, "Anathema to Jesus" (1 Cor. xii, 3), and who pervert all that is right, and into the souls of the simple pour the poison of perdition.

^B VERS. 7-9. For thus says the Lord Almighty: Yet once I shake the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the elect of all nations will 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.

XIII. He returns the discourse to the Church from among the nations and to the times of the coming of our Savior. Then He truly promises that He Himself will shake the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and in addition to these, all the nations. For He said, "Yet once I will shake." This seems to suggest a certain meaning, at least in what appears to me to be the correct sense. When He intended to deliver Israel, who had served idols and had been nurtured in the customs and laws of the Egyptians, into freedom and wished to transfer them to the knowledge of the truth, He appeared to shake almost everything: the waters were changed into blood, the heaven sent down hail, the sea was divided and the waves within it stood firm in the guise of walls, and heaven rained down manna. The Psalmist indicates something similar when he says: "O God, when Thou didst go forth before Thy people, when Thou didst pass through the wilderness, the earth shook; for the heavens also dropped" (Ps. lxvii, 8, 9). ^C We say that the earth was shaken at that time, not because it endured an accustomed trembling, but because the exodus of the sons of Israel became manifest and escaped the notice of no one on earth. He says that a similar shaking will happen again at the time of the coming of our Savior, so that no one will be ignorant of the benefits that will come through Him. For heaven knew this mystery, of which Paul is a witness, saying: "That now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places through the Church" (Eph. iii, 10), and so forth. And similarly, the entire earth knew it, and the sea, that is to say, the islands. For who, after all, is seen ^D to be devoid of this knowledge? What sea, what nation, what part of the world under the sun? For the Gospel has been preached through all nations (cf. Matt. xxiv, 14), according to the voice of the Savior. And now, "Yet once,"

^A he says, I will shake the heaven and the earth, and then the elect of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory." For truly, countless numbers from every nation, both brilliant and select, are those who have believed, and they have been gathered into the house of God like certain splendid offerings, and by doing so they add glory to it, making it renowned and famous, and being in turn glorified by Christ. For they have learned to pray and say: "And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us" (Ps. lxxxix, 17); and again, "Blessed are you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Ps. cxiii, 15). ^B And that God does not require inanimate matter, but rather intellectual decorum, he suggests by saying: "Mine is the silver, and mine is the gold." It is as if he were to say: Do not think the temple is inglorious because it might perhaps be lacking in gold and silver and the splendor that comes from wealth. I have no need of these. For all the silver and all the gold are mine. I seek rather genuine worshippers. With the splendor of such people, I will gild my own temple. For just as when he was finished with the sacrifices according to the law of Israel, he said, as was fitting: "I will not accept calves from your house, nor he-goats from your flocks; for all the beasts of the field are mine, the cattle on the mountains, and the oxen" (Ps. xlix, 9-10); ^C so also here, rejecting ornamentation made of matter, and desiring rather that which the mind perceives, he says: "Mine is the silver, and mine is the gold"—that is, it suffices, and I am satisfied, and I have no need of such things. Let my ornament rather be one who is endowed with right faith, eminent in the ornaments of virtue, splendid in the love that is toward me, pure in heart, poor in spirit, merciful and good. For being gathered thus into the temple—that is, the Church—they will make it glorious and visible.

VERS. 10. "For the glory of this house shall be great, the last greater than the first, says the Lord Almighty; and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord Almighty, peace of soul for the acquisition of everyone building to raise this temple."

XIV. For at the time of the advent of our Savior, the divine temple appeared incomparably more glorious, and so much better and more excellent than the old one, as much as one might judge legal religious worship to differ from the worship in Christ and the Gospel, and as truth differs from shadows. ^D Moreover, I think one ought also to say this. There was one temple, and only at Jerusalem, and only the Israelite nation performed sacrifices in it. But after the Only-Begotten became like us, while being God and Lord, and "shined upon us" (Ps. cxvii, 27), as the Scripture says, from then on the world has been filled with holy houses and countless worshippers, who with spiritual sacrifices and intellectual odors venerate the God of all things. And this, I believe, is what Malachi, as if [index: entries preserved]

^A speaking in the person of God, announced beforehand: “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.” The word is therefore true, that the glory of the latter temple, namely the Church, will be greater.

But he declares that to those who are anxious about building it, Christ, the peace of all, through whom we have access in one Spirit to the Father, will be given as a gift from the Savior and a present from heaven, when he says: “I will give peace in this place, and peace of soul for an acquisition to everyone who builds, to rouse up this temple.” For Christ himself also says somewhere: “My peace I give to you.” And ^B how this gift benefits those who have loved him, Paul will teach, writing: “The peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.” The wise Isaiah also entreated, saying: “O Lord our God, give us peace, for you have rendered all things to us.” For since it is permitted to those once deemed worthy of Christ to receive peace, it is easy to save one’s own soul and to direct the mind toward the goal of virtue. He says, therefore, that peace will be given to everyone who builds. For whether someone builds the Church and is appointed a mystagogue over the house of God, or whether he benefits his own soul by presenting himself as a living and spiritual stone into a holy temple and a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, such a person will surely gain the benefit of being able to save his own soul without difficulty. ^C

Verses 11–15. In 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 for the law, saying: If a man takes holy meat in the hem of his garment, and his garment touches bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, will it be made holy? And the priests answered and said: No. And Haggai said: If one defiled, being unclean in soul from any of these, should touch them, 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, ^D and whoever draws near there shall be defiled.

XV. This is another oracle through the prophet to Israel, which we say came about for this reason. When the second year of King Darius was in progress, in the seventh month, God rebuked those who had been liberated from the captivity and chided their slowness in building the temple; they had barely come together and set themselves to labor and sweat. God commended what had been begun and promised that he would be with them and would bless them, and bade them have good hope, inasmuch as his Spirit was dwelling in their midst.

^A Nevertheless, they were none the less slothful and difficult to set to work, and hardly two months having passed, they slid back into indifference, and were seen again laboring under great sadness. For, as they turned fiercely and strangely toward the works of commerce, and were uncontrollably greedy for gain, they admitted listlessness, as though it were not permitted to them, in the abundance of leisure, to concern themselves with mercantile affairs. Then, offering sacrifices, they claimed that the act should suffice them for sanctification, even if the divine temple might not perhaps yet be built. The prophet is therefore commanded to prick them with sharp reproofs, and to teach them that, even if they should choose to fulfill prayers and sacrifices, being ^B slothful in the matter of fulfilling the duty of building the house of God, it shall not be to their profit, but rather to their anger and judgment, that they did not wish to sacrifice at the appointed times and to approach the divine altar. He explains further to them, moreover, that by mingling with wicked and alien men, and indeed with idolaters, for the sake of the commerce they were after, they were being utterly defiled.

The inquiry is strictly legal, and difficult to interpret, yet I shall represent what it means with what words I can. Therefore, the prophet questions the priests concerning the law. For it is written: “The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law from his mouth.” (Mal. II, 7) What, then, does he ask? “If a man shall take holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and his skirt touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it be sanctified?” And they answered, “No.” (Hag. II, 12-13) The flesh of an animal sacrificed to God is indeed holy, he says; however, he tries to teach them this: the priests performing sacrifices according to the rule of the law sometimes, by means of their garments, laid hands upon the rams to be burned. Does it mean, then, he says, if a holy garment, having perhaps been sanctified by the holy flesh, should touch some other thing not offered to God, that it too shall be holy? The priests denied that this was in accordance with the law. Therefore, that we may proceed from tradition to the truer reality: if, then, one who offers sacrifice meanwhile offends God in certain ways, will he be sanctified by the sacrifices? By no means: rather, he shall be condemned, he who has sacrificed not yet having been purified. But that you may believe that I am speaking the truth, hear what the legislator says in Leviticus: “And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten, it shall be burnt in the fire. Everything clean shall eat the flesh: but the soul that shall eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertaineth unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from his people.” (Lev. VII, 19-20) You see how unprofitable, nay rather, how it is a provocation of celestial wrath and death, to offer sacrifices with unwashed hands. Just as, therefore, the vestments of the priests, although sanctified by the flesh of the sacrifice, do not for that reason sanctify other things which are touched by them, so too to sacrifice to God will not make them holy who have offended him in another way, and in that which is pleasing to himself, holidays and leisure

those desiring to slacken in what is pleasing to God, would not make them holy. That, as I said, because of trade and gains derived from this, they intermix with polluted men, and will themselves surely be partakers of their filth, he makes evident through another question. For he says again: "If a defiled person in soul touches any of these, shall it be defiled?" And they answered, "It shall be defiled." ^B For the law given through Moses commanded those who are sanctified not to touch a dead body, nor even to approach the dead. And so it said that priests must be defiled only for a mother, and a father, and a brother, and a sister, but he who is set over and is preeminent among the sacred orders, not even for these at all.

This command was an enigma. For the law was a shadow. For the dead man would be a type of dead works and worldly impurity. I think, however, that those who have entered into a holy and altogether pure life ought to have nothing in common with dead works, and ought to be inclined to remove themselves from the love of mundane rot. And if at that time it happened that if one touched something else, perhaps either a man or food, that thing would be thoroughly contaminated according to the law. The prophet now inquires: if someone, having touched a dead body, then having remained unwashed, were to touch some other person perhaps, does he entirely defile him? And when they reply, "He shall defile," ^C God straightway brings in: "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, shall be defiled." For since they touch dead works, he says, not only is he himself defiled, but he has become so wicked that he is capable of also vigorously defiling others. We must, then, pay heed to good works, and strive to fulfill what is most truly pleasing to God, and thus sacrifice spiritually. For so He will accept us, and our prayers and vows will not result in judgment, but rather in usefulness and blessing for us. Let us also cast off dead desires, and as it were inanimate pleasures, and worldly impurity. For God will be present with those who are thus cleansed and sanctified.

"Because of their morning gains, they shall be pained from the face of their labors, and you hated him who reproved in the gates."

^D XVI. They say that these words are not in the Hebrew edition, nor are they posited or acknowledged by other interpreters. Nevertheless, it appears to contain a sentiment consistent with the preceding. For since, as I said, they were terrified because of their desire for gain and for accumulating things—and it has been demonstrated that this was a cloak for their sloth, even though they had been commanded to restore the divine temple—he therefore rightly accuses them further regarding this. He calls their gains "morning" gains, because they went out into public in the morning for no other reason, nor did they care for anything else first. And he says that they will grieve over their gains, when the counsel of the outcome...

^A does not go out for them to the goal. For when God does not guide, and does not smooth out the path of the things we ought to do, the zeal of a man for anything whatsoever is entirely vain and useless. For it is written: "Unless the Lord build the house, in vain have they labored who build it." Having therefore preferred to the building of the divine temple the gains of the morning and early dawn, and having put the baser things before the better, they were found to be laboring under another ailment: "For they hated those who reprove in the gates." By "in the gates" you shall understand "manifestly" or "openly." But why did they hate them? For to those who have once had the yoke of evil pleasures imposed upon them, and who have rushed unbridled toward the perpetration of wicked things, those who are able to set them right are not wont to be agreeable, but rather troublesome and hateful. And indeed, what is there that is not troublesome and hateful to them? It is therefore a most destructive disease of the soul to cling to base things, and to loathe those who know how to be of benefit, and to be "sick" most pleasantly if it so happens, even in a matter that is clearly disgraceful. ^B But it is better and coupled with wisdom to repel strongly the injuries poured into the soul and mind, and if any infirmity should happen to occur, to seek physicians as quickly as possible, and to love those who reprove, and to fall at their feet as if before God, saying: "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my glory."

VERS. 16-18. "And now, lay it to your hearts from this day and upward, before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, who you were, when you cast into a measure of twenty measures of barley, and it became ten measures of barley: and you went into the winepress to draw out fifty jars, and there were twenty. I struck you with blight, and with mildew, and with hail, all the work of your hands, and you did not return to me, saith the Lord."

XVII. By evident arguments he persuades them that they are passing their time more happily from the moment they determined to build the temple of the Lord, and that, having undertaken this labor, they are better than before. ^C "Consider therefore," he says, "and call to mind who you were, that is to say, how and in what manner you were disposed, before you laid stone upon stone in the temple of the Lord." For then, he says, when you collected with long and hard toil from the fields and the threshing floor twenty measures of barley (I think a "satum" is a measure), you used to store them in a granary (this should be understood as a sort of storehouse or barn for hiding away fruits), and there resulted but ten measures of barley, the weevil, of course, perhaps consuming them and, on account of divine wrath, reducing the crops to dust. And if anyone arrived at the ^D winepress, intending to draw out fifty measures with vessels, finding the measure unexpectedly diminished, he would be struck with amazement. "You were also struck," he says, "with other plagues, with blights, with mildew, with hail, and yet you remained stiff-necked: for you did not return to me, saith the Lord."

^A What then shall we understand from this? It is clear that for those who are unwilling to build the house of the Lord—that is, the Church—or who absurdly hesitate to fashion their own souls into a temple of God, even goods already acquired will be in vain. They will surely suffer harm from unclean spirits, and will endure sterility and hail—that is, the intolerable onsets of temptations that drive them toward every kind of sin because of God’s anger.

VERS. 19, 20. "Consider your hearts from this day, and upwards, from the four and twentieth of the ninth month, and from the day that the temple of the Lord was founded. Consider in your hearts, if it will be acknowledged on the threshing floor, and if still the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive trees, which do not bear fruit, from this day I will bless."

XVIII. Since he had already clearly taught through what has just been said that a great multitude of troubles comes upon those who shrink from contributing their labor to the building of the temple, he now says, for those who are certain to be mindful of things that are by nature and truth delightful, that they will obtain the fruit of happiness through their zeal for the things that please Him, and will receive, in the place of a reward, an abundance of every good thing for their piety toward His house. For He promises that He will provide them with an abundance of produce from the fields, such that the matter might almost exceed belief, and the heaps from the threshing floor might be seen to far surpass hope; and that for the wood growing in the gardens, the vine may be seen laden with grapes, and the fig, the pomegranate, and absolutely all things may flourish for them in abundance according to the season; indeed, that the olive tree, too, might yield an unexpected quantity of berries due to the blessing of God.

^B For just as all things fall into ruin and turn for the worse for those who choose to be slothful in building up the Church—or rather, in presenting themselves as a holy temple to Christ—and as they are seen to be subject to dangerous temptations and to spiritual sterility, which we perceive in the mind; so, conversely, it is true that to those who desire to build and embrace the sweat of piety, it shall be granted by God that they appear to abound in all good things completely, and that they grow fat with the fertility of the soul, and possess their innermost being as a garden, as it were, flowering with various ornaments of virtues, ^C so that they may henceforth cry out freely what is in the Song of Songs: "Let my brother descend into his garden, and eat the fruit of his fruits." For the sprouts of virtue and the fertility of the soul are, in a way, food for God.

VERS. 21-23. "And the word of the Lord came a second time to the prophet Haggai, on the four and twentieth of the month, saying: Tell Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, saying: I will shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will overturn the thrones of kings, and I will destroy the strength of the kings of the nations, and I will overturn

^A the chariots and those that mount them, and the horses and their riders shall descend, each with a sword against his brother.

19. From the particulars, almost...

man, both by clan and against brethren, not striking those unto death, but rather destroying the ignorance within them, and as it were putting them to death for the world, and preparing them to be dead to sins, so that they might live to God, having loved the glorious and blameless life—namely, the evangelical one. And how is it possible to doubt that they were to be at variance with fathers, daughters with mothers, and brothers with brothers for the sake of the love of Christ, when the Savior says clearly: "I came to divide man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and the enemies of a man are those of his own household"? ^A Enemies, therefore, in so far as they are of a different mind; but friends, and before long, as being in the harmony of faith and in the unity of the Spirit of the love which is in Christ.

^B VERSE 24. *In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will take you, O Zerubbabel, son of Salathiel, my servant, says the Lord, and I will place you as a signet, for I have chosen you, says the Lord Almighty.*

XX. The saying here is not truly directed to Zerubbabel, but rather to our Lord Jesus Christ, as being very aptly prefigured in Zerubbabel: since he was from the tribe of Judah, and indeed a king, and a leader of those delivered from captivity, and as it were the overseer of those building ^C the house of the Lord. "You, then," He says, "having taken you, my servant, that is, you who have appeared in the form of a servant, though in nature you are free, at that time when I shall will to cast down potentates from their thrones and remove them from their principalities, I will place you as a signet." For the Son is the signet of God and the Father, possessing His whole and unalloyed likeness, and flashing forth in His own beauty the nature of the One who begat Him. And in Him God also seals us unto His own likeness, if indeed by being transformed into Christ, we win the image that is towards God. ^D The Son, therefore, is the exact signet of God and the Father, and Him He chose, that is, He made Him eligible and elected. And indeed, at the streams of the Jordan, He confessed Him, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." For God and the Father was well pleased to reform all things, and to lead them back to their state from the beginning, and, as the divine Paul writes, to "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth."