well to you, and in the time when I shall receive you; for I will make you renowned and a boast among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn your captivity before you, says the Lord. A For the salvation of men depends solely on the divine philanthropy; for we do not reap this as a reward of righteousness, but it is a gift of divine goodness. Wherefore the Lord says: “On my own account I will both save and receive, and I will claim as my own her who has become a stranger, and I will make her conspicuous, and I will make her famous among all, and I will deliver her from her former shame, and instead of captives and slaves, I will show them to be free and my own household.” B These things, as I said, He granted then both to those who returned from Babylon, and thereafter He has granted them to all men; for we who once served the devil, having been liberated from that bitter captivity and having forgotten the error of polytheism, have been reconciled to God, having become renowned, according to the prophecy, among Greeks and barbarians; and we who were once far off have become near, according to the divine Apostle. It behoves us, therefore, to be persuaded by the apostolic admonition, which cries out explicitly: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” For thus shall we be delivered from the bitter tyranny of the tyrant, and having served our Master, we shall attain the kingdom of heaven, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be the glory, together with the holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
THE COMMENTARY OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, UPON THE PROPHET AGGAEUS
ARGUMENT
Cyrus, who was the first to rule as king of the Persians, immediately upon assuming the kingdom publicly C
A proclaimed to the captives of the Jews, and granted permission to those who wished to return to their fatherland and rebuild the divine temple. Those, therefore, who had been nourished by the prophetic oracles and were aware of the predicted recall, returned with alacrity and, having settled in Jerusalem, attempted to build the divine temple. But they were hindered both by the neighboring alien nations and by Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, who, seduced by their words, commanded things contrary to his father and compelled them to cease from the work. A long time having passed, Darius, son of Hystaspes, attained the kingdom; he commanded the divine temple to be built, just as Cyrus had. They began the construction in the second year of his reign, but in the sixth year of it they completed it. For this reason also the Pharisees said to the Lord: "In forty and six years was this temple built, and wilt thou raise it up in three days?" For having begun to build under Cyrus, they were hindered; then, with Cyrus and Cambyses and the Magi who reigned after them having died, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the construction received its due end. At this time the divine Aggaeus was accounted worthy of the prophetic grace; and God, the God of all, using his tongue, accuses B the Jews for being sluggish regarding the building, but exhorts Zorobabel, who was acting as leader at that time, and Jesus the high priest, to set about the building immediately; and he promises that he will gather a multitude of very many nations with an abundance of wealth, and that he will deliver all of them to death there, and provide their riches for the expenses of that very construction. This, then, is the subject of this prophecy; but we shall understand its meaning more accurately from the detailed interpretation.
CHAPTER ONE
1. "In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the hand of Aggaeus the prophet, saying." Before the captivity, the prophets used to date the times by the kings of Judah and Israel; but after the return, since the Jews C remained without kings, the blessed Aggaeus puts forward the time of the king of the Persians. He mentions not only the year, but also the month and the day, wishing to demonstrate not only the celerity of the construction but also the abundant liberality of the blessing granted by the God of all to those who are building. For shortly after he commands them to institute a comparison between D
A the period before the building and the period after these things, and to learn by experience in how great a lack of necessary things they were suffering while putting off the care of the temple, and what great blessings they enjoyed once they had undertaken this zeal. And the phrase, "By the hand of the prophet," we should understand as "by Haggai."
"Speak to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, from the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying (v. 2-4): Thus says the Lord Almighty: This people says: The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying: Is it time for you to live in your own houses, which are ceiled, while this house lies desolate?" It is the custom of divine Scripture to call the high priest the "great priest." Since Joshua is therefore high priest, and Zerubbabel acts as leader, God uses them as it were like judges, and through the prophet He makes His accusation against the people. For "See," He says, "with how much and what kind of care they deem their own houses worthy; for not only do they build them, but they also adorn them. But the divine house, through which all enjoy common salvation, they do not wish to build, declaring the time unsuitable for building."
(v. 5) "And now thus says the Lord Almighty: Direct your hearts to your ways." Employ correct judgment, and become just judges of your own pursuits, and learn how great is the difference between zeal for divine things and sloth. Then He says that although they cast much seed, they brought home very little fruit, so that they were always hungry and thirsty, and never enjoyed satiety, but lived in poverty and misery, so as to lack even the necessity of outer garments. "For you have clothed yourselves," He says, "and were not warmed by them; and he who gathers wages has gathered them into a bag with holes." For in addition to those possessing things, even those who were day laborers, accustomed to working for hire and gathering their wages, derived no benefit from their many labors, as what was being gathered was scattered. Then again He exhorts them to employ a sober judgment, and to prefer above all things the care of the divine temple, and to take to the wide-reaching mountain tops, and to cut wood suitable for building; promising that He will cooperate, and will make them much admired. And He reminds them of their previous want, so that they may learn what the fruits of sloth are.
(v. 9) "For you looked for much, and it became little; and it was brought into the house, and I blew it away." Having expected that they would reap many fruits of
hope, you were deceived, and having gathered a little, you did not even enjoy this; for I scattered them from the very vessels themselves.
A "Therefore, says the Lord Almighty, because my house is desolate, but you hasten each to his own house." (vv. 10, 11) "Therefore the heaven shall withhold from the dew, and the earth shall withhold its fruits from you. And I will bring a sword upon the earth, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon all things which the earth brings forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labors of their hands." For just as you neglect the care of my house, but take great care of your own houses; so I too will restrain the travails of the clouds, and I will command the earth to become barren; and the punishing power, like a sword, I will bring not only against the fruits of the B earth, but also against the men who work it; and the cattle which were created for their service shall also share in the punishment with them. The God of the universe threatens to do these things because of their neglect regarding the divine house, not because He has need of it; for the Creator of all things has no need even of heaven, and He made all things out of pure philanthropy alone; but rather, caring for them, and providing for their salvation, He commands the temple to be built, so that, by keeping the law therein, they might reap the benefit flowing from it, and wishing the legal worship to be observed, according to the divine Apostle, until the coming of the heir. For after the incarnation C of our Savior, and the manifestation of the New Testament, the Old [Testament] reached its end, and the law, being a pedagogue, withdrew once it had pointed out the most wise Teacher to us, since those who were instructed by it no longer had need of its elementary introduction. But let us return to the sequence of this prophecy. Having heard this threat, Zerubbabel, and Joshua the high priest, and the people governed by them, were filled with fear, and immediately yielded to what had been decreed by the prophet; but the philanthropic Master, having beheld their obedience, calls out through the prophet: "I am with you, says the Lord." "Take courage," He says, "as you have me as a co-worker and helper."
D (v. 14) "And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, of the tribe of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the rest of all the people, and they entered and did the work in the house of the Lord Almighty their God."
CHAPTER II
(v. 1) "In the four and twentieth [day] of the sixth month." From this we learn clearly that, as soon as we choose good things,
A we attain the help of the divine, for these men too, having inclined toward the better, enjoyed divine concord, and divine grace made them more eager; so that they began the construction on the twenty-fourth day of the month, having received the prophecy on the first day of the month. [2-4] Then again, in the seventh month, the Master commands the prophet to carry these words to them: "Who among you is there who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now, as if it were nothing before you?" How do you endure, remembering its former manifestation and splendor, to look upon it occupied by such desolation? if indeed there be any among you surviving from that time to this day.
VER. 5, 6. "And now be strong, O Zorobabel, says the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedec, the high priest, and let all the people of the land be strong, says the Lord, and work, for I am with you, says the Lord Almighty. And my word, which I pledged to you when you were coming out of the land of Egypt, and my Spirit stands in the midst of you." Having shaken off all sloth and fear, receive the strength which I provide for you; and believe that I am present with you through the sanction of the Law, and that the grace of the all-holy Spirit watches over you. And since there were many obstacles—poverty, the scarcity of necessities, and the incursions of the surrounding peoples—he rightly adds:
"Be confident, (Vers. 7, 8.) because thus says the Lord Almighty: Yet once 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 will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty." He foretells this regarding Gog and Magog, whom he permitted C when they had decided to wage war against Jerusalem with many nations, and having armed them against one another, he brought it about that they were destroyed by one another, and he bestowed their wealth upon those who were building. And having regard for the ears of the hearers,
VER. 9. "Mine, he says, is the silver, and mine is the gold, says the Lord Almighty." I do not usurp what belongs to another, but I take back what is my own; I gave them wealth, using my own generosity, and because they did not recognize the Giver, they were justly stripped of the gifts.
VER. 10. "And the glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord Almighty." He does not say that the house will be more glorious in the size and beauty of its construction, but by the manner in which the nations were destroyed; for as the report traveled everywhere, the power of the God of all was revealed. He calls the event a shaking of heaven, of earth, and of sea, as all were struck with amazement, and by the D
A miracle were awakened to praise God, not only those who dwell on the continent, but also those who have chosen to live on the islands; and in addition to these, even the invisible powers who move in the air and in the very heaven itself. «And in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord Almighty; and peace of soul for an acquisition to everyone building, to raise up this temple.» For I will not only cause human wars to cease, but I will also grant them the divine peace which procures salvation for souls; and these things shall be a reward to those who are building.
Again, in the ninth month, God of all commands the prophet to ask the priests whether a garment sanctified by a holy sacrifice is sufficient to sanctify things that come near it, such as bread, or wine, or oil, or anything else of that kind. Then, when the priests answered in the negative, he is commanded to ask again, whether the garment is defiled if it comes in contact with anything unclean. When the priests assented to this, the prophet is commanded to say these things: «So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so are all the works of their hands, and whoever draws near shall be defiled there.» Just as, he says, a sanctified garment cannot sanctify another of the things that draw near to it, but is itself defiled by the contact of those things which are unclean according to the law, so this people reaps no benefit from the holy things because of their poor state, but insults them by wickedly trying to draw near.
Then he also teaches the causes of these things. «Because of their morning gifts they shall groan before the face of their wickedness; and you hated those who reprove in the gates.» At dawn, he says, when it was growing light, you took no thought for any good thing, but were intent on base gains; and you were hostile toward those who reprove your wickedness, who would sit at the gates and offer divine words to those entering and leaving. C Now, therefore, consider with all accuracy who you were when you were neglecting the building, and with what shortage of necessities you were constrained. For you would set aside twenty measures of barley and find scarcely half, and you would expect to draw fifty measures of wine from the wine-presses, and find only twenty. Though I was bringing upon you various chastisements—barrenness, and blight, and hail—yet because of your great insensibility you did not even perceive the chastisement. Remembering those things, therefore, mark how much abundance of all prosperity you shall enjoy after the beginning of the building; for I will grant you such an abundance of the necessities that you will henceforth even be ignorant of the measures of the threshing floor; and I will grant you the moist fruits with a blessing, and I will furnish an increase of the orchard fruits. And in addition to these things, O Zorobabel, I will confirm D those words which I predicted concerning Gog and Magog.
A
VERS. 25. "And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will shatter the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall descend, everyone by the sword against his brother." He says, "I will grant you victory without trouble." For having struck them with madness and derangement, I will arm them against one another, so that all may be utterly destroyed together with their horses. But as to what he says, "Yet once more I shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land," he did not say this without cause, but he is renewing the memory of the favor conferred in the time of Sennacherib. For when he had brought sudden destruction upon them, he filled the whole earth and sea with the account of that terrible event. B
VERS. 24. "In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will take you, O Zorobabel, son of Salathiel, my servant, says the Lord, and I will set you as a seal; for I have chosen you, says the Lord Almighty." In this place he did not make mention of Joshua, but of Zorobabel alone, because the discourse was about wars and their administration, whereas this man alone took thought for the military strategy. He says, therefore, that in that day, when those nations have been slain, I will make you, Zorobabel, whom I chose for my service and ministry, illustrious and conspicuous, and through you I will provide all safety for the people, using you as a sort of seal; for a seal, when placed upon doors and chests, provides complete safety to the things stored within. C
And the interpretation of the prophecy has now reached its end. But I marvel at the madness of Apollinaris, who attempted to bring a contrary meaning to such plainly prophesied events, saying that the expedition of Gog and Magog had not yet occurred, but would take place at the consummation of this age. And this "most wise" man did not pay heed to the sequence of the prophecy; for after the prediction of their slaughter, the prophet immediately added: "In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will take you, O Zorobabel, my servant, says the Lord," and what follows. If, then, he fabricates in his own legendary myths some other Zorobabel who will exist at that time, he will provide us with a perfect fable. But if this is the only Zorobabel, who presided over the people after the return, it was under him that the armies of those nations were routed, and after their slaughter, Zorobabel became marvelous and conspicuous. D
But he ought also to have considered this: that because they were contemplating a postponement of the building due to poverty, the Lord of all promised that He would gather these nations and supply their wealth for the expenses of the building; whence He also added: "Mine is the silver, and mine is the gold, and the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former." But to refute this delirious man...
let us hold fast to the truth, and let us beseech our philanthropic Master to grant us peace, and peace of soul; that, serving Him in all things and enjoying His support, we may escape the snares of invisible enemies; and having lived according to His divine laws, we may attain the promised good things, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father is the glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH
BARGUMENT
Since God, the God of all, exercised singular care for the Jews of old, He did not appoint over them one prophet, but two, or three, and often even more, to teach them both what was necessary and to foretell what was to come. Thus, when the divine Isaiah was prophesying, those admirable men, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Micah, simultaneously predicted future events. It is not difficult for those who desire it to learn the times from the prophecies themselves. Similarly, after the return from Babylon, the Master instructed them in what was needful through the most divine Haggai; and through the blessed Zechariah, He taught them what must be done, and foretold the events that were to come—sad things for those who resist the commands, and joyful things for those who obey them. C He also showed him images and symbols of certain things, in order to make his words more credible through contemplation. Furthermore, through him He foretells the coming of our Savior Christ, His kingdom full of gentleness, the madness of the Jews, His saving passion, that most present remedy for our sins, and the events that befell the Jews because of their madness...