The author does not here indicate why the people were saying that the time was not right for the rebuilding of the house of the Lord. Yet it is not hard to think of their reasoning. The opposition that they had faced sixteen years ago, from the Samaritans, during the days of Cyrus, actually carried on, still now in the reign of Darius (Ezra 4:1–5). Furthermore, it is harvest time; everybody is busy in the field. More generally, there was economic hardship during the early years of Darius and his economic reforms
(increased taxation, for example).1 So how can these people fund an ambitious project like rebuilding the temple when they have insufficient financial resources? Perhaps the people were waiting for the Messiah to come, in order to build the temple for them (or so they thought; Ezekiel 37:26–28). For any or all the above, it is not the right time in their view. These are reluctant rebuilders. They were not saying, No
; rather, Not yet.
2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”